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David NewtonSep 13, 2025, 10:00 AM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013.<\/p>\n CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers<\/a> rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan<\/a> had inside leverage on a Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> defensive back near the goal line Sunday in Jacksonville. It appeared a sure touchdown for the No. 8 pick of the 2025 draft, known for his one-handed, circuslike catches in college, as he got his large left glove squarely on the 33-yard rainbow from quarterback Bryce Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell<\/a> reached in and got his hand on McMillan’s arm just enough to dislodge the fourth-and-5 third-quarter attempt.<\/p>\n McMillan went to one knee almost in disbelief. Young bit his lower lip.<\/p>\n “I feel like that’s a routine catch for me,” McMillan said. “I feel like we have had better coverage with our guys at practice. That’s something I’ve got to make.”<\/p>\n McMillan led the Panthers in targets (9), receptions (5) and receiving yards (68). According to ESPN Research, the 68 yards were the sixth most in the NFL by a top 10 pick in his debut over the past 10 years and the third-most yards by a Carolina receiver making his debut, period.<\/p>\n But as well as McMillan played, it’s the drop in the end zone that he’ll remember the most.<\/p>\n “That’s what you want,” offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said. “That’s what we saw in him in the predraft prep, his competitive nature. He wants to win in everything he does.”<\/p>\n Idzik saw that earlier in the quarter when McMillan seemingly made a one-handed catch on a sideline play that drew defensive pass interference. The first thing he told Idzik after returning to the sideline was, “Make sure they give me those yards for that catch I just made.”<\/p>\n He remained adamant this week that he made the catch even though the officials didn’t credit him with one.<\/p>\n “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,” Idzik said.<\/p>\n All of ESPN. All in one place.<\/p>\n Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now<\/a><\/p>\n McMillan’s next chance comes on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET. CBS<\/a>) against the Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, a homecoming of sorts. He was a star at the University of Arizona in Tucson, a two-hour drive from State Farm Stadium.<\/p>\n But for the 6-foot-5, 212-pound McMillan, this isn’t about impressing former college teammates, coaches and friends who make the drive down I-10 to see him.<\/p>\n It’s about getting the win and playing a big role in it.<\/p>\n “I don’t care where we play, I’ve got to play well regardless,” McMillan said. “That’s the standard I have for myself, and also a standard we have as a team.”<\/p>\n It’s that kind of mentality the Panthers want to help them end a string of seven straight losing seasons.<\/p>\n “You see a guy who’s playing with urgency and an attacking nature,” Idzik said. “We want our whole offense to feel that way, and that’s why we’ve really been pushing that emphasis this week.”<\/p>\n For McMillan, it wasn’t about what the Jaguars’ Campbell did to stop the touchdown, which would have cut Jacksonville’s lead to 20-10. It was about what McMillan didn’t do.<\/p>\n “If I go up with two hands, that’s a routine catch for me,” he said.<\/p>\n Rookie receivers often are plagued by making the routine more difficult than it should be. Xavier Legette<\/a>, selected by the Panthers with the last pick of Round 1 in 2024, had eight drops as a rookie. That was the third most by a receiver with at least 75 targets last season.<\/p>\n So why should McMillan be any different as a rookie?<\/p>\n “It goes to his character,” second-year Carolina tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders<\/a> said. “If he would have that same play right after that, he would have caught it.”<\/p>\n Fellow tight end Tommy Tremble<\/a> agreed, saying it’s McMillan’s confidence that makes him a believer.<\/p>\n “He was made for this league,” he said. “He’s going to make 9 out of 10 of those catches every time.”<\/p>\n Carolina wide receiver David Moore<\/a> loved that McMillan said the deep ball should have been an easy catch.<\/p>\n “That shows he knows himself more than we do,” Moore said. “He told us he could have gotten both hands on it. I know for a fact he’ll make the next one.<\/p>\n “As long as he stays level-headed and keeps doing what he’s doing now, he will have a successful rookie year.”<\/p>\n Best of NFL Nation \u2022 Caleb Williams’ accuracy still an issue<\/a> McMillan’s goal since the Panthers drafted him has been to make Young confident enough to throw to him consistently. That didn’t change with one play.<\/p>\n Young saw a receiver who was precise with his route running and blocking. He didn’t see McMillan impacted by the speed of the game as many rookie are.<\/p>\n “He was playing at the same speed he always plays at,” Young said. “He was doing all the little things right.”<\/p>\n Coach Dave Canales didn’t see huge adjustments by the Jaguars defense to defend McMillan like often is the case against premier receivers. But Canales still liked what he saw.<\/p>\n “He had some good one-on-one opps,” he said. “He won most of them.”<\/p>\n McMillan still wasn’t satisfied. He wants to be great like his role models Jerry Rice<\/a> and Larry Fitzgerald<\/a>, who rank first (22,895 yards) and second (17,492 yards) in all-time receiving yards.<\/p>\n Fitzgerald, the third pick of the 2004 draft, had four catches for 70 yards in his debut.<\/p>\n “We’re always chasing greatness,” McMillan said during an interview at the NFL combine. “So at the end of the day, the motto I live by is ‘great, not good.’ At the end of the day, I want to be one of the best to ever play this game.”<\/p>\n He’s off to a good start, but he knows it could have been great had he caught the touchdown.<\/p>\n “It wasn’t good enough,” McMillan said. “That’s all I can say.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David NewtonSep 13, 2025, 10:00 AM CloseDavid Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-140986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/r1531432_1296x729_16-9.jpg\")
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