Jan. 22, 2026, 11:29 a.m. ET
Well, one is better than none, right?
On Thursday, the Associated Press announced the finalists for the top awards of the 2025 NFL season. Among them is a lone Carolina Panther—wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
McMillan is one of five players up for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honor. He’s joined by New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Carolina’s rook is viewed as the favorite of the group, especially after McMillan was named the Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America on Tuesday. The last five players to be named the PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year have gone on to also capture the AP’s.
The Panthers selected McMillan with the eighth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. He’d go on to record 70 catches for 1,014 yards (a franchise record for a rookie) and seven touchdowns.
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We’ll find out if McMillan will become the second Panther to ever win the award two weeks from now, during NFL Honors on Thursday, Feb. 5. He’d join quarterback Cam Newton, who took home the nod in 2011.
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