Carolina Panthers receiver and Arizona Wildcats product Tetairoa McMillan won PFF’s Rookie of the Year Award, which was announced Wednesday morning.
The Panthers drafted McMillan eighth overall after a stellar career at Arizona, and he lived up to every bit of hype in his rookie season.
The former Wildcat set the Panthers’ rookie receiving record with 1,044 yards and became just the second Panthers rookie receiver to collect 1,000 receiving yards. He passed Kelvin Benjamin, who had 1,008 receiving yards in 2014. McMillan finished the regular season with 1,044 yards on 70 receptions and played in all 17 games.
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The Panthers’ rookie ranked 15th in targets and 34th in receptions among all receivers. However, McMillan ranked No. 1 among all rookies in receiving yards and targets.
McMillan ranked third in receptions among rookies, behind Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren and Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
The former Wildcat led all rookies, aside from quarterbacks, in PFF’s wins above average metric (WAA) with a 0.56 score, which is 0.08 higher than Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (0.48), who is the next closest.
McMillan had two 100-yard receiving games, seven touchdowns and at least one reception in every game this season. He also ranked third in yards per route run among rookies. McMillan ran 150 more receiving snaps than Loveland and more than doubled Bears receiver Luther Burden III’s snap count. Loveland and Burden are the two above McMillan on that list.
The Panthers’ receiver led all rookies with 30 explosive plays and ranked third with his overall receiving grade (79.4).
McMillan’s competition for PFF’s Rookie of the Year award came from Loveland, Burden and Saints quarterback Tyler Shough. Shough earned a 75 overall offensive grade and led all rookies in WAA (1.12).
However, the Chandler native and Hamilton High School alum only played in 10 games this season. Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, who played at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, started the Saints’ first eight games. Loveland and Burden both came on strong at the end of the year, but McMillan’s complete season pushed him over the edge.
That’s something Wildcats fans are used to seeing. McMillan collected 2,721 yards combined in his last two years at Arizona. He had 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns in his sophomore season and led the Big 12 in receiving yards as an All-American in 2024.
McMillan finished his career at Arizona with 213 receptions, 3,423 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. The former Wildcat filled in nicely as the Panthers’ No. 1 option and looks to have a bright future with quarterback Bryce Young in Carolina.
The Panthers made the playoffs this season for the first time in eight years and will host a Wild Card game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams, who Carolina beat earlier this season.
If the Panthers can beat the Rams again, they’d advance to their first Divisional Round playoff game in a decade. The last time that happened, Cam Newton was the quarterback and Carolina lost in the Super Bowl.
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