With a number of needs facing him, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan decided to get his young quarterback some help.
Carolina spent the eighth overall pick on Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan on Thursday night, making McMillan the first true receiver selected in the 2025 NFL Draft after the Jaguars traded up for two-way star Travis Hunter at No. 2.
"The guy's a baller," head coach Dave Canales said following the pick, per the team website. "There's a simple way to look at it. Watch film, and the ballers show up. And they make plays in big moments and they're always looking to do something special."
McMillan, 22, was an instant contributor at Arizona as a freshman, catching 39 passes for 702 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games (nine starts). But he really broke out in 2023, with a 90-catch, 1,402-yard, 10-TD season (12 games). McMillan nearly matched those receiving totals in his 12 starts in 2024 but also suffered from more dropped passes and inconsistency at times.
Nonetheless, the 6-foot-4, 212-pound McMillan stood out as one of the more physically blessed WR prospects in the entire 2025 draft class. With great length and volleyball springiness to make catches in the air, he projects to be a red-zone monster in the pros. McMillan also displays outstanding body control and an ability to run through tackle attempts after the catch.
McMillan still has somewhat of a leaner build and will have to adjust to physical NFL cornerbacks pressing him at the line. He's also not a true burner and will need to prove that his 2024 drops were an aberration.
But more so than almost any receiver in this draft cycle, McMillan showcased the ability to become a No. 1 target at some point. His loose athleticism, huge catch radius and post-catch ability should serve him well right from the get-go, and McMillan never missed a game to injury in college, making him both a higher-floor and a higher-ceiling prospect.
Those who are seeking to bring sense to this pick can look toward Panthers head coach Dave Canales' background at his previous stop in Tampa Bay, where he guided Baker Mayfield toward a career year built on throwing passes to a large, athletic receiver in Mike Evans. McMillan projects toward potentially becoming that type of pass-catcher in the NFL, and if Canales is going to help Young reach that level of production, he'll find scheming a bit more comfortable with a big target like McMillan on his team.
"I put my receiver coach hat on, and just watched his pro day and watched his route-craft," Canales said of McMillan. "The way that he can reduce his surface in the top of routes as a 6-4 guy, the way he comes back to the ball, some of the things that you look for as a great starting point for a receiver, giving us that good size element, the red zone target, a lot of things to be excited about."
Young already found success in his second season, overcoming an early benching and steadily improving so significantly, the Panthers no longer needed to question their future under center by the end of the campaign. With Young establishing a rapport with rookie Xavier Legette and leaning on veteran Adam Thielen, Carolina knew it was time to turn elsewhere in an effort to improve.
Adding a top receiver in an admittedly thin class at the position is a play for both now and the future. Young can use all of the help he can get when it comes to loading up on weapons, and McMillan is the type of receiver who can create a strong tandem with Legette -- both in 2025 and well beyond the end of Thielen's time in Carolina.
