Panthers Hc Dave Canales Speaks On Wr Tetairoa Mcmillan's 1st Rookie Minicamp Practice

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales knows what he's looking at when evaluating the wideout position. And so far, he likes what he sees out of his team's latest first-round selection.

Friday marked the first of two rookie minicamp sessions for the Panthers, who were able to roll eighth overall pick Tetairoa McMillan out on the practice field. Canales, previously a receivers coach of eight seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, was asked to give his thoughts on McMillan's first outing.

"He looks smooth, easy to throw to—just like we thought," he replied. "I got a chance to kinda bop around between offense and defense. But in the little bit that I saw—I'll go back and watch a little bit more—but the little bit I saw with the individual drills, you can see the route-crafting, the guy just works on his craft. He comes in ready to go, so really excited about it."

McMillan comes in as a consensus All-American from the 2024 campaign, where he tallied a Big 12-leading 1,319 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He wasn't too shabby in his two years prior either, as he totaled 2,104 yards and 18 scores off 129 catches for the Arizona Wildcats between 2022 and 2023.

The 6-foot-4, 219-pounder has also arrived in Charlotte with some pretty decent expectations. As a top-10 pick, McMillan will be looked upon as the new No. 1 target in the passing game for the Panthers and quarterback Bryce Young.

But for now, and for tomorrow, it's all about the (smooth) baby steps for the 22-year-old rookie.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales praises WR Tetairoa McMillan after practice