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Carolina Panthers 2025 rookie minicamp: Sights and sounds from Day 1

Video from the team and beat reporters from Carolina's first day of rookie minicamp.
Tim Weaver|
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is selected by the Carolina Panthers as the number eight pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field.
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is selected by the Carolina Panthers as the number eight pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

New recruits for the Carolina Panthers took the field yesterday for the first day of rookie minicamp. It's also the first time that Carolina fans have gotten to see any real local football since January. As you might expect, the star of the show was of course the team's first-round draft pick, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona.

Going into the draft McMillan was ranked the best wide receiver in the class - not counting uber-ATH Travis Hunter. McMillan has the potential to radically change what Carolina's passing offense can do, and we got to witness some of it through brief clips shared on social media.

Here's a look at McMillan showing off some of what Adam Thielen called "phenomenal" body control, plus a few other videos from the team and beat reporters.

WR Tetairoa McMillan working

TE Mitchell Evans training

QB Ethan Garbers throwing

WR Jimmy Horn Jr. route-running

HC Dave Canales commenting

WR Tetairoa McMillan talking

While there's no video, it sounds like Horn was the rookie who turned the most heads during this first practice. At least one journalist was blown away by Horn's famed speed.

The addition of Horn as well as McMillan should give Carolina's wide receiver group a pretty good boost. If 2024 rookies Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker can take that all-important sophomore leap, it might be one of the most-improved units in the NFL this year.

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Tim Weaver
TIM WEAVER

Tim Weaver has been writing about the NFL since the 2013 season for multiple teams and outlets, including USA Today and The Sporting News. He currently covers the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers for On SI.