Why one analyst is taking the over on Panthers Tetairoa McMillan's receiving yards

The Carolina Panthers made sure there would be no excuses for Bryce Young in 2025. Despite fielding a terrible defense last season, they used their first pick in the NFL draft on Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. The No. 8 overall pick gives Young a massive target on the outside, and there's plenty of hype after McMillan put up some elite numbers during his career with the Wildcats.

Going into the NFL will be different, but there's no reason to think this kid will be a bust. In fact, he's been given a fairly solid yardage total from oddsmakers. Heading into his first season, BetMGM has his total at 795.5 receiving yards, and he's favored to top that.

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CBS Sports' R.J. White believes that taking the over on McMillan is the right call. He says this not only because McMillan is a physical beast, but also because history is on his side.

Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is selected by the Carolina Panthers as the number eight pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Of the eight receivers to be selected top 10 overall since 2018, only Rome Odunze failed to hit 800 receiving yards in his rookie season, and he was the least targeted of any of those eight rookies. I see Tetairoa McMillan's situation more like Drake London and Garrett Wilson in 2022, and considering the group of pass-catchers on Carolina there's an outside shot he sees a Malik Nabers-level of targets in his first year. I think he has a pretty good shot of hitting 1,000 yards as a rookie, which is +275 at DraftKings, but either way I'd be surprised if he doesn't get enough targets to get over this number." — White, CBS Sports

With Carolina's receiving corps consisting of McMillan, Xavier Leggette, and Adam Thielen, there's a chance the ball will be spread around a lot. That said, he's still likely to receive plenty of targets and it wouldn't be surprising to see him top 1,000 yards as a rookie.

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