ESPN shares bold prediction for Panthers rookie Tetairoa McMillan vs. Dolphins

McMillan has flashed a lot in his first four games as a pro, but he hasn't come near showing his true ceiling yet.

Sep 28, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins (21) tackles Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Picking at eighth overall in the draft every year is not where any organization wants to be. However, for whatever it's worth the Carolina Panthers have made a habit of finding superstar talents at that spot.

In recent years it's landed them Christian McCaffrey and Jaycee Horn - and last year it got them Tetairoa McMillan. It's still very early in hs career and there's a lot of room for his game to grow, but so far McMillan has demonstrated some magnificent potential and proven he was worth a top-10 overall pick.

While he hasn't scored a touchdown yet, McMillan is averaging 4.5 catches and 69.5 receiving yards per game.

Considering the context that's pretty fantastic production in an offense that has basically nothing else going for it right now. This week McMillan could be in for a breakout performance against an atrocious Miami Dolphins defense. Thats exactly what ESPN analyst Seth Walder is predicting.

"Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan will catch multiple passes of 15 air yards or more after having caught exactly one such pass in each of his first four games. The Dolphins' defense is allowing 9.6 air yards per attempt, second most in the league."

It wasn't too long ago that the Dolphins had arguably the best cornerback room in the league, but those days might as well have been a thousand years ago, now.

The matchup that McMillan will face the most this week will likely come on the boundary against Jack Jones, who gave up eight touchdowns in coverage last season with the Las Vegas Raiders and has allowed a 121.2 passer rating so far this year.

McMillan's best work has actually come from the slot, where he'll line up across from Cornell Armstrong, who has also allowed a passer rating over 100 and comes in at five inches and nearly 30 pounds short of McMillan's measurables.

Every game a unique challenge but if the Panthers' passing offense can't explode this week, there's a real chance it's not going to happen at all this season.

Sep 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) high five before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

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