Panthers’ passing game is all about Tetairoa McMillan: Why that’s a problem
The Panthers can’t afford for Tetairoa McMillan to hit a rookie wall.
The first-round draft pick is the focus of the passing offense, and he’s received the bulk of the targets, no matter who has manned the quarterback position over the past 10 weeks. And while McMillan has had a largely effective start to his NFL career, it’s probably fair to say that the burden he’s shouldering in the passing offense is too significant for a rookie.
He has more receiving yards (618) than the six other wide receivers who have caught passes for the Panthers combined (523) this season.
This isn’t a problem McMillan is responsible for — this is on everyone else. And the Panthers’ passing offense is going to continue to regress as long as head coach Dave Canales, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik and quarterback Bryce Young treat McMillan as the absolute of the aerial attack.
“I think general pass game success will get the ball distributed, but we have to find that rhythm and the ball will find guys in different zones, different areas based on where the read goes,” Canales said Sunday following the Panthers’ 17-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints. “We certainly try to make (McMillan) an emphasis of what we’re doing and that continues to be a part of what we’re doing, but we count on the other guys to make those plays as well. But I think it’s collectively where we have to go as a pass game.”
When McMillan falters as a pass catcher, or he gets covered by one of the league’s top cornerbacks, the Panthers rarely seem to have a solution away from the eighth overall pick. Aside from a stellar fourth-quarter connection by Andy Dalton and Xavier Legette against the New York Jets in Week 7, the onus has been on McMillan to make the lion’s share of the big plays for the pass-catching crew.
That’s been a problematic setup for several reasons, and it’s led to the Panthers’ lack of success in the overarching passing game.
McMillan puts on a cape because no one else will
McMillan, while terrific, is clearly getting used to the coverages and the speed of the NFL. He’s also getting used to the rigors of the NFL season and the typical grind of the week.
This isn’t the University of Arizona’s pace, so he’s had to adjust. He’s also not lining up against UTEP or Northern Arizona talent in between big matchups against division rivals.
There were always going to be growing pains. And really, that’s fine, but he’s being asked to be the No. 1 wideout in an offense with limited passing fluidity as a rookie.
McMillan leads the team with 77 targets through 10 games. That accounts for 26.8% of the overall target share this season.
To his credit, McMillan has produced 618 yards (34.2% of the overall passing production) and 37 first downs (36.6% of the overall passing total). The rookie has been relied on to put up a third of the production for the entire passing offense in his first season.
No other player has more than 38 targets, and Legette, who has received those looks, has a catch rate of 52.6% when targeted.
“I think (Legette) is running fast,” Canales said. “He’s doing everything we ask of him. I think if you just broaden it out a little bit and look at the full group, we need better execution in general and that starts with me. That starts with myself and making sure that we have the right schemes for our guys.”
McMillan has been forced to step up because no one else has until this point. His early heroics have put a microscope on him, as he’s dropped five passes in 10 games, according to Pro Football Reference. Three of his targets have led to interceptions.
McMillan has hauled in 59.7% of his targets. But he’s only produced two touchdowns — both against the Dallas Cowboys — despite his reputation of being a jump-ball dynamo with a large catch radius and dependable hands.
Still, McMillan needs to be the guy, right?
Legette has largely been a non-factor, despite using his speed down the field. Jalen Coker missed six games with a calf injury, and he’s been slowly onboarded into key weapon status. Hunter Renfrow averaged 5.9 yards per catch, had a target completion percentage of 57.7% and has been effectively benched for a month. Jimmy Horn Jr. has been an effective gadget player, but he’s clearly limited to a package of plays. Brycen Tremayne, a surprise standout on special teams, has flashed as a pass-catcher, but he is probably best served as depth.
The four tight ends — Ja’Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans and James Mitchell — have done a quality job in the run offense as blockers. They’ve also been largely reliable targets (79.3% catch rate) for Young, but as a group they’re averaging just 7.9 yards per catch.
The big-play outlook is all on McMillan, who averages 13.4 yards per snag. He doesn’t have the luxury of slowing down, because the offense simply can’t be productive without him.
Start fast, end slow
The dependency on McMillan by Carolina’s offense has led to an interesting variance in his production throughout games.
While Canales and Young are quick to feature the 6-foot-5, 212-pound playmaker, his production noticeably drops off a cliff later in matchups.
In the first half of the first 10 games of the season, McMillan was targeted 46 times for 30 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown. That’s a 65% completion rate with a 13.9 yards-per-catch average.
In the second half of games, McMillan was targeted 31 times for 16 catches for 201 yards and a touchdown. That’s 12.6 yards per catch on a 51.6% catch rate.
