As the 2025 season nears, the Carolina Panthers find themselves in a unique situation. The team won five games last year, which bumped them out of fourth place in the NFC South. They haven’t had a winning season since 2017, which is the last time they made the playoffs.
Tetairoa McMillan is the newest weapon for Bryce Young as the Panthers look to build off of their five win season. Young’s benching was a wakeup call, but it brought the best out of the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick. Now, McMillan is looking to be a focal point of the Panthers offense, headlined by Chuba Hubbard and Adam Thielen.
Receivers Report to Minnesota in McMillan’s Latest Vlog
While the vlog starts with the team working out, it later turns into a team bonding experience on a boat. McMillan and crew are jumping into the water, enjoying every second of their summer before training camp begins. Minnesota might not be a summer vacation hotspot, but it proved to be more than enough for the Panthers receiving core.
Young made the trip to Minnesota along with the team’s current QB4, Ethan Garbers. It marked the beginning of a new offense in Carolina as the team selected McMillan at No. 8 along with Trevor Etienne, Mitchell Evans and Jimmy Horn Jr.
It’s no surprise that Thielen resides in Minnesota during the offseason as he spent his first nine seasons with the Vikings. Thielen immediately made an impact on the Panthers roster, recording 1,014 receiving yards in 2023, his first 1,000+ yard season since 2018.
His time with Young was cut short last season as Thielen tied his career low, playing in just 10 games. He still hauled in five touchdowns, which is one more than he had in his 1,014 yard season.
Ultimately, nine players made the trip up north. Xavier Legette, David Moore, Kobe Hudson, and Ja’Tavion Sanders rounded out the list.
Young’s Chemistry With the New Receiving Core
With training camp beginning on Wednesday, July 23, Young knows the importance of getting along with everyone. He came to life last year as for the first time in his NFL career, he truly found himself as a quarterback. Young remains just 23-years-old as the Alabama graduate has a tall task ahead of him.
Regardless, McMillan felt an immediate connection, “Building a relationship with Bryce has been easy just because he’s a Cali kid himself, I feel like we have a lot of similarities. I think me and him have the same aspirations. He’s going into, I believe his third year, and the sky’s the limit for him.
“I don’t know what a good team looks like, and I don’t know what a bad team looks like, but I know football, and I know that the players on this team, we got some people that can go,” McMillan added. “We got a good mentality. I feel like we’re all striving for the same things.”
The Carolina Panthers open their season on Sunday, September 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Three of their first four games are on the road, with their home opener being on Sunday, September 21 in a divisional showdown against the Atlanta Falcons.
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