Tetairoa McMillan Fantasy Boost Playing From Slot
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is entering his second NFL season after winning the 2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, an award he took home with 41 of 50 possible first-place votes. As a rookie, McMillan hauled in 70 of 122 targets for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns, production that made him the first Panthers player to reach 1,000 receiving yards in his debut season and helped carry Carolina to its first playoff appearance since 2017.
That workload came almost entirely from outside the numbers. Carolina deployed McMillan primarily as a boundary receiver in 2025, and while his 6-foot-5 frame and contested-catch ability made him an effective field-stretcher, his 14.5 yards per reception also meant tougher weekly matchups against opposing teams’ top cornerbacks and a more limited route tree.
That could change in 2026. According to Joe Person of The Athletic, head coach Dave Canales said the team’s plan is to use McMillan more in the slot this season, a shift made possible in part by the added size and speed rookie Chris Brazzell II brings to the receiver room. Moving McMillan inside more often would let Carolina scheme him away from a defense’s best cover corner and open up a wider variety of route concepts, both changes that could smooth out some of the inconsistency that defined stretches of his rookie year.
The timing lines up with other changes to Carolina’s offense as well. Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is set to take over full-time play-calling duties from Canales in 2026, and continuity at quarterback with Bryce Young gives McMillan a real chance to build on the chemistry that made him Young’s most trusted target as a rookie. McMillan already commanded a 26.3 percent target share a year ago, nearly a third of Carolina’s total passing offense, so even a modest increase in efficiency from better matchups could translate into a meaningful statistical jump.
There are still real questions here. McMillan battled a rash of drops in 2025, tied for the sixth-most in the league, and Carolina’s run-heavy offensive approach under Canales has kept the team’s overall pass volume relatively low. Added competition from a healthier Jalen Coker and Brazzell himself could also chip into his target share at the margins, even if neither profiles as a threat to his WR1 standing.
Right now, McMillan’s expanded slot role is more of a signal than a certainty, something to monitor through training camp and the preseason rather than a locked-in change. But if it plays out the way Canales has described, it could be the difference between McMillan repeating as a low-end WR2 and taking the leap into being a legitimate top-10 fantasy receiver in 2026.
