Panthers GM Dan Morgan explains risky choice not waiting to pick WR in 2025 draft

Dan Morgan explained why they took Tet McMillan instead of waiting.

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan walks across the stage after being selected eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The draft runs through April 26. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the Carolina Panthers picked in the second round (51st after a small trade up from 57), there were wide receivers available. They could've drafted Tre Harris, Jack Bech, Kyle Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Jaylin Noel, or Savion Williams. They didn't because they had already drafted Tetairoa McMillan, but had they selected Jalon Walker, those would've been the options.

The Panthers looked ahead and didn't think that those players would've impacted their offense as much as McMillan. Therefore, they decided to go wide receiver first in a shocking move before circling back to the defense later (and frequently).

Morgan explained their thought process via ESPN, "We felt like in the second round we weren't going to get a real quality receiver. We knew there was going to be a lot of edge rushers in this draft and we'd be able to capitalize in the second and third round."

Ultimately, their risky gamble paid off because they got two good edge rushers and the best non-Travis Hunter wide receiver in the draft. "At the end of the day, it worked out well for us to draft a receiver first and then two edge rushers that we think are damn good players," Morgan added.

The Panthers could've had Jalon Walker and Tre Harris, but they felt, in essence, that Tetairoa McMillan and Nic Scourton would be the better pairing of a WR and edge rusher. Adding Princely Umanmielen later only makes their gamble a little less risky, too.

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