Tetairoa McMillan makes feelings known on facing off Travis Hunter in rookie battle during season opener

NFL: Carolina Panthers Training Camp - Source: Imagn
NFL: Carolina Panthers Training Camp - Source: Imagn

The Carolina Panthers’ first pick in this year’s draft is hoping fatigue on the opposite side can be to his benefit in Week One.

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Tetairoa McMillan is expected to match up against Travis Hunter when the Carolina Panthers open the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Speaking to NFL Network on Wednesday, the Consensus All-American out of Arizona talked about how he can get the better of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner on Sept. 7.

“I don’t know,” McMillan said (0:13). "He’s probably going to play both sides, so hopefully he’s going to be a little bit more fatigued."
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Hunter played on offense and defense in college, winning the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in 2024, while also capturing the Fred Bilentnikoff Award as best receiver. At the moment, Hunter is listed as a starting wide receiver and a second-team cornerback on the Jaguars roster. Hunter beat out McMillan for the Bilentnikoff Award.

McMillian had back-to-back 1,000+ yard seasons in college and averaged a career-high 109.9 yards per game with the Wildcats in 2024. In three seasons at Arizona, he racked up 3,423 receiving yards, the most in the history of that program.

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Last season, McMillan put up 1,319 yards receiving while Hunter had 1,152. He was named the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year for his efforts. The 22-year-old was born in Waimanalo, Hawaii.

McMillan is a game changer

No one will be more thrilled to have a receiver like Tetairoa McMillan than the Carolina Panthers’ former No. 1 pick, Bryce Young. The 24-year-old quarterback hasn’t had the luxury of a receiver who has the kind of game-breaking speed, strong hands and talent of McMillan.

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In USA Today’s publication of Panthers Wire on Saturday, journalist Jared Feinburg wrote:

"The Carolina Panthers have yet to field quarterback Bryce Young with a true, game-changing No.1 receiver. In fact, they traded the only one they had in order to get young. That is about to change.”

The Chicago Bears had the No. 1 pick in 2023 but were swayed to give that to Carolina when receiver D.J. Moore was among those offered in a trade.

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“McMillan is a type of player who doesn’t come into the league often. He brings a unique blend of quickness, fluidity and burst at his size as well high-end ball skills, an insanely wide catch radius, great tracking ability and strong concentration,” said Feinburg.

His ability to expose zone coverage and contested catches should also be strong attributes and enable the Panthers to be a formidable offense by all accounts.

Panthers Nation! Check out the latest Carolina Panthers Schedule and dive into the Panthers Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

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Edited by Joel Lefevre
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