How Every Carolina Panthers Rookie Actually Performed in 2025

The Carolina Panthers got plenty out of their rookie class. Dan Morgan's second go-round as GM was much more productive than his first, and the Panthers have a bright future because of it.

Tetairoa McMillan is rightfully the standout, and he's likely to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. They could not have made a better selection there.

Nic Scourton also deserves some praise for tying some Panthers records and leading the team with five sacks. But how did everyone, including those players, actually perform? PFF has some insight.

PFF reveals data for Carolina Panthers' rookie class

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton (11) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Naturally, Tetairoa McMillan is the standout for this class. He's basically the standout of the entire rookie class for the NFL. For the Panthers, he played the most snaps: 984. He led the class in WAR with 0.589, though he did not lead the NFL's rookies. Colston Loveland did.

McMillan was first in the team's rookie class in PFF grade at 79.3, and he led all rookie wide receivers in that metric as well. The one other noteworthy thing PFF analyst Mark Chichester pointed out was that Corey Thornton, in limited action, was third among rookie cornerbacks with a 68.6 PFF grade.

Despite McMillan being so good, Nic Scourton was not far behind him in WAR. The edge recorded 0.051 WAR, which makes McMillan's performance even more impressive, as an edge is more valuable than a wide receiver.

Only Princely Umanmielen (-0.021), Cam Jackson (-0.003), and Bam Martin-Scott (-0.007) were negatively impactful for the Panthers among all their rookies, so this was quite a good class.

Mitchell Evans was third in WAR with 0.133. Jimmy Horn, in just 167 snaps, produced 0.039 WAR and a 61.3 PFF grade. With those two, the Panthers could have some intriguing young weapons that are being overlooked.

WAR is a difficult stat to analyze, but it essentially means how many wins a player added to their team. So without McMillan, the Panthers lose half a game more, and likely do not make the playoffs. It's most known in baseball, but with there being almost 10 times the games in the MLB, the numbers make a lot more sense.

Essentially, if McMillan were in the MLB, that WAR would've translated to 4.8 WAR, which makes him equivalent to George Springer and Mookie Betts, two very good baseball players.

- Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI -

NFL insider suggests Broncos add Cam Newton after Bo Nix injury

Cam Newton backs C.J. Stroud after ugly playoff showing

Carolina Panthers predicted to make surprising draft choice

Why the Panthers could go in a surprising direction at the NFL draft