Panthers rookie minicamp: McMillan looks smooth in practice-field debut

Tetairoa McMillan, with helmet in hand, walked to the practice field outside of Bank of America Stadium on Friday like many Carolina Panthers first-round picks had before him.

As he strolled the sidewalk, slightly behind head coach Dave Canales, he took in the trek that will become part of his daily routine during the work week as a rookie.

Unlike veterans, who can take golf-cart rides to the field, rookies — even first-round picks — have to walk to workouts throughout the regular season. While other rookies took carts to the field to begin the minicamp, with veterans out of the picture, the 6-foot-4, 219-pound wide receiver chose to walk to his destination.

McMillan, who the Panthers selected eighth overall in April’s draft, has a sense of calmness to him. He’s west coast cool in a way that it seems like nothing is too daunting for him, especially a rookie workout that basically served as a glorified individual-drill expo.

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, left, keeps his eyes on the ball as he catches a pass during the team’s rookie minicamp practice on Friday, May 9, 2025. At right, head coach Dave Canales watches. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

But McMillan’s understated persona, which could be perceived by some as lacking urgency, is part of what appealed to the Panthers. Well, that and his unparalleled ability to pluck the ball out of the air and turn 50-50 jump balls into dominating highlight-reel grabs that pick up huge chunks of yardage.

Despite the lack of team drills, Panthers head coach Dave Canales was happy to see McMillan make some plays to begin his rookie tenure at minicamp.

“Easy to throw to, just like we thought,” Canales said with a smile. “Taking him through the individual drills. I got a chance to bop around the offense and defense, and I’ll go back and watch a little bit more. But from the little I saw with the individual drills, you can see the route craft, and a guy who works on his craft.

“He comes in and ready to go. So I’m really excited about him.”

Top pick gets introduced to Carolina humidity

Canales noted that McMillan’s route running looked smooth in the first rookie workout. The long, lanky wideout wasn’t the fastest playmaker on the field, but his subtle quickness stood out as he got in and out of his breaks.

“I was fortunate to play in a pro-style offense, have pro-style coaching at Arizona,” McMillan said. “So the tempo, the speed of the game as far as practice goes, it’s pretty much the same. Only difference is it’s humid out here. It’s not Arizona, where there’s a dry heat. It’s humid. I gotta get used to that for sure.”

Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, left, receives technique help from wide receivers coach Rob Moore, left, during the team’s rookie minicamp practice on Friday, May 9, 2025. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

McMillan was able to work with wide receivers coach Rob Moore throughout Friday’s session. Moore, a former Pro Bowl wideout, was able to take McMillan, sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn and a trio of undrafted wideouts through drills during an hour-long workout that featured mostly individual drills.

“I mean, shoot, it’s incredible,” McMillan said about working with Moore. “I was fortunate to get drafted in the first round. I was a high-level talent in college. But even the best in the world need to get coaching. And this is what’s going to turn me.

“I think Coach Moore is going to turn me from good to great. So being able to be around him as much as possible. To be able to hear from him, and listen, and gain as much wisdom and knowledge he has of the game for me. It’s going to only elevate me.”

New guys get new numbers: Nic Scourton to wear No. 11

The Panthers’ draft class donned their first Carolina practice jerseys during the workout. And with those uniforms came some interesting number assignments.

McMillan had previously been announced as No. 4, which was his high school and college number. Second-round pick, outside lienbacker Nic Scourton, wore No. 11 as he did at Texas A&M last year. Third-round pick, pass rusher Princely Umanmielen, wore No. 33 despite wearing No. 1 at Ole Miss. Obviously, fans of Cam Newton would have an issue with No. 1 being distributed to another player and the single-digit jersey hasn’t been issued to anyone since the former NFL MVP left town in 2022.

Carolina Panthers rookie safety Lathan Ransom, left and safety Isaac Gifford, right, walk to the team’s rookie minicamp practice on Friday, May 9, 2025. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Fourth-round picks, running back Trevor Etienne and safety Lathan Ransom, wore No. 23 and No. 22, respectively. Etienne, like Ummanmielen, wore No. 1 at Georgia, while Ransom was No. 8 at Ohio State. Fifth-round picks, defensive tackle Cam Jackson and tight end Mitchell Evans, sported No. 76 and No. 84, respectively. Jackson wore No. 99 at Florida, while Evans wore No. 88 at Notre Dame.

Horn, the team’s sixth-round pick, was assigned No. 15. He wore No. 5 at Colorado.

Undrafted wideout Muhsin “Moose” Muhammad III, the son of Panthers great Muhsin Muhammad, wore No. 81. His father famously wore No. 87 during his Panthers career. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, an undrafted specialist out of Florida State, was issued No. 35.

The Panthers’ uniform numbers, especially for rookies, are notably subject to change throughout the summer and so on. For instance, there were quite a few undrafted players who received numbers that have already been issued to veterans on the roster. There numbers for those players won’t be considered static until closer to organized team activities later this month.

Veteran trio trying out for the Panthers

Along with the rookies in attendance, the Panthers are hosting three NFL veterans on a tryout basis during the minicamp.

