Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is have a strong 2025 season, but he believes it could be a lot better. On3 recently spoke to McMillan, and he was asked if his rookie season was everything he thought it would be.

“The season’s been alright,” Tetairoa McMillan told On3. “I definitely think that we’ve had a lot of missed opportunities, missed games that we probably should have won, and things like that. So definitely think we need to clean up some of those hiccups for sure.”

The Panthers are currently 6-6 on the year and just half a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead. In 2024, Carolina finished the season 5-12, and McMillan is a big reason why the team has turned things around this year.

Through 12 games, the former Arizona star has caught 56 passes for 783 yards and five touchdowns. His receiving yards rank 11th in the NFL, and first for all rookie receivers

But what has led to his success this season? “There’s a lot of it. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, obviously, without the team and the play calling and the coaches and stuff like that,” McMillan said. “But I just try to pride myself in not being one-dimensional, just being versatile and trying to make plays when the plays come to me.”

Tetairoa McMillan reacts to his My Cause My Cleats gear

Along with what McMillan is doing on the field, he is contributing to his community with the help of Sharpie. Before the Panthers drafted McMillan, Sharpie named him a Rookie of the Year, and he chose to work with two Polynesian-forward organizations —  Hui Mahi’ai ‘Āina (a homeless community run by his grandmother in Hawaii) and First Down Faith Foundation (a faith-driven charity by his former teammate at Arizona, Noah Fifita).

“It is a blessing just being able to partner with Sharpie. They’ve helped me do some of my signature moments in my rookie year, as far as signing my first NFL contract to sign the autographs at a Boys and Girls Club, and now representing my friends in my family on My Cause My Cleats,” McMillan said. “So one of them is my grandma’s organization, which helps homeless shelters in Hawaii. And the second one is my best friend’s organization, which kind of helps people grow in their faith.”

Courtesy of Sharpie

For the My Cause May Cleats campaign, shoe designer Marcus Rivero used Sharpie products on McMillan’s cleats to bring the organizations to life. “I thought they was fire for sure,” McMillan said. “Just seeing how the things came out, and also them being one of one, the only cleats in the game that were made by Sharpie pens. Yeah, they came out super clean.”