The Carolina Panthers were holding their breath as rookie sensation Tetairoa McMillan dealt with a hamstring strain that sidelined him for the team’s final preseason matchup. What’s the latest on McMillan’s injury, and what is his fantasy football outlook entering the 2025 NFL season?
From a fantasy football perspective, McMillan represents one of the most intriguing rookie investments available in 2025 drafts. His elite draft capital and physical comparisons to established stars like Mike Evans and Drake London have fantasy managers salivating over his potential ceiling as a future WR1.
What Is Tetairoa McMillan’s Injury?
The Panthers’ rookie wide receiver is dealing with a minor hamstring strain. While he was held out for the team’s final preseason game, he returned to practice this week and should be ready for Week 1.
The former college standout, who posted back-to-back 1,300-yard campaigns, is expected to be fully healthy for the Panthers’ regular-season opener. And after trading Adam Thielen and placing Jalen Coker on short-term IR (forcing him to miss the first four games of the season), McMillan should get as many targets as he can handle early in the year.
Also, the Panthers’ likely defensive struggles could create a pass-heavy game script that benefits McMillan’s target share significantly. However, questions surrounding quarterback Bryce Young’s consistency and McMillan’s already-elevated draft position around the top-24 wide receivers create legitimate concerns about whether the rookie can deliver immediate value that justifies his current fantasy cost.
McMillan’s Fantasy Football Outlook
There is still just enough pessimism around the Panthers that McMillan is a great value despite his top-10 draft status. Last year, Malik Nabers was the WR23 in drafts, going in the late fourth round. Meanwhile, “Tet” is WR25, but going a round later. While Nabers remains the superior prospect, McMillan has plenty of merit and is entering a much better situation.
The Panthers desperately needed a go-to option in this offense, so much so that they passed on several excellent defensive prospects in the draft for McMillan. Considering the state of their defense, that says quite a bit about how they feel about him and how they plan to operate.
That should make this decision easy, but this likely comes down to whether you believe in what we saw from Young at the end of last season. If so, this can be an excellent pairing and great value for his price. If not, pass on him.
📈 Tetairoa McMillan
Current Yahoo ADP: 76.1
The one concern with McMillan as a prospect was separation. He proved that concern wrong in the preseason when he cooked Derek Stingley.
He’s the clear alpha and Young was ascending at end of last year 🚀pic.twitter.com/i7KD2mVje5
— All Goats FF 🏈 (@AllGoatsFF) August 23, 2025
I’m not reaching out to him because there are enough questions around this team to be wary. But, I’m ending up with plenty of shares because I believe in the talent, Dave Canales, and the likely necessity to pass if the Panthers want to win games.
