TetairoaMcMillan

News: 5 days agoMcMillan caught both his targets for 25 yards in Friday's 34-17 preseason win over the Jaguars.

Spin: The Panthers' starting offense played the entire first quarter, and McMillan helped set up the team's first touchdown of the night with a pair of receptions from Bryce Young. McMillan is the clear top downfield option in Carolina after a rookie campaign in which the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft recorded a 70-1,014-7 line on 122 targets over 17 regular-season games, before hauling in five catches on seven more targets for 81 yards in a wild-card loss to the Rams.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, McMillan is a candidate to make the leap into the "elite" conversation at wide receiver this season. The 2025 eighth overall pick was very busy as a rookie (top 15 among WRs in snaps, routes, target share, targets, yards, end zone targets and touchdowns) and, while he finished 16th among receivers in fantasy points (22nd PPG), he lacked upside, producing only one top-10 outing (Week 9). Improving on a 56% catch rate will be key in Year 2, though that would require improvement from Bryce Young. McMillan, 23, remains positioned as Carolina's clear top target and, though Young's limitations may cap his ceiling a bit, McMillan's talent/usage combo supplies him with top-10 upside. He's safest as a midrange fantasy WR2.