CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All of the attention on the Carolina Panthers’ wide receivers for the past week or so has focused on players at the bottom of the depth chart. That’s typical of the final week of training camp as teams prepared to make roster cuts.

Fans tend to enjoy reading roster projections and similar stories. But in the case of the Panthers’ receivers room, they ignored the guy at the top of the depth chart.

Now that it’s September, expect to start hearing a lot more about Tetairoa McMillan again.

McMillan put a bow on a fantastic first season Wednesday when he accepted his Rookie of the Year trophy from the Pro Football Writers of America. It will go on a mantle next to his AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, though not on his mantle.

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“My mom’s the one that likes to put the awards up in the house. I don’t really like having stuff of mine around the house, like pictures and stuff like that. I don’t know, just me I guess,” McMillan said. “No, all the awards is cool. I feel like I’ve been fortunate enough to win a lot of awards in my lifetime. So what’s another one, I guess.”

McMillan put together one of the most successful seasons in franchise history after the Panthers drafted him eighth overall in 2025. He caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards to break Kelvin Benjamin’s team rookie receiving yardage record (1,008), and became the first Panthers player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year since Cam Newton in 2011.

AJ Dillon, the recently acquired running back, watched McMillan’s season from afar as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He arrived in Charlotte curious if he might find a receiver who was trending toward diva status, which is almost a rite of passage at the position.

“You would think a young guy, a lot of praise — the guy goes out there every day and goes all in, and looks amazing doing it,” Dillon said.

McMillan also looks bigger than he did a year ago, particularly in his lower body. He played every game as a rookie, but lost weight as the season wore on. McMillan added 17 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-4 frame to get to 220, which Panthers coach Dave Canales believes will help him defeat press coverage and win battles downfield.

“He kinda was just a man on a mission to get stronger to be able to feel that power in his game. That really is a part of his game that needed to be addressed,” Canales said. “He really wanted to do that and he attacked it, put on some good, solid mass. He’s been great at the line of scrimmage, rugged to the ball. And he’s still got all the same (other) stuff, so I’m excited to see him this year.”

If McMillan finishes at least the same number of catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns (7), he’ll become the fifth player in NFL history to reach those marks in each of his first two seasons. He’d join some impressive company: Marques Colston, Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are the others to do it.

“That’s a cool stat, by the way. But I feel like at the end of the day, you’re not able to achieve those stats if you’re not healthy,” McMillan said. “Everyone says they’ve got sophomore slumps and people get hurt and stuff like that. The main thing to be able to achieve those things is to be healthy. That’s all I can wish for.”

McMillan missed time during OTAs with a foot injury, but was on the field for every training camp practice. He and quarterback Bryce Young connected on a lot of scoring plays, at least until the offensive line was overmatched in a joint practice with the Houston Texans last week.

Dillon, who also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, said the 23-year-old McMillan’s physical gifts are just part of what makes him special.

“Wise beyond his years,” Dillon said. “He kind of has that poise where you would expect from a veteran guy. I know he’s going into Year 2 (after a) tremendous Year 1. Obviously, the football piece … he’s great. But my thing is his mindset. Nothing seems to rattle him. He goes out there and he just has fun.”

McMillan’s first NFL season was fun until it wasn’t. Twice this summer he’s mentioned the sting of a playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, who beat the Panthers 34-31 in the wild-card round behind a game-winning drive by Matthew Stafford.

Asked if he still thinks about the game, McMillan said: “I mean, I feel like it ain’t never left. I feel like it’s still here. … After that game, we all had that chip on our shoulder, ready to come into the 2026 season.”

McMillan has high hopes for the Panthers’ offense this year, calling it a “night and day” difference from last year’s.

“A lot more people are stepping up. We have a lot of dudes that can do a bunch of different things and are able to make plays wherever,” he explained. “We’ve got a deep tight end room, running back room, receiver room obviously.”

The Panthers are hoping to get contributions from Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette and others in Brad Idzik’s first season as the play caller. But the focal point of the offense will be McMillan, who will draw the most attention from defenses — and the media, now that those roster projection stories are done.

He wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Ain’t no pressure. That’s what they drafted me to be. That’s what they pay me all this money to do — just do my job and do it to the best of my ability,” he said. “Whether I’m the focal point one week or I’m the decoy the next week, as long as do what we’re supposed to do, I’m not worried about it.”