The Carolina Panthers were a popular candidate to trade out of their first-round pick in Thursday night's NFL Draft, but general manager Dan Morgan held strong at No. 8 and made one of the most widely celebrated selections of the evening: Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
McMillan will join Xavier Legette as recent first-round picks to grace the Carolina WR room, and he couldn't arrive at a more opportune moment. The Panthers are approaching a critical inflection point with Bryce Young, the former No. 1 pick they invested so heavily in.
The first two years of Young's career have been incredibly turbulent, for reasons we cannot entirely pin on him. Sure, Young was a bit lost for much of his rookie campaign and the first half of his second season, but a god-awful support system will do that to even the best quarterbacks. He has yet to play with an adequate offensive line, nor a remotely competent WR room. McMillan can change that.
If you're looking for proof of McMillan's appeal, go ahead and scroll to the eighth pick in Stacking the Box's NFL Draft livestream from last night. You can witness, in real time, as the soul of FanSided's draft expert and resident Cowboys fan, Cody Williams, leaves his body.
Several fandoms, the Cowboys most of all, wanted McMillan last night, but the Panthers got him. And now, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for Bryce Young.
Panthers probably saved Bryce Young era with timely Tetairoa McMillan NFL Draft pick
McMillan was a beast at Arizona last season, racking up 84 receptions for a Big 12-leading 1,319 yards. He reached pay dirt eight times and averaged a healthy 15.3 yards per catch. At 6-foot-5 and 212 pounds, McMillan has prototypical size for the position. He's lean, mean and awfully physical at the point of the catch. His ability to fight through traffic and dominate the red zone should prove beneficial for a Panthers offense in desperate need of more juice.
Many believed McMillan was WR1 on last night's board. Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick, was far and away the better overall prospect, but he's a unique two-way force whose best reps in college came at cornerback. McMillan, as a pure wide receiver, can challenge anyone drafted last night — and last year, and the year before that.
The popular criticism with McMillan is that he lacks elite quickness. He won't create separation with his first step and he's not going to turn dinky screen passes into 80-yard gains like Tyreek Hill. He will, however, win contested catches, operate fearlessly over the middle of the field and emerge as Young's favorite target in the end zone.
McMillan has earned a lot of comps to NFC South stars Mike Evans and Drake London, so Panthers fans ought to be familiar with this archetype. Instead of 34-year-old Adam Thielen and a potpourri of middling flunked draft picks, Young with have a towering, every-down threat who can incur a significant target share right out of the gate.
This was a huge step in the right direction for Carolina. Before arriving in Charlotte last season, Dave Canales made his bones working alongside Mike Evans in Tampa Bay. He will know exactly how to extract maximum value from McMillan. And, after a quietly strong finish to the 2024 campaign, Young is on full breakout watch in 2025 if the cards fall favorably.