In what was another bad year for the Carolina Panthers, there was at least a glimmer of hope with quarterback Bryce Young, who managed to right the ship after getting benched.
It initially looked like Young’s days might be numbered in Carolina after the Panthers decided to turn to Andy Dalton, but Young was impressive after getting the job back and Carolina should be cautiously optimistic about him moving forward.
The next step is surrounding Young with more talent, something the Panthers could do via the 2025 NFL Draft and free agency. In a recent mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski, Carolina drafts Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8 overall.
“Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is a legitimate X-receiver who should walk into Carolina and become the team’s top target on Day 1,” he wrote. “Adam Thielen turns 35 this summer, while Xavier Legette has a complementary skill set. McMillan’s presence on the outside should allow the Panthers offense to grow by leaps and bounds.”
McMillan is widely considered the best wide receiver prospect in this year’s class and would instantly offer Young a potential long-term No. 1 target on the boundary. If you were to build an X-receiver in a lab, he would look alot like McMillan.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pound wideout cemented himself as an elite collegiate weapon after breaking 1,300 receiving yards in each of the past two years, including a career-best 1,402 yards in 2023.
With McMillan in the fold, the Panthers would have a young and promising one-two punch with both he and Xavier Legette, who should benefit from the Arizona product drawing attention from opposing defenses on the outside.
With McMillan, Legette, Jalen Coker and Adam Thielen (assuming the Panthers don’t cut or trade him), the Panthers would be taking a massive step in the right direction to putting Young in the best possible position to succeed.