It's time to admit Panthers legend Steve Smith was dead wrong on draft night

Steve Smith had Matthew Golden as WR1 over Tetairoa McMillan.

Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) celebrates a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Steve Smith, former Carolina Panthers wide receiver and future Hall of Famer, has moved into the media space a bit since retirement. He's done plenty of work on draft prospects, namely wide receivers. He often breaks down who's good and who's not, and he's right more often than not. He was super high on Cooper Kupp, who went on to win the Triple Crown.

In 2025, he was adamant that the best wide receiver (not counting hybrid Travis Hunter) was Matthew Golden, not Tetairoa McMillan. And on draft night, he absolutely hated the pick, posting a tweet mocking the Panthers for taking McMillan with the eighth pick.

Do you like the pick smitty pic.twitter.com/KhHZEwBqS0

— Steve Smith Sr. (@SteveSmithSr89) April 25, 2025

Through 11 games, it's time to admit that he was wrong. Dead wrong, in fact. There's an argument to be made for Emeka Egbuka over McMillan as the best wide receiver in the class, but McMillan still likely takes it because he's in a worse passing offense and the underlying metrics for Egbuka aren't as strong.

Smith was clearly wrong about McMillan, but he was also wrong about Golden. Green Bay Packers fans have not enjoyed the Golden experience so far. He has just 24 catches for 286 yards this season and has yet to score.

McMillan has 54 catches, 748 yards, and four touchdowns. You could make the argument that McMillan is the best wide receiver the Panthers have had since Smith himself, although DJ Moore has a claim to that, too.

Nov 2, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) is tackled by Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace during the game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Tork Mason-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Tork Mason-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Put simply, McMillan is an absolute stud. Golden might be someday, but he's not now, and with him instead of McMillan, this Panthers offense would be drowning. Against the top-ranked pass defense, McMillan just posted eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

McMillan has now passed Egbuka for the lead in rookie receiving yards. He passed Tyler Warren for the lead in catches, too. Egbuka (6) and Tory Horton (5) have the lead in TDs, but McMillan is right there, too.

McMillan does have a game on some of these players who have already had their bye week, but it will all even out by season's end, and the McMillan pick will have aged like fine wine, especially over Golden.

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