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Tetairoa McMillan named Carolina Panthers' candidate for prestigious NFL award

The only time the Panthers wound up with the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was 2011. Could Tetairoa McMillan join Cam Newton on that short list?
Russell Baxter|
Nov 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the Territorial Cup at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Nov 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the Territorial Cup at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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In 2024, Washington Commanders’ signal-caller Jayden Daniels won the award. The previous year, Houston Texans’ field general C.J. Stroud captured the honors. Dating back to 2019, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has either been a quarterback (4) or a wide receiver (2).

Owain Jones of Pro Football Sports Network named an offensive rookie of the year candidate for each of the 32 clubs. Nearly half of the picks are wide receivers (14), along with three quarterbacks in Cam Ward (Titans), Jaxson Dart (Giants), and Tyler Shough (Saints).

It’s interesting to note that three of those wideouts listed by Jones are with teams in the NFC South, including Atlanta Falcons’ undrafted free agent Nick Nash, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receiver Emeka Egbuka—the 19th overall pick in April’s draft.

Tetairoa McMilla
Jun 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) gets a drink during minicamp at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

How about Dave Canales’s improving Carolina Panthers? The choice was a player chosen 11 picks ahead of Egbuka. “Enter Tetairoa McMillan,” said Jones, “the No. 8 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, who is tasked with taking the receiving game to the next level. The former Arizona Wildcats receiver is plus-1500 with DraftKings Sportsbook to be crowned Offensive Rookie of the Year and follow in the shoes of Garrett Wilson and Ja’Marr Chase as wide receivers to have won the award in the last decade.”

McMillan gives quarterback Bryce Young an extremely inviting target. The 6’4”, 219-pound wideout comes off three productive seasons with the Wildcats, totaling a combined 213 catches for 3,423 yards (16.1 average) and 26 TDs. He totaled 1,300-plus yards in each of his final two collegiate campaigns, and reached the end zone at least eight times in each of his three years at Arizona.

The talented prospect joins a team that was looking for a little more production from its aerial attack. The Panthers finished 30th in the league in passing yards per game. If Young picks up where he left off in 2024, and McMillan lives up to his lofty billing, the latter could put up big numbers and put himself in the mix for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.