Carolina Panthers Star Tetairoa McMillan Wins AP Offensive Rookie of the Year

Tetairoa McMillan has officially won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Carolina Panthers wide receiver beat out Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, TreVeyon Henderson, and Emeka Egbuka for the award.

McMillan was the eighth overall selection by the Panthers, and he and Dart (25th overall) were the only first-round picks to be nominated for the award. For much of the last several weeks of the regular season, McMillan was the favorite.

He finished with 70 receptions for 1,014 yards (a franchise rookie record), and seven touchdowns. He cemented himself not only as a top rookie but as one of the best NFL wideouts. He ranked 34th in catches, 14th in yards, 15th in touchdowns, and 21st in yards per catch.

McMillan did this in spite of an offense that was up and down each week. Both Bryce Young and Dave Canales had down games, and the offense as a whole was not consistent week after week. McMillan was pretty consistent.

He did struggle with drops (eight for the eighth-most in the league and a 6.6 drop percentage). He also had the fifth-most interceptions when targeted, but that's partly due to Young's inconsistencies and getting the 14th-most targets in the league.

Nevertheless, he was extremely productive, adding the seventh-most first-down receptions among all pass-catchers.

Why Tetairoa McMillan is the Rookie of the Year

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) with the ball in the third quarter | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Tetairoa McMillan's stat line in 2025 was pretty good, but it's not mind-blowing. He was very good, but he didn't exactly dominate all year. How did he win Rookie of the Year when players like Puka Nacua (1486 yards) or AJ Brown (1051 in just 11 starts and eight TDs) didn't?

Well, it ultimately comes down to the competition. There were two quarterbacks in the fray, and usually, awards go to QBs. However, neither of them played a full season. Dart made 12 starts, and Shough made nine.

Had either of them played even close to a full season, they would win the award in all likelihood. Since they didn't and their stats from those games are good but not exceptional, the award was left open. With Henderson having a slow start and not having incredible numbers, either, it could go to McMillan.

For a while, it looked like Egbuka's award to lose, but he struggled mightily down the stretch. He went eight straight games without even cracking 70 yards to close the season. His counting stats were somewhat close to McMillan's, but they weren't better, and he was ice cold for two months.

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