Jerry Rice was a three-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, 10-time All-Pro, two-time offensive player of the year, 13-time Pro Bowler, six-time leading league receiver, and a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Forty years later, standing on the Pro Bowl practice field in downtown San Francisco, Rice could still pinpoint the moment when the game slowed down.
“To be honest with you, the second year, I felt more comfortable,” Rice recalled. “I went into that game, I didn’t have to think. I knew exactly what was expected of me and how I was going to respond.”
That perspective is why Rice’s words carry weight when he’s asked about Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
Jerry Rice believes Tetairoa McMillan can get even better in second Carolina Panthers season
Rice didn’t compare McMillan to himself. He didn’t predict a Hall of Fame future. He didn’t guarantee superstardom. Instead, he spoke about something far more important — and far more fragile — for young receivers entering Year 2.
Foundation.
“The first year, you’re learning,” Rice said. “You’re trying to get a feel for how you’re going to contribute to the team. But the second year, you feel like you have that balance, that foundation. Now you can just go play football.”
McMillan finished the 2025 season with 70 receptions for 1,044 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He started all 17 games and led all rookie wide receivers in yards and targets.
The No. 8 pick then went on to win Pro Football Focus' 2025 Rookie of the Year award after leading all first-year players in wins above average (0.56). McMillan ranked first in receiving yards and targets, third in receptions, and finished with 30 explosive plays of 15 yards or more.
McMillan averaged 1.84 yards per route run, trailing only tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden among rookies, despite playing significantly more snaps than both. His 79.4 PFF receiving grade also placed him firmly among the league’s most reliable young pass catchers.
Despite defenses adjusting to Rice in Year 2, none of it slowed him down. By then, everything was second nature.
That’s the transition McMillan now faces. The Panthers aren’t asking him to prove he belongs anymore. They’re asking him to carry it forward. To prove that he is the future of the franchise.
Rice’s advice wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. It didn’t need to be.
Sometimes, the most meaningful message from a legend is simply this: if you’ve done the work, stop thinking and go play.