“We can’t point the finger and put it on Bryce,” McMillan said about the Panthers’ lack of explosive plays. “It’s a collective effort. ... We’ve got to be able to make Bryce’s job easier. We can’t just be possession catchers, we’ve got to be able to get some yards after the catch, create explosive (plays) for ourselves. It’s not on Bryce at all.”
McMillan’s late-game numbers are likely the result of many things.
The Panthers have been run dependent in their five wins this season, and so they haven’t focused on the passing game as much late. However, it could also be argued that in losses like the ones to Jacksonville, Arizona and New Orleans, defenses keyed in on the clear No. 1 wideout and made Young beat them with the other misfit toys in his arsenal.
Predictably, that outlook hasn’t worked out for the Panthers in those losses.
McMillan isn’t simply disappearing. Perhaps he’s a bit tired late in games. Maybe the coverage is just playing him really well.
Either way, the offense needs to be able to adapt, just like when an opposing team stacks the box against Rico Dowdle or Chuba Hubbard.
“We’ve just got to win out matchups,” McMillan said. “That’s really what it comes down to. ... We’ve just got to better, that’s it.”
To this point, as highlighted glaringly by the loss to New Orleans, the Panthers don’t seem to have successful answers beyond “run Rico” or “throw to McMillan.” And while the Dowdle train is what has driven the offense, the Panthers can’t afford to be similarly stubborn in the passing game, especially as results have shown that McMillan’s work drops off substantially as the game goes on.
Making it easier on Young, McMillan
The Panthers’ offense isn’t particularly complicated. There aren’t a ton of bells and whistles to the passing product.
When Young and company execute properly, they have success. But there’s little room for the big play, as shown through the first 10 weeks. The unit is averaging just 5.36 per passing play (29th in the NFL) and 164 passing yards per game (30th).
The Panthers have produced 21 passing plays of 20 or more yards. McMillan has accounted for 10 of those plays, which is 47.6% of that total. He’s also the only member of the team with a completion of 40 yards or more.
And averaging roughly two explosive passing plays per game isn’t going to cut it against the NFC’s elite.
“Shoot, it just comes down to us making plays, especially the receivers,” McMillan said. “We’ve just got to be better. When an opportunity comes, we’ve gotta to take advantage of them.”
The Panthers’ longest completion on the season was a 40-yard catch-and-run by McMillan. Carolina has rarely attempted shot plays, and when they have, there has been limited success.
“I think it’s a group effort,” Canales said Monday. “Calling more of them, yes. Let’s get some more opportunities. Would love to have those explosive plays come alive. I will call them more when we have more success and those things come alive for us.
“We have to keep working together and keep taking those shots in practice and make sure we feel comfortable with them, and certainly for Brad and I, just looking at the pass game, the coverage contours and what they’re giving us. Pretty simple when they’re playing single high and everyone is at the line of scrimmage.”
Canales, Idzik and Young need to come together and figure out a way to push the ball vertically. Good teams are able to balance the run game with the pass game, but when a pass game lacks a consistent downfield threat, opposing defenses can follow the Saints’ script and stack the box against the backfield. If Dowdle and Hubbard are taken away, Young needs to have answers — beyond McMillan — to make up for lost opportunities on the ground.
“We got to make the most of those opportunities when we have them so that we are a balanced offense,” Canales said. “And so it does play off of the run game, which we got going, but now let’s get the pass game going so we really can be attacking and the offense that I visualize for us.”
McMillan has been a valuable possession weapon for Young. There’s clearly a trust there. He’s essentially filled the Adam Thielen void in the offense — though part of the reason the Panthers traded away that trusty veteran was for Young to develop chemistry with more than one target.
Young was forced to be Thielen-dependent because of a lack of talent around him in 2023 and 2024, but the current group is better despite the lumps the non-McMillan weapons have taken this season.
The Panthers need to find a way to open things up beyond McMillan to set up opportunities for one-on-one matchups for him. Perhaps that means moving Legette to the slot and/or putting Coker outside at the Z position. It could mean expanding the route tree for the tight ends.
There has to be a solution, or Young and/or McMillan will slump into the second half with a predictable regression.
It’s on Canales and Idzik to cook something up to make Young feel more confident and comfortable beyond throwing to McMillan. If they can’t find other big-play options in the passing game, their offense will falter, as teams know how badly they want to run the ball.
At 5-5, the Panthers have a pathway to the playoffs. But they’ll only get to the postseason if they evolve beyond the McMillan show in the passing game.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Panthers’ passing game is all about Tetairoa McMillan: Why that’s a problem."
