Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan celebrates as he walks on stage after being selected eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN names surprise position group as Carolina Panthers' greatest strength

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Scott Salomon | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Carolina Panthers have added additional fire power to their offense through the last two NFL Drafts. This could be the year it finally pays off for quarterback Bryce Young.

ESPN projects the Carolina offense, more particularly, the wide receivers, to have a breakout season and give Young more weapons in his arsenal so he can improve even further than he did over the last ten games last season.

"Wide receiver. There's some projection here, but receiver should be this team's strength," ESPN said in an article ranking the NFL rosters. "Carolina boosted the position on draft day by selecting Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick. He'll join 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette and gem 2024 UDFA find Jalen Coker on the perimeter, with reliable Adam Thielen (eighth in the NFL with 665 receptions since 2017) back for more at age 35."

ESPN is fairly high on Coker. They have him listed as the non-starter that you need to know about.

"The UDFA didn't make the Panthers' roster until late September, but he finished the season ranked 19th among qualifying wide receivers in the ESPN Receiver Tracking Metrics and had an 83-yard touchdown against the Cowboys in December," the authors said. "He's no longer a starter, but he'll still play a role in the Panthers' offense and could blossom if someone ahead of him gets hurt."

ESPN ranks the Panthers squad as No. 30 out of the 32 teams. It does not bode well for them as a team, but it does give promise that if the passing game does well, it could open up the run and give the Panthers a balanced offense.

The Panthers finished at 4-6 over the last ten games last season without McMillan. Young showed tremendous signs of life and improvement. It will be interesting to see how he does with the big receiver from Arizona added to the mix.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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