Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan pounds the table for Carolina to target his former college teammate in 2026 NFL Draft
The Carolina Panthers had a homerun in the 2025 NFL Draft after selecting wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and now the team’s former first-round pick is making a strong sales pitch for his former Arizona teammate.
The 2026 NFL Draft is just two days away from kicking off and the Carolina Panthers are sitting in a good spot starting with the 19th overall pick in the first-round.
While the Panthers are seemingly taking a BPA approach based on what general manager Dan Morgan said last week, experts are zeroing in on Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman being the team’s preferred first-round target.
If Thieneman comes off the board before the Panthers are on the clock, the team would have to pivot to another plan. One of the team’s top offensive weapons is already pounding the table for another safety prospect that happens to be his former teammate.
Tetairoa McMillan advocates for Treydan Stukes ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft
The Panthers hit gold last year in the first-round by selecting wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona, who went on to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Now, McMillan is advocating for another Arizona Wildcat coming out in the 2026 NFL Draft.
That player is safety Treydan Stukes, who’s developing quite a lot of first-round buzz leading up to the draft. It would be a shock to see Carolina take Stukes with the 19th overall pick, but crazier things have happened in the draft and McMillan had high praise the Panthers should consider listening to.
“Definitely somebody that will add energy to the locker room,” McMillan said of Stukes. “Very coachable. Very versatile, plays inside and out. I’ve seen him do everything in my years at Arizona. Me and him have a pretty good bond. We were able to go up against each other for three years. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for him.”
Would the Panthers actually consider Treydan Stukes with the 19th overall pick?
At this point, the Panthers are not going to have a shot of drafting Stukes with the 51st overall pick in the second-round. He’s in that weird late-first/early-second range that Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez falls into as well.
Both players would be awesome fits in Carolina, but to draft them, the Panthers would likely have to reach with the 19th overall pick. Stukes, compared to Rodriguez, has a stronger argument to warrant a Top-20 selection.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared on Monday that one NFL general manager had Stukes ranked above Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and said Stukes is one of the best safeties he’s ever seen. Even though that’s just one GM talking, I feel like other NFL executives also will have high grades on Stukes.
Based on my rankings, I still view Thieneman and Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. as the top two options for Carolina. The Panthers could pull the trigger early on Stukes if Thieneman is already off the board—and it wouldn’t be a bad move.
