Jaguars may regret passing on Tetairoa McMillan as his rookie season explodes

Heading into the draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars were linked to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. The pairing made sense when you take into account that the receiver was a need at the time. Couple that with the fact that Tet drew comparisons to Mike Evans, who had previously played for head coach Liam Coen, and nobody would've batted an eye if the Jags had drafted him. Instead, they moved up three spots in the first round to select two-way star Travis Hunter.

Given that Hunter was the highest-rated prospect at both receiver and corner, the decision to pass on McMillan didn't seem far-fetched. That said, Jacksonville may come to regret passing on him based on the success he's had in his rookie campaign.

Tetairoa McMillan is flourishing with the Carolina Panthers

Although the Jags passed on Tetairoa McMillan, it didn't take him long to hear his name be called, with the Carolina Panthers using the eighth overall pick on him. Right off the bat, the former Arizona Wildcat has made an impact. Heading into Week 14, he leads all rookie receivers with 826 yards and should have no trouble crossing the 1,000-yard mark with room to spare.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Moreover, the Jags weren't the only team that was in need of upgrades at receiver that passed on McMillan. On top of that, he had a few questions during the draft process.

The two biggest ones are that he had superb height for the position, but didn't have the bulk to go with it. Couple that with the fact that he didn't always fight contested catches, and he wasn't a surefire prospect. Then again, he's wasted no time quelling concerns and has quickly built a strong rapport with Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

The Jaguars would surely draft Travis Hunter again, but Tetairoa McMillan is thriving

At this point, you could argue that the Jacksonville Jaguars dropped the ball when they picked Travis Hunter over Tetairoa McMillan, and at least a few analysts would agree with you. After all, the latter is having a banner season while the former is currently on Injured Reserve after undergoing a knee surgery that cut his rookie campaign short.

And that's the thing, availability matters. Granted, the Jags didn't expect Hunter to get hurt, but you need to be on the football field to make an impact, and the reigning Heisman Trophy winner will return until 2026.

This is a long-winded way to say that McMillan is currently the better receiver of the two right now. In fact, even before Hunter suffered the knee injury, he had only logged 28 receptions for 298 yards with one touchdown. Of course, he also played corner — and fared well while doing so — you he added plenty of value on defense, but the point is that he was still figuring things out on offense.

But just because Tetairoa McMillan has better numbers doesn't mean that Travis Hunter won't turn out to be the better of the two. Keep in mind that readiness is always variable coming out of the collegiate ranks, and if he picks up where he left off as a rookie, he could end up becoming the sports-altering talent the Jaguars envisioned when they drafted him second overall. And if that's how things turn out, he'll most definitely be the better draft pick.