Who Should I Start? Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Tetairoa McMillan

Friday, July 3, 10:38 AM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan finished as the WR15 in his first professional season, and with the coaching staff remaining largely intact and the team returning nine of 11 offensive starters from a season ago, the only thing standing in the way of a true WR1 breakout could be an overall lack of passing volume. As a rookie, McMillan more than doubled his next closest teammate with a 26.3% target share, but in an offense that threw the ball only 515 times, his 120 total targets ranked 13th in the league. While the biggest change coming to Carolina's offense for 2026 is offensive coordinator Brad Idzik's promotion to full-time playcaller, head coach Dave Canales will still have his fingerprints on the team's weekly game plans, and only nine teams have thrown fewer passes than the Panthers since he took over in 2024. While an improving receiver room could lead Idzik to play more to the team's strengths, an increase of overall volume could be counter-balanced by the rising involvement of third-year receiver Jalen Coker, who missed the first six weeks of the season, but found himself on a 95-target pace of his own over the final seven games of the regular season and playoffs. At RotoBaller's WR18, McMillan profiles as one of the safest, most reliable WR2 options in 2026, but for drafters seeking top-five upside, other receivers going in his range of the draft come with higher ceilings (and more accompanying risk).