CHARLOTTE — The spring in his step isn't just from doing the griddy with the Savannah Bananas last weekend in the same end zone where he's celebrated touchdowns.

For Adam Thielen, every day is a new adventure, thanks to some newfound depth and some new personalities at his position.

As soon as the Panthers hit the field this spring, the competition at wide receiver was evident.

Between drafting Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr. and adding an accomplished veteran like Hunter Renfrow, the Panthers have more depth than ever. So for Thielen, that means more fun.

The 34-year-old wideout, who admitted last winter he wasn't sure he was going to return this year was all smiles when he talked about Tuesday's minicamp practice.

"A lot of great personalities, a lot of great teammates," Thielen said. "The guys that we brought in, the guys that are kind of coming on their own now in Year 2, just a lot of great personalities, great people, and at the end of the day, guys that want to be great and are doing the little things. Everybody wants it and is putting the work in to get there.

"So I'm having a blast; it's keeping me young and a big reason why I'm back."

For a guy who brought his entire family to Atlanta in Week 18 last year, thinking it might be his final game in the NFL, that's not a casual remark.

Thielen's clearly having fun playing here and learning new things every day while maintaining his connection with quarterback Bryce Young. He talked about picking things up from Renfrow, one of the more accomplished slot receivers of recent years.

"He's really helped me because he does a lot of things really well in the slot and maybe things that weren't really necessarily in my skill set, so a great complement to this offense and a great person to have in the wide receiver room.

"He runs great choice routes. He finds space really well, great body control, things that aren't like my strongest suit. I've made them work over the years, but those, he's really good at them. So it's been fun to kind of see him in person, obviously seeing him on tape and things like that, but you kind of see it firsthand, you kind of try to pick some."

That kind of lifetime learning explains Thielen's longevity and production.

In 11 seasons, he has 685 receptions for 8,311 yards and 64 touchdowns, numbers that are among the top 15 in the league among active players. He's already done a lot, but after taking a few weeks to think about his future, he knew he wanted another year.

"I think for me, it's always been once I make a decision, I'm all in, and it's right back to what I've done my whole career," he said. "It's the process of training in the offseason and then getting here and busting my tail on OTAs and minicamp and then same thing this summer, how I've approached that.

"Really nothing has changed. Once I make that decision, I'm all in and excited to be here and have no regrets, obviously, and we'll see what happens."

And the seeing what happens extends to the position as a whole.

Improving the competition across the board has been a priority for general manager Dan Morgan, and head coach Dave Canales acknowledged what happens next when you do that.

"I think the cool part about that group right there is you have some veterans, and you have some young guys that are all competing for the spots, and we can't keep all of them, you know?" Canales said. "And they're pushing each other; they're competing to find their opportunities to make plays. Even in the individual drills, you can see guys kind of looking around and making sure that they're putting their best out there. So I love that.

"I love creating that kind of energy in each of the rooms because it just makes everyone better, and then they bring that to the competition when they're playing against the defense. So, I'm really excited about that room."

While Thielen's the most accomplished of the lot, he admitted he's not taking anything for granted, and the presence of guys like Xavier Legette and McMillan is keeping him sharp, in addition to his role as a part-time assistant coach working with a couple of first-rounders.

"I think for the first time here since I've been here, you look around the room and, like, I don't know who's going to make the team," Thielen said. "And that's a great thing that competition breeds just elevation of play, and you hear Dan and Dave talk about that all the time. They just want just want to raise the floor. And when you raise the floor, it raises the ceiling. So I'm excited about what that brings.

"I know it's made me have to step up my game and get better and better and prove my worth. At the end of the day, the more players you have in a room, on the offense, on a team, the more you have to prove yourself every day, and it makes you better."

And the fact it's among such a young group adds a layer that keeps Thielen fresh. McMillan used the word "diversity" to describe the receiver room, and that's about more than a Cali kid joining a Mullins, S.C. native or a former undrafted rookie from Minnesota State.

"Yeah, and I'd even take it a step further," Thielen said. "Even on the field, just a lot of guys with different skill sets, different things that they do well and just really mesh really well together. I wouldn't say we have a lot of guys that do things similar. Everyone kind of has different ways of playing and understanding the game, and I think that's great.

"I think it gives offense coordinator and head coach a lot of ability to do different things, move guys around and get guys comfortable, and ultimately make Bryce comfortable and knowing that there's a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things and help us."