Stat paints discouraging picture of Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan

For a rookie, Tetairoa McMillan has done pretty well. He's struggled with drops at times, though that's not at all uncommon for rookie receivers. He's only played three games. Unfortunately, he's also not been totally elite.

McMillan grades pretty well on the above chart in terms of receiving efficiency, though he's more middle of the pack in that as well. He's done decently well in yards per route run, which is the X axis. The Y axis is what's concerning.

In passer rating when targeted, McMillan lags behind. He's been as efficient in yards per route as players like Brock Bowers, Courtland Sutton, Malik Nabers, AJ Brown, Trey McBride, Emeka Egbuka, and Tyreek Hill. That's pretty good company.

But Bryce Young's passer rating when targeting McMillan is lackluster, putting him in the same area on that axis as Stefon Diggs, David Njoku, Calvin Ridley, and Jalen Nailor. That's not good company.

It hasn't been all bad, but there are definitely areas to improve on. McMillan has to shore up the drops, which should happen with time. Had he caught some of the balls he really should have, he'd be close to leading the league in yards and have a couple of touchdowns already.

Interestingly enough, Young's passer rating is higher when targeting Ja'Tavion Sanders and Hunter Renfrow, so there are definitely some things McMillan can get better at. Xavier Legette, interestingly enough, is not on the chart. Presumably, he'd be so far to the bottom left that it's not worth including, so McMillan is at least doing better than Legette.

It's only three games into McMillan's NFL career, so it's not time to panic. It is good to know where he's at and what the underlying metrics would say. The film looks pretty good, but obviously, there's still plenty of room to grow as he continues developing this season.