NFL 2025 Draft: Panthers add WR Tetairoa McMillan, RB Trevor Etienne to roster
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Carolina Panthers had the worst defense in the league by far last season.
But that didn't stop general manager Dan Morgan from putting some playmakers around quarterback Bryce Young, as the Panthers selected Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick in the NFL draft and added Georgia running back Trevor Etienne and Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans on Saturday.
Morgan, who once started at middle linebacker in the Super Bowl for the Panthers, was jokingly asked if he was turning into an offensive guy after taking a wide receiver in the first round for the second straight year.
"I'm turning into a guy that just wants to bring good football players in here, and it's just another opportunity to bring a great player in here," Morgan said.
The Panthers spent nearly $250 million on the defense in free agency, giving Morgan some flexibility to take the best available player in the draft.
He and second-year head coach Dave Canales agreed that was McMillan, who caught 84 passes for 1,319 yards in 2024 and scored 26 touchdowns over the past three seasons.
"It's effortless the way he catches the ball, and he catches everything outside his frame," Morgan said. "He's just a great receiver that is super fluid. His body control is some of the best I've seen in a while. He's exciting."
Morgan did get around to the defense on day two, trading up to get a pair of Southeastern Conference edge rushers in Nic Scourton from Texas A&M and Princely Umanmielen from Ole Miss. The Panthers also selected safety Lathan Ransom from Ohio State in the fourth round and defensive tackle Cam Jackson from Florida in the fifth.
"Running through hundreds of simulations, just kinda using mock simulators, if you were to tell me that we were gonna get (McMillan) and then Nic Scourton and then Princely, I mean, I didn't get that not once in any of my mocks in the first three picks," Canales said. "I'm ecstatic."
Another first-round WR
McMillan is expected to compete for a starting job right away with last year's first-round draft pick Xavier Legette, who had 49 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.
However, it's quite possible that both could wind up starting down the road. Veteran Adam Thielen turns 35 in August and is entering the final year of his contract.
"I love for the pressure to be on us to utilize these guys with their talents, the unique abilities they have to fit them into the core of our schemes to continue to find out who we are and to find that identity in the pass game," Canales said of the team's receiving room.
Clowney's cloudy future
The decision to select two edge rushers early in the draft casts serious doubt over Jadeveon Clowney's future with the Panthers. Carolina now has six edge rushers on the roster, including D.J. Wonnum, recent free agent pickup Patrick Jones II and 2023 third-round pick D.J. Johnson.
Clowney, 32, and had just 5 1/2 sacks last season and is set to count $13.8 million against the salary cap.
"We're still working through the roster," Morgan said of Clowney's future. "We're still talking through things. Obviously, we're focused on the draft right now and what's in front of us."
Crowded backfield
The Panthers drafted Jonathan Brooks in the second round of the 2024 draft with the hope that he'd develop into the team's main running back. But the former Texas standout tore his ACL for a second time in two years, leading to concerns about his long-term durability.
Carolina signed free agent Rico Dowdle to back up Chuba Hubbard before drafting Etienne, the younger brother of Travis Etienne, with one of its two fourth-round picks. Suddenly, the team's backfield looks pretty crowded assuming Brooks can recover and play this upcoming season.
Ekwonu's 5th-year option
Morgan said the Panthers will make a decision on whether to pick up the fifth-year option on left tackle Ickey Ekwonu's contract in the coming days. The team would like to sign Ekwonu to a long-term deal, but so far the sides have not been able to strike a deal.
Tracking local players
Each year, our local colleges boast a number of players looking for their pro football dreams to be realized, and this year is no different.
Duke, NC State, and UNC all have student-athletes who were hopeful to hear their names called this weekend in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Also, Alabama A&M OT Carson Vinson was selected by the Ravens in round five. He is a Morrisville native and played at Panther Creek High School.
NC State
Anthony Belton, OL
Belton became the first Wolfpack player drafted in 2025 when the Green Bay Packers selected him with the No. 22 pick in the second round (54th overall pick).
Belton was a three-year starter at left tackle for the Wolfpack.
UNC
Hampton, a Johnston County native, was taken No. 22 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Hampton led the ACC in carries and rushing yards in back-to-back seasons and collected 15 touchdowns on foot in 2023 and 2024.
The Chargers need to upgrade their offensive weaponry around quarterback Justin Herbert in their second season under coach Jim Harbaugh. The run game averaged 4.06 yards per carry last season, which ranked 24th in the NFL despite a heavy investment in the offensive line.
The powerful Hampton, who checks in at 5-foot-11 and 221 pounds, joins a revamped Chargers running back room that includes a four-time 1,000-yard rusher in Najee Harris. Harris, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, signed a one-year contract in March.
Hampton wasn't regarded by draft analysts as a particularly creative tailback capable of creating more than what is available, but that is likely to be less of an issue in Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman's downhill offense.
He was the second running back taken in the first round, following Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.
ECU
From junior college to the draft: Shavon Revel Jr. from Winston-Salem landed a spot on ECU's roster while attending a junior college and has been working toward this day ever since.
Revel dropped all the way to the third round, largely because of injury concerns. He tore his ACL in September and only played three games in 2024.
Still, many graded him as a first-round talent, and the Dallas Cowboys scooped him up with the 12th pick of the third round (76th overall).
AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed to this report.
