Tetairoa McMillan, a rookie wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, has gained attention in his first NFL training camp for his ability to make one-handed catches. The former top-10 draft pick discussed these catches after a recent practice, emphasizing that they are not something he does by choice.
“Y’all might not believe me, but I only catch one-handed if I need to,” McMillan said after Friday’s session. “But that’s only going to expand the horizon, give the quarterback an easier target to throw to, just having a bigger catch radius, just being quarterback-friendly.” He added, “I only do it if I need to.”
On Wednesday during practice—a day head coach Dave Canales described as McMillan’s best so far—the receiver made another notable one-handed catch. The play came after what McMillan called some down days and demonstrated resilience as well as support for quarterback Bryce Young.
“Sometimes the ball finds you, sometimes the ball doesn’t, but you know (Wednesday) just happened to be a good day for me,” McMillan said.
Canales commented on McMillan’s development: “He’s learning how to play that game and, you know, just continue to use his body. Just shows a lot of confidence and belief, you know, he’s had some pretty bad plays throughout camp, and he’s had some excellent plays, and I think, when you have a guy, he’s teaching me stuff about him that I don’t know, just looking at his character.”
McMillan began Wednesday with a highlight in individual drills before facing cornerback Corey Thornton in team activities. On a deep pass from Young, he extended his left arm and secured the ball against his legs—another example of his growing reputation for making difficult grabs.
“Oh, it has to be,” said McMillan about keeping such plays in his skill set. “I tell everybody it’s my job… any way I can find to separate myself as a receiver, I’m going to do that.”
Despite early recognition as one of this year’s top receiver prospects coming out of Arizona college football programs [https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/football/roster/tetairoa-mcmillan/14889], McMillan admitted adjusting has been challenging due to matchups with Panthers defensive backs like Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson.
“Sometimes even the best get got… sometimes you get exposed,” he said. “But… being able to be confident in your preparation… is going to take you as far as you want it to take you.”
He acknowledged initial struggles: “I’ll be the first to tell you; the first couple of days I struggled a little bit… that’s hats off to the DB corps just making me better every single day.”
The transition from college football includes adapting both physically and mentally—regular seasons are longer in the NFL than NCAA competition. To manage this change and prepare for possible postseason runs [https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-playoff-schedule-2025-dates-times-tv-channels-format], McMillan is already focusing on nutrition and recovery routines.
“I’ve been in the facility early trying to get some treatment… changing my diet,” he explained. “I want to play this game as long as I possibly can…”
Another adjustment is handling increased physicality at the line of scrimmage compared with college defenders.
“Obviously I’m a big body receiver… but it’s a different play style,” he said. He noted needing more physicality due partly because officials require rookies “to earn your stripes.”
Regardless of technique or style—flashy or fundamental—McMillan remains focused on performance: “At the end of the day my job is to catch the ball; so if it touches my hands it’s my obligation…”
