Arizona Wildcats great Tetairoa McMillan wins NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Arizona Football Ring of Honor member and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan won the Offensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday at NFL Honors.

McMillan won the award over four other finalists: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, New Orleans Saints quarterback and Arizona native Tyler Shough, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson and New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.

The Wildcats alum led all rookies this past season with 70 receptions for 1,014 yards, one of 20 players to crack 1,000 receiving yards.

He also caught seven touchdown passes and played in all 17 regular-season games for the NFC South-winning Panthers and made his playoff debut. The last Panther to earn this honor was quarterback Cam Newton in 2011.

Tetairoa McMillan breaks Kelvin Benjamin’s franchise rookie record of 1,008 receiving yards set in 2014 🔥

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McMillan was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the highest an offensive player has been picked out of Arizona in program history.

He made First-Team All-Big 12 and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver in 2024. He gained 1,319 receiving yards in his final year in Tucson, becoming Arizona’s all-time leading receiver with 3,423 yards.

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