What Panthers OC Brad Idzik said about Tetairoa McMillan's NFL debut

The Panthers dropped last week’s season opener at Jacksonville. Carolina’s offensive coordinator had positives regarding the club’s 2025 first-round pick.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) runs off the field before an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carolina Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan opted for a wide receiver instead of a pass rusher in the first round back in April. The team used the eighth overall selection on University of Arizona playmaker Tetairoa McMillan.

In his regular-season debut last Sunday at Jacksonville, he was targeted nine times by quarterback Bryce Young. The former Wildcat totaled five catches for 68 yards, both team highs. There was an opportunity late in the third quarter and the team down 20-3 to score his first NFL touchdown, but Jaguars’ cornerback Tyson Campbell denied him the opportunity.

“I feel like that's a routine catch for me,” said the apparently-frustrated 6’5”, 212-pound target (via ESPN’s David Newton). “I feel like we have had better coverage with our guys at practice. That's something I've got to make.”

Panthers’ coach Brad Idzik liked what he saw from rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell (3) wraps up with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) on a play that was called back during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“That’s what you want,” explained Panthers’ offensive coordinator Brad Idzik (via Newton) in describing the attitude of the rookie wideout. “That’s what we saw in him in the pre-draft prep, his competitive nature. He wants to win in everything he does…So there’s a guy who’s ultraconfident, and he backs it up with a lot of skill and ability, and he’s only going to continue to ascend…”

“You see a guy who’s playing with urgency and an attacking nature,” added Idzik “We want our whole offense to feel that way, and that’s why we’ve really been pushing that emphasis this week.”

That offense is looking to bounce back from an outing in which Dave Canales’s team gained only 255 yards on 61 plays (4.2 average yards per play) in the 26-10 loss at Jacksonville. Young, who played mistake-free football the final three weeks of 2024, committed three turnovers vs. the Jaguars.

All told, the Panthers’ attack is hoping to fare better at Arizona on Sunday as it did last Sunday. Of course, McMillan—who has already made a positive impression on one member of the Cardinals’ secondary—returns to the state where he made his mark in three seasons with the Wildcats.

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