Panthers Stat Adds Fuel to Chemistry Concerns With Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan

There has been a concern about just how good the chemistry is between Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan and this stat won't help put that to bed.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) and quarterback Bryce Young (9). | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

If the Carolina Panthers' offense is going to thrive in 2026, the quality of the connection between Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillian is crucial.

The pair showed a pretty solid connection last season. We know that because McMillan had a very strong rookie season that saw him surpass 1,000 yards and score seven touchdowns while looking the part of a No. 1 wideout.

While that's all well and good, there's one stat in particular that shows there is a lot of room for improvement.

According to NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, Young and McMIllan tallied an 81.3 passer rating when trying to connect last season, and that amounted to the fifth-lowest among wide receiver-quarterback duos with at least 75 targets.

Here's a look at the full bottom seven:

52. J.J. McCarthy-Justin Jefferson (42.9)
51. Cam Ward-Elic Ayomanor (75.2)
50. Baker Mayfield-Emeka Egbuka (80.9)
49. Trevor Lawrence-Brian Thomas Jr. (81.2)
48. Bryce Young-Tetairoa McMillan (81.3)
47. Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze (83.2)
46. Justin Herbert-Ladd McConkey (84.2)

One thing is for certain: that stat will only add to the concern that Young and McMillan don't have great chemistry.

What went wrong?

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) celebrates with quarterback Bryce Young (9). | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

There could be a lot of factors that went into that stat besides a lack of chemistry.

For starters, Young needs to be more accurate with the football, as evidenced by his 63.6% completion rate that ranked in the bottom half of the NFL.

Young's overall passer rating (87.8) was higher than the one he had when throwing passes to McMillan, but it was also among the worst totals among starting signal-callers.

McMillan deserves some of the blame, also. The 2025 top-10 pick suffered a drop on 6.6% of the passes Young threw to him and he finished with eight in total, which was tied for sixth-most in the league.

Even if chemistry was an issue, that doesn't mean it will continue to be. After all, it's important to note that Young and McMillan only have one season together, so it's fair to assume they'll be more cohesive in Year 2.

Unfortunately, improving chemistry has proven difficult so far this offseason with McMillan battling a foot injury that has kept him sidelined at practice.

The good news is, there is still ample time to work on things with training camp set to begin next month, and with the preseason coming after that. McMillan is expected to be a full go when Carolina starts training camp on July 22.

We firmly believe that passer rating between Young and McMillan will be a lot higher now that they have a year together under their belts.