Panthers encouraged by rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan’s performance in season opener

CHARLOTTE N C AP If the Carolina Panthers had any questions about first-round draft pick Tetairoa McMillan s abilities they were answered in Week Coach Dave Canales mentioned McMillan is who he thought he was when the Panthers drafted him No overall The rookie wide receiver didn t put up a huge stat line on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars catching six passes for yards but the Panthers liked the way he handled his assignments and played at full speed which isn t dependably the affair with specific rookies coming into the league I thought he played fast Canales noted I thought he looked very calm out there one-on-one outside We moved him around a little bit and he evidenced an ability to be able to handle that He and Bryce Young were on the same page timing-wise so I was really pleased with the way he played McMillan announced he didn t do enough because Carolina managed just one touchdown in a - road loss His numbers might have raised more eyebrows had it not been for a -yard reception down the left sideline that was negated because of offensive holding He also drew a defensive pass interference which resulted in a -yard net gain for the Panthers Neither established up in his stat sheet of unit And then there was the one that could have been McMillan had a chance to pull in a one-handed grab in the end zone from Young on a passing passage Instead it appeared Jaguars defensive back Tyson Campbell prematurely grabbed one of his arms as the pass arrived impeding his ability to extend both hands and made the grab in the end zone No penalty was called and the ball fell incomplete The -foot- -pound McMillan bypassed blaming the bureaucrats saying it was a ball he should have caught despite the contact He was known for his one-handed grabs while playing for Arizona where he caught passes for a school-record yards in three seasons along with TD receptions I got to come down with it McMillan announced I feel like that s a routine catch for me Next time the opportunity comes I m going to make it Disclosed Canales I d love for him to come up with a big touchdown in the end zone but he ran a beautiful passage on it and he really gave us a chance to have particular explosives down the field and to just have a consistent target Still McMillan s performance was on par with what Canales and his staff saw from him in the preseason which afforded them the option of trading veteran Adam Thielen On Sunday McMillan returns to his college stomping grounds when the Panthers visit the Cardinals and will look to build on Week I feel like the whole week leading up to the encounter the coaches did a good job of just explaining the coverages the different coverages they run and it s everything that we expected McMillan noted I m confident in my preparation that I ve had these these last scant months and you know the DB corps on our club has been pushing me to make sure that I m ready for anything I get thrown my way So yeah I feel like that championship was a lot easier than I expected NOTES Panthers starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu returned to practice after missing Week following an appendectomy AP NFL https apnews com hub NFL Source