With Bryce Young's urging, Panthers boost passing attack in selecting Tetairoa McMillan

New York Times

25-04-2025

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If the choice was throwing another fix at the NFL's worst defense or giving Bryce Young another playmaker, Young won.
Maybe the conversation's different had the Cleveland Browns not taken Mason Graham with the fifth pick in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft. But with Graham off the board when the Panthers picked at 8, general manager Dan Morgan could go with Georgia linebacker/edge rusher Jalon Walker — a mock draft favorite for Carolina — or Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
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For the second year in a row and with some prodding from Young, Morgan took a wideout in the first round. He better hope the early returns on McMillan are better than those on Xavier Legette, whom Morgan traded up to draft 32nd last year.
To be clear: McMillan will arrive in Charlotte on Friday as a more accomplished and polished receiver than Legette, who struggled with dropped passes as a rookie after starting just one season at South Carolina. But he doesn't possess top-end speed, which is something the Panthers' receiving corps lacks collectively.
McMillan's has a 6-foot-4 frame — along with his knack for high-pointing the ball — means he's never really covered. Morgan and Panthers coach Dave Canales gushed about McMillan's skill set and ability to bring a different element to the passing game.
'I think he has really good play speed. The thing that pops off the tape about Tet is just how smooth he is, his body control, his ability to adjust to all types of throws,' Morgan said. 'His catch radius and his hands are elite. He catches everything outside his frame, and he can win the jump ball down the field and in the red zone. He's a guy that has 18 touchdowns the past two years, so he puts the ball in the end zone.'
Canales described McMillan's game in simpler terms.
'The guy's a baller,' he said. 'There's a simple way to look at it when you watch film. The ballers show up, they make plays in big moments and they're always looking to do something special.'
They weren't the only ones who were impressed. It turns out Young had a hand in the Panthers' decision to draft McMillan, who played against Young in a nationally televised high school game in Southern California and worked with him this offseason when they were training at a facility called 3DQB in Huntington Beach, Calif.
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McMillan said Young went to bat with him with the Panthers' brass.
'Going into Mr. Morgan's office, going into Coach Canales' office and really just sitting on the table for me and telling them, 'Hey, man, we need to pick this guy,'' McMillan said. 'Although I feel like I did what I needed to do to be in this position, I give credit to Bryce for vouching for me and ultimately for them taking a chance on me.'
Adding McMillan alongside Legette and Jalen Coker, an undrafted free agent in 2024, gives the Panthers three young, cost-controlled receivers who can grow with Young, who returned from a Week 2 benching last year to play the best football of his career.
Morgan and executive VP of football operations Brandt Tilis also might have revealed their strategy at the position the past two years. While the Panthers kicked the tires on DK Metcalf before he was traded and gave Adam Thielen a pay bump without adding years to his expiring contract, they haven't shown much willingness to get involved in the deep, more expensive end of the wide receiver pool.
That approach with receivers has worked well in Kansas City, where Tilis spent 14 years in the Chiefs' front office.
Most draft analysts thought Morgan, a former Panthers linebacker, would lean defense in the draft, even after the Panthers devoted most of their free agent dollars to the defensive side. But a source told The Athletic on Thursday afternoon that McMillan was strongly in the mix for the Panthers, and by Thursday evening oddsmakers had made him the favorite to be drafted at 8.
Morgan said he fielded calls from some teams 'sniffing around' about a possible trade-up, but said any offer needed to go 'above and beyond for us to pull off this pick.'
The Panthers still will see plenty of Walker. The Salisbury, N.C., native went with the No. 15 pick to the Atlanta Falcons, who have suffered with an anemic pass rush for year.s
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The Panthers' defense was historically bad in 2024, allowing more points than any team in NFL history and becoming just the fourth team to allow 3,000 rushing yards in a season. But Morgan said he hasn't forgotten about that side of the ball.
'We did attack our defensive needs in free agency,' he said. 'Again, we have eight picks left and our board has a lot of defensive guys on there, as well. So it's definitely not something that we're gonna neglect.'
The only other time the Panthers took a quarterback with the No. 1 pick before Young, fans and critics questioned whether the team neglected to add quality receivers around Cam Newton.
It's hard to make that argument with Young after back-to-back, first-round wideouts. Now, it's up to Canales and his staff to develop them.
McMillan is confident that there are big things ahead for what he called the 'Cali-to-Cali connection.'
'(Young) has been the best player at every level. Obviously, these past couple years he struggled a little bit and I was surprised. He's one of the best players I've ever seen in my life,' McMillan said.
'Toward the end of the season, you saw a glimpse of his greatness. It looked like he finally got his swagger back, finally got his confidence back. And that's a huge testament to Andy Dalton kinda bringing him along. I feel like this is the year that Bryce will explode and I'm happy to be a part of it.'
(Photo of Tetairoa McMillan: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)