Panthers' Morgan: McMillan was top player on board, we won't neglect defense
Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan is happy to have drafted wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan despite the team's needs on the defensive side of the ball.
"(Wide receiver was) still a need, and you know we have eight more picks," Morgan said, per team reporter Darin Gantt. "We wanted to add the best player, we wanted to follow the board, follow our board of who we thought was going to help us the most up there."
Carolina snagged McMillan with the eighth overall pick. The 2024 All-American posted 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns on 84 receptions with the Wildcats last season.
The 22-year-old is likely to be the team's top receiving option right from Day 1, with 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette and veteran Adam Thielen playing alongside him in three-receiver formations.
Adding McMillan should help quarterback Bryce Young. The 2023 first overall pick was benched for several games in favor of Andy Dalton during the 2024 campaign and is likely playing for his job with the team this season.
The Panthers went 5-12 in head coach Dave Canales' first season leading the team. Carolina's offense averaged 298 yards and 20.1 points per game, ranking 29th and 23rd in the NFL, respectively.
"We're trying to do the best thing for the Panthers, and that's what our commitment is," Canales said. "If we can stay true to our evaluation process and follow the board, be disciplined about that over time, we'll select the players that we have conviction on and (that we're) all on board with to make those choices."
The Panthers' defense ranked 32nd in both yardage and scoring after surrendering 404.5 yards and 31.4 points per game. Morgan and Co. began addressing that side of the ball in free agency and plan to continue bolstering it over the six remaining rounds of the draft.
"Again, we have eight picks left, and our board has a lot of defensive guys on there as well," the 46-year-old GM added. "So, it's definitely not something that we're going to neglect."
The Panthers' next selection is the 57th overall pick in the second round.