Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Panthers insider claims 'you can't take your eyes off' Tetairoa McMillan at training camp

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Mike Moraitis | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 4:00 PM ET

One of the top priorities for the Carolina Panthers this offseason was adding more weapons for quarterback Bryce Young to throw to after he finished the 2024 campaign strong.

One of the solutions to that problem was first-round pick and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was drafted with the No. 8 overall pick in April's draft.

The expectations are obviously high for McMillan given his draft position, and so far McMillan is apparently looking the part, at least according to one insider.

According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, someone with the team told him that McMillan has "been ever better than advertised" and "you can't take your eyes off him at practice."

"“He’s been even better than advertised — smooth, explosive, and already gaining trust from the QBs," someone said to Schultz. "You can’t take your eyes off him at practice because he’s making so many big plays.”

Spoke to someone with the #Panthers about rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan and the early returns have been glowing.

“He’s been even better than advertised — smooth, explosive, and already gaining trust from the QBs. You can’t take your eyes off him at practice because he’s making so… pic.twitter.com/gX6H4ud69J
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 31, 2025

McMillan was one of the team's standouts from practice on Wednesday, but after the session head coach Dave Canales stated the obvious: that McMillan has had his ups and downs.

"Just showing a lot of confidence and belief," Canales said. "He's had some pretty bad plays throughout camp and he's had some excellent plays.

"When you have a guy, he's teaching me stuff about him that I don't know, just looking at his character," Canales added. "When guys bounce back quickly, it speaks to their confidence. They know they're good, 'I'll do it again, I'll be good again.' And that's really powerful self-talk."

Ups and downs are all part of the rookie experience, so there's no concern there. All that matters is McMillan continues to develop and eventually becomes the No. 1 wide receiver the Panthers envisioned him being when they drafted him.

McMillan has a good chance to become that in his first year in the NFL, although he's going to have plenty of competition for targets, with guys like Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen and Jalen Coker in the mix, and all three of those players already have experience with Young. Hunter Renfrow is another wide receiver to keep an eye on.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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