In case you missed it, Jared Goff just threw for over 400 yards on Sunday Night Football. The Detroit Lions lost, though, because they had absolutely no answers for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year may have ascended to superstar status in front of a national audience. The Panthers moved him all over the formation, from the boundary to the slot. He was targeted by Bryce Young 16 times, catching 14 of those passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
So much changes in the NFL from week to week, and McMillan's last two matchups are a shining example. The Lions’ struggling secondary wasn’t able to compete with Carolina, and the result was 32-26. The week prior, when the Panthers played the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field, it was a completely different story.
McMillan was just about completely erased by the Browns and top cornerback Denzel Ward, and Cleveland’s ability to compete with the NFL’s top passing offense helped put it in position to grind out a 21-18 win in Week 3.
Tet McMillan’s performance tonite should make everyone appreciate what a great CB Denzel Ward is.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) October 5, 2026
A lot of players scored lucrative contract extensions this offseason, but the Browns’ decision to double down on Ward is already proving to be one of the best signings across the league.
Denzel Ward’s latest contract extension is looking better by the week for the Browns
Cleveland’s current three-game winning streak and positive vibes make it easy to forget about all the trade speculation surrounding Ward this past spring.
Ward joked that he opted to skip Monken’s voluntary offseason program to take his girlfriend on some dates. He was present for the team’s mandatory spring practices but didn’t participate much with no guaranteed money remaining on his former contract.
The Browns netted three high-value draft picks, including a 2027 first-rounder and young edge rusher Jared Verse, in the Myles Garrett trade on June 1. They could have added to that haul by shopping Ward, who’s still only in his age-29 season and was set to earn $20 million in cash this year.
The front office’s decision to address Ward’s contract with a two-year extension worth up to $62.2 million in July could not be aging better.
Ward’s new deal ranks him among the NFL’s highest earners again in terms of average annual value, but the structure of his contract nets out as a major win for the team. He only really received a $3.1 million salary bump for 2026, and his almost fully guaranteed $20.3 million salary for 2027 is also a major bargain based on the current cornerback market.
The two sides will likely be back at the table negotiating Ward’s future, as his 2028 cap hit is scheduled to be $41 million, but that’s still two years down the line. For now, the Browns have one of the NFL’s stickiest cover corners leading their defense at a salary number that will give them maximum flexibility in free agency next March.
It wasn’t only McMillan in Week 4. CeeDee Lamb caught 17 of 21 targets for 189 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. We’re reaching that point in the season where the top quarterback-wide receiver tandems can exploit a favorable matchup in a way that dictates the outcome of games.
The Browns are one of the few teams with a true eraser in their secondary, and that’s why their current first-place status in the AFC North deserves to be taken seriously.
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