Safeties A.J. Moore and Brady Breeze and cornerback Keion Crossen were among the 14 tryout players invited to work out for the team this weekend.

“It’s huge — guys that have exposure to pro football — we have a couple of guys who have played considerable games and covered kicks and done those things,” Canales said about the tryouts.

Moore and Crossen previously played heavy special teams snaps under Tracy Smith when all three were in Houston with the Texans. Smith, the Panthers’ special teams coordinator, served in the same role with the Texans in 2020 when both Moore and Crossen were on the roster.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales, right, talks with cornerback Keion Corseen, left, as they walk to the team’s rookie minicamp practice on Friday, May 9, 2025. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Moore, who was a special teams captain in 2020 under Smith, has the most experience with the coordinator. The 5-11, 202-pound defensive back played 1,123 special teams snaps for the Texans during his four years in Houston. Moore spent 2022 with the Tennessee Titans, but he was waived during last year’s training camp and didn’t appear in a single game in 2024. Moore has collected 69 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles in his career.

Crossen, who is from Garysburg and played college football at Western Carolina, spent part of last season on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. The 29-year-old cornerback, like Moore, is known for his special teams prowess. In 75 career games (six starts) for the Texans, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, Crossen has played 1,151 special teams snaps. He has also produced 118 tackles and nine pass breakups in his career.

Breeze, who played college football at Oregon, has collected nine total tackles in 11 career games for the Titans and Detroit Lions. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since 2022. The 27-year-old defensive back, like Crossen and Moore, is hoping to take advantage of the Panthers’ light numbers in the secondary.

Joining the veteran trio for the two-day tryout are 11 rookies who went undrafted in April.

The rookie tryout group, headlined by left tackle Ikem Ekwonu’s twin brother, former Charlotte 49ers linebacker Ositadinma Ekwonu, also features ex-UCF running back Peny Boone, ex-Wisconsin linebacker Jaheim Thomas, ex-Purdue outside linebacker Kydran Jenkins and ex-Indiana wideout Miles Cross.

Quick hits

▪ The team released former Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney on Thursday prior to rookie minicamp. Canales spoke about the move following the workout:

“I really appreciate JD. When you watch the 2024 film, it’s a guy who just gave it everything he had on the field. So we really appreciate that. There were a lot of things from a general cap standpoint, and things going forward. And about opportunity. We’re developmentally minded. We understand we brought two outside linebackers, two edge rushers in, and all those reps are valuable. And we felt like this was a time where those guys are getting the volume of the reps and the learning that’s going on.”

▪ The Panthers waived second-year OLB Kenny Dyson following the workout. The Panthers, according to a team source, were forced to cut Dyson, as second-year running back Jonathon Brooks, who went on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Thursday, will still count against the franchise’s 90-man offseason roster. Brooks will need to be carried on the offseason roster through the cut after the preseason finale in August.

▪ Along with Ekwonu, Boone, Thomas, Jenkins and Cross, the following rookies are also trying out for the Panthers this weekend: TE Graham Walker (Rice), DB Abe Camara (TCU), S Irekefe Oweh (Monmouth), DB Jaaron Joseph (Emporia State), WR Sevonne Rhea (Lamar) and Sylvain Yondjouen (Georgia Tech).

Walker, a 6-3, 227-pound tight end, is the half-brother of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Walker previously tried out for the Chiefs last week. He left without a contract, so he was able to workout for the Panthers in Charlotte.

Yondjouen is from Ruisbroek, Belgium. He played for the Yellow Jackets from 2019 to 2024. Despite playing college football in America, Yondjouen would qualify for the International Pathway Program exemption if the team were to cut newly signed defensive end Maz Mwanza, of Peterborough, England, to make room for him.

▪ The Panthers signed three undrafted offensive linemen this week. Each player received some individual attention from the team’s well-respected offensive line coaching duo: Joe Gilbert and Harold Goodwin. Gilbert, the team’s offensive line coach, worked with former Oklahoma tackle Michael Tarquin, while Goodwin, the run game coordinator, handled ex-Vanderbilt center Steven Losoya and ex-Cincinnati guard Luke Kandra. Of the trio, Kandra has received the most buzz from draft analysts.

▪ The Panthers focused heavily on special teams during the workout. Two groups were split up between Smith and assistant special teams coach Daren Bates. Following practice several players took in punt return reps, while undrafted wideout Jacolby George worked the JUGs machine for an extra 20 minutes.

▪ Undrafted QB Ethan Garbers, formerly of UCLA, is the lone signal-caller at rookie camp. While he was asked to throw quite a bit on Friday, he was mostly accurate and in tune with his wideouts. The lone blemish, oddly enough, came on a crossing route to his former college teammate, undrafted tight end Bryan Pierre.

▪ Don’t let the 4.46-second 40-yard dash time fool you, Horn — the final Panthers pick from last month’s draft — has incredible acceleration as a deep-route runner. He blazed down the field on one particular go route, and he looked about as fast as anyone seen on that field in the past three years of practice.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales walks around the field watching players run through stretching drills during the team’s rookie minicamp practice on Friday, May 9, 2025. JEFF SINER/jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Panthers rookie minicamp: McMillan looks smooth in practice-field debut

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