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Joey's fantasy football outlook for rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Should fantasy managers target Tetairoa McMillan in their fantasy football drafts
The Carolina Panthers made one of the best picks in the 20205 NFL Draft by selecting Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan eighth overall.
The Hawaii native established himself as one of the best receivers in college football for the Wildcats and will be a big help to Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
Let's examine McMillan's college career and his strengths and weaknesses, and use them to project his success in the NFL.
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Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight: College Career
Although McMillan was initially committed to Oregon, he switched to Arizona because three of his high school teammates - including QB Noah Fifita - were committed to play there. As a five-star receiver, McMillan became the highest-ranked recruit in program history.
McMillan started right away for the Wildcats in 2022 and made an immediate impact with 702 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, both first among freshmen nationally. T-Mac's biggest game of the year came against Pac-12 opponents Washington, when he exploded for 132 yards and two TDs on seven receptions.
As a sophomore in 2023, expectations were high for McMillan, who outperformed even those expectations. A catalyst was Fifita's emergence as Arizona's starting QB. The redshirt freshman stepped into the lineup in the fourth week of the season and had an excellent year. Fifita completed over 72% of his passes while throwing 25 TDs to just six interceptions, and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
McMillan took a giant step forward as a result, catching 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 TDs in 13 games. His monster game against local rivals Arizona State - 266 yards and two TDs - set a record for most yards in a Territorial Cup. McMillan was named a third-team All-American for his efforts.
2024 was more tumultuous for T-Mac - he broke his foot in April, just a few months before the season began, and Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch left to coach Washington. But despite the obstacles, McMillan confirmed his status as one of college football's best receivers and a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
He opened his season with an absurd 304-yard, four-TD performance against New Mexico - a school record for yards in a game. T-Mac rode that momentum all year, despite some shaky play from Fifita, who struggled to rediscover his 2023 form.
McMillan finished the year with 1,319 yards, third in the nation, and was named a first-team All-American. He was also a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, losing to Travis Hunter.
After the season, McMillan declared for the 2025 NFL draft. In his college career, he racked up 213 receptions for 3,423 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns. His 3,423 receiving yards are the most in Wildcats program history, and his receptions and touchdowns rank within the top five in school history.
Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight: Strengths
At 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, McMillan is a big-bodied wideout with soft hands - the perfect safety blanket for any quarterback. He had the flexibility to line up both on the outside and in the slot at Arizona and created separation doing both. McMillan is a surprisingly smooth mover for his size, which makes him solid as a route-runner and in the open field.
One thing that impressed me about T-Mac was his ability to make people miss in one-on-one situations. While he may not be able to do that every time he touches the ball, McMillan's yards-after-catch potential for such a big wideout is rare.
TETAIROA MCMILLAN NOW HAS FOUR TOUCHDOWNS AND 248 RECEIVING YARDS 🔥
IT'S ONLY THE THIRD QUARTER 😳 pic.twitter.com/WD7u2uTluc
— ESPN (@espn) September 1, 2024
While he can separate on shorter routes, McMillan also excels at contested-catch situations down the field. He does a good job tracking the ball in the air and positioning himself to beat smaller defensive backs to the football. McMillan's exceptional body control helps in this regard, and also helps him to make tough catches along the sideline.
He isn't afraid to go over the middle and take a big hit and will hold onto the ball through contact. McMillan also does a good job helping out his QB on extended plays, finding the open space, and turning upfield. He scored a 78-yard touchdown against New Mexico last season, doing exactly that.
Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight: Weaknesses
McMillan is a good route-runner for his size, but he's not exactly Wes Welker. His length means that he can get a bit linear in his routes, which could hurt him at the NFL level. He could separate from college defensive backs at all three levels, but in the pros, it's possible that he might not separate as consistently.
While McMillan's size makes him a mismatch in contested-catch situations, it also makes him easier to stick with underneath, so his releases off the line of scrimmage will have to improve.
Don't love the Tet McMillan pick for the Panthers here. Obviously fits the "X" profile mold and excellent catch radius but never separated well-enough at the college level consistently. Good player but I think it's early for him
— Ahan Karanth (@AhanKaranth) April 25, 2025
Another potential issue in the NFL is his speed. While T-Mac's contested-catch ability means that he doesn't always need to separate downfield, he's not likely to be able to run away from defensive backs like he did in college.
His 40-yard dash was clocked at anywhere between 4.48 and 4.54 seconds at his pro day with Arizona. However, Mike Evans is a six-time Pro Bowler who ran a 4.53 40, so maybe this is grasping at straws here. McMillan's a great player, okay? It's hard to find weaknesses in his well-rounded game.
Fantasy Football Rookie Spotlight: Projection
While some thought the Panthers would draft a defensive player with their first-round pick (Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker was viewed as a likely selection), McMillan ended up being the choice. We got some critical context on why from Bryce Young: He and McMillan had been training together before the draft, and the quarterback encouraged Carolina's management to get his guy.
This bodes well for both parties: McMillan and Young will establish a productive partnership at the NFL if their rapport grows.
Bryce was fired up for TMac, too@Verizon | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/Nfo1PsugPK
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 25, 2025
Another big reason McMillan made sense for the Panthers was his impact on third downs. In his final year at Arizona, T-Mac posted the second-most third-down conversions in all of college football with zero drops. Comparatively, Carolina did not have a single receiver finish inside the top 45 in third-down conversions in 2024.
McMillan can be a reliable chain-mover for the Panthers, something the team has been missing for some time now.
McMillan will likely have the flexibility to move all over the formation like he did at Arizona. This will make him both a safety outlet for Young and a potential big-play threat. Although T-Mac will probably be the WR1 from the get-go, that doesn't mean there won't be any competition for him.
Like McMillan, Jalen Coker, and Xavier Legette are young players with the potential to become great, and veteran Adam Thielen will probably still get plenty of snaps.
Coker is physical and a good jump-ball receiver, but is limited athletically compared to McMillan. Legette is a freakish athlete, but he struggled with drops in his first NFL season last year. Thielen is 34 and missed six games last season.
The group clearly needed an alpha, and T-Mac will be just that from the jump. Expect a solid rookie year (70 catches for 900 yards and seven TDs) from McMillan, who has the potential to be one of the best receivers in Panthers history.
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