Panthers building a bigger slot package around Tet McMillan

Tetairoa McMillan didn't just have a good rookie year in Carolina, he had a historic one. The No. 8 overall pick caught 70 of 122 targets for 1,014 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2025, good enough to walk away with Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Now the Panthers are reportedly tweaking how they use him, and it could make him even more of a problem for opposing defenses.

According to NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, McMillan played just 15% of his snaps out of the slot as a rookie. The plan for 2026 is to roughly double that number, if not more, shifting him from a primarily outside receiver into what Wolfe described as a 'big slot' role. That's not a small tweak. Moving a guy with McMillan's size and catch radius into the middle of the field opens up a totally different route tree and puts him in position to eat against linebackers and slower safeties instead of press corners.

Part of what's making this possible is what McMillan did with his offseason. He reportedly added 8 to 9 pounds of muscle, giving him more mass to survive the physicality that comes with lining up inside and working through traffic over the middle. Pair that added strength with his 6-foot-4 frame and there's a real case the Panthers are building a matchup nightmare rather than just diversifying his alignment.

The move also makes sense roster-wise. Carolina reportedly likes what it has in young receiver Chris Brazzell to handle more outside reps, which frees up the coaching staff to funnel McMillan inside where he can work against softer coverage looks. It's the kind of subtle scheme decision that doesn't always make headlines in July, but it can completely change a receiver's target share, catch rate, and fantasy ceiling once the season kicks off.

For fantasy managers and Panthers fans alike, this is the kind of camp report worth tracking closely. A jump from 15% to 30%-plus slot usage for a receiver already trending toward WR1 numbers is the sort of change that shows up in target totals by October. If Bryce Young and the Carolina passing game take a step forward, McMillan being schemed into more favorable matchups only raises his floor.