Kyle Shanahan shares bold statement about Panthers rookie Tetairoa McMillan

The San Francisco 49ers head coach sees greatness in Carolina's new WR1.

Oct 19, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) stiff arms New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) in the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers don't have a great track record of drafting wide receivers in recent years. D.J. Moore turned out alright, but there have been a lot more misses than hits at this position in the David Tepper era.

Good news: the Panthers finally hit the right note in this year's draft when they took Arizona's star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8 overall. Most analyts were expecting Carolina to pick a defender at that spot, likely Georgia' Jalon Walker.

Instead, the Panthers did something right for a change, taking the sure thing by picking the consensus top pure receiver in the draft. So far the pick is working out splendidly for them, as McMillan enters Week 12 leading all rookies with 748 receiving yards on the season.

McMillan is about to face his first test in front of a national audience, as the Panthers visit the 49ers on Monday Night Football this week.

If nothing else, McMillan has a fan in San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan. Here's what he said about the rookie, according to Kevin Patra at NFL.com.

Kyle Shanahan on Tetairoa McMillan

"I think he's a stud," Shanahan said. "He's going to be one of the best receivers in this league sooner than later. He's got all the skill sets to do it and I think he's just getting started."

Nov 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looks on during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

McMillan is certainly trending the right direction, coming off a new career high 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Carolina's big win over Atlanta last week.

This could be an even bigger game for McMillan, who at least one analyst is expecting to post some monster numbers against the 49ers, who rank 28th in fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers for the year.

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