CHARLOTTE, N.C. \u2014 All of the attention on the Carolina Panthers\u2019 wide receivers for the past week or so has focused on players at the bottom of the depth chart. That\u2019s typical of the final week of training camp as teams prepared to make roster cuts.<\/p>\n
Fans tend to enjoy reading roster projections and similar stories. But in the case of the Panthers\u2019 receivers room, they ignored the guy at the top of the depth chart.<\/p>\n
Now that it\u2019s September, expect to start hearing a lot more about Tetairoa McMillan again.<\/p>\n
McMillan put a bow on a fantastic first season Wednesday when he accepted his Rookie of the Year trophy from the Pro Football Writers of America. It will go on a mantle next to his AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, though not on his mantle.<\/p>\n
Breaking down the Panthers’ roster math to keep 5 tight ends<\/p>\n
Joseph Person<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom\u2019s the one that likes to put the awards up in the house. I don\u2019t really like having stuff of mine around the house, like pictures and stuff like that. I don\u2019t know, just me I guess,\u201d McMillan said. \u201cNo, all the awards is cool. I feel like I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to win a lot of awards in my lifetime. So what\u2019s another one, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
McMillan put together one of the most successful seasons in franchise history after the Panthers drafted him eighth overall in 2025. He caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards to break Kelvin Benjamin\u2019s team rookie receiving yardage record (1,008), and became the first Panthers player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year since Cam Newton in 2011.<\/p>\n
AJ Dillon, the recently acquired running back, watched McMillan\u2019s season from afar as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He arrived in Charlotte curious if he might find a receiver who was trending toward diva status, which is almost a rite of passage at the position.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would think a young guy, a lot of praise \u2014 the guy goes out there every day and goes all in, and looks amazing doing it,\u201d Dillon said.<\/p>\n
McMillan also looks bigger than he did a year ago, particularly in his lower body. He played every game as a rookie, but lost weight as the season wore on. McMillan added 17 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-4 frame to get to 220, which Panthers coach Dave Canales believes will help him defeat press coverage and win battles downfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kinda was just a man on a mission to get stronger to be able to feel that power in his game. That really is a part of his game that needed to be addressed,\u201d Canales said. \u201cHe really wanted to do that and he attacked it, put on some good, solid mass. He\u2019s been great at the line of scrimmage, rugged to the ball. And he\u2019s still got all the same (other) stuff, so I\u2019m excited to see him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
If McMillan finishes at least the same number of catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (7), he\u2019ll become the fifth player in NFL history to reach those marks in each of his first two seasons. He\u2019d join some impressive company: Marques Colston, Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Jefferson and Ja\u2019Marr Chase are the others to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a cool stat, by the way. But I feel like at the end of the day, you\u2019re not able to achieve those stats if you\u2019re not healthy,\u201d McMillan said. \u201cEveryone says they\u2019ve got sophomore slumps and people get hurt and stuff like that. The main thing to be able to achieve those things is to be healthy. That\u2019s all I can wish for.\u201d<\/p>\n