Tetairoa McMillan already looks like a long-time NFL vet to one analyst

Carolina's rookie wide receiver had his best game yet against Miami and appeared to be much more polished than your average first-year receiver.

Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) reaches for a pass with Miami Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones (23) defending during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

There were a lot of encouraging things coming out of the Carolina Panthers' Week 5 win over the Miami Dolphins. Perhaps the biggest one was how many members of their 2025 rookie class made a significant impact on the game.

Nic Scourton was disruptive as hell and wound up earning the highest PFF grade on the team. Princely Umanmielen also made some imrpessive stops. Jimmy Horn Jr. finally got to show what he could do and made some clutch plays. Trevor Etienne was efficient on the ground. Mitchell Evans scored another touchdown and Corey Thornton acquitted himself well, too.

The biggest star is still wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who had his best game yet as a pro, catching six of eight targets from Bryce Young for a team-high 73 yards. McMillan's showing had NFL analyst Josh Norris saying he looks like he's been in the league for years.

Tetairoa McMillan continues to look like he's played in the league for years

first throw, ball in the air well before McMillan turns his head after slightly shifting the safety

stays on a string out of structure. And nearly pulled in a 31 yard gain - flag for DPI was picked up pic.twitter.com/e92LPveqf1

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) October 6, 2025

If not for the atrcious decision to reverse what was an obvious defensive pass interference, McMillan would have been responsible for over 100+ yards of offense.

The Panthers have done a pretty atrocious job of drafting since 2018, but got high marks all around for their picks this year. It's still way too early for any kind of verdict. However, the early returns are pretty promising for this class. If it turns out being as good as the class of 2017, it could represent the beginning of a new era for this franchise.

Carolina's front office wlll of course have to follow it up with another strong draft in 2026, and it's going to take more than two good drafts to dig out of this hole - but there seems to finally be a foundation to build on, here.

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