CHARLOTTE — From the moment he walked in the door, there was a gravity about Tetairoa McMillan.
The ball was drawn to him, and then came the accolades.
But the individual awards (like the offensive rookie of the year trophy he picked up in February) are in storage or with his mom. The things that are important to him, he's been carrying around for months.
When asked about his goals for his second season, the Panthers wide receiver laughed.
"Man, that's an easy one," McMillan said Wednesday. "That's to be able to win a playoff game; that's the main goal."
As simple as that.
For all the things he did last year, the thing that sticks in his mind is the aftermath of the 34-31 loss to the Rams in the wild card game. And it's been with him ever since.
"I mean, I feel like it ain't never left," he said of the disappointment of that loss. "I feel like it's still here, and I think I can speak for the rest of the team when I say that as well.
"I feel like after that game, we all had that, that chip on our shoulder, just ready to come into the 2026 season. So we're looking forward to it.
"You can feel it. Everybody, just obviously leaving that locker room, it was just — everybody was just down. So I feel like everybody got that fire in them right now and just ready to go."
Channeling that is obviously the next step for this young Panthers team, but as it pertains to McMillan, the signs that he's handling it the right way are there.
The easiest thing to see is the added size, as McMillan's added 20 pounds this offseason. He said he feels both stronger and faster now that he's back to his college weight, hoping it helps him sustain what he did last season.
But it's also about perspective. And when Panthers coach Dave Canales thinks about the intentionality McMillan has approached this offseason with, he thinks back to one of their first extended conversations.
"I can point back to when we had him here on a 30 visit (before last year's draft), and he sat in my office, and I said, 'What do you want this conversation to look like a year from now?'" Canales said. "And all of a sudden you're about one year from that date. And so I asked him, 'How did it go? Is this what you expected?'
"And, talking about that as he goes into Year 2 and he kind of was just a man on a mission to, you know, to get stronger, to be able to, to feel that power in his game, that really is a part of his game that needed to be addressed, and he really wanted to do that and he attacked it, put on some good, some good solid mass and he's been great at the line of scrimmage, rugged to the ball, and he's still got all the same stuff, so I'm excited to see him this year."
Building on a season in which he caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns will be difficult, because sustaining that kind of production is hard for a number of reasons.
But adding weight is part of what he's done, as he's learned about the pressure that comes with his role. Canales talks about his passing game having a "focal point," and here, it's McMillan. It starts there and radiates out, and if he's getting extra attention, it opens things up for Jalen Coker to have big games like he did that day in January against the Rams.
Dealing with that kind of attention was another thing McMillan had to learn, but it wasn't something he felt as tangibly as the sting of a playoff loss.
"Ain't no pressure, that's what they drafted me to be," he said. "That's what they pay me all this money to do is to just do my job and do it to the best of my ability. And whether I'm the focal point one week and whether I'm the decoy the next week, as long as we do what we're supposed to do, I'm not worried at all."
Knowing more attention is coming his way, the pressure is being applied to him in practice, with extra attention coming his way.
"I'm getting a lot more double coverages and linebackers rotating my way, safeties rotating my way," McMillan said. "And, to me, that's a great sign that just allows people to win their one-on-one matchups on the other side. So, like I said, that's lovely to me."
Maintaining that kind of mental balance isn't something that everyone can do, particularly young players who find success early on.
And that stands out to teammates, even the ones who are just meeting him.
"Man, wise beyond his years," veteran running back AJ Dillon said. "Football is fun, and he makes it that way, and he kind of has that poise where you would expect from a veteran guy. I know he's going into Year 2, tremendous Year 1. Obviously the football piece, you guys are out there every day, you see that he's great, but my thing is like his mindset. Nothing really seems to rattle him.
"He goes out there, and he just has fun, and it's one of those things where, like, when I say wise beyond his years, I feel like you would think, a young guy, a lot of praise on that, what's going on. I mean, the guy goes out there every day and goes all in and looks amazing doing it on the football field, puts out a great product of work. So great guy to have on our side of the boat."
And if you're in a boat, you want someone who's steady, who doesn't rock it just because they can.
That's why McMillan won't be pinned down to numerical goals, other than on a scoreboard at the end of a playoff game.
"Whatever happens happens," he said. "The main thing is just to be able to come out of the season healthy; that's obviously number one, but just as far as stats and stuff like that, I don't really care too much, just as long as we win games.
"When we win games, everybody's happy. And when one person wins, we all win."
View some of the best shots of Panthers practice on Wednesday.
Quarterback Bryce Young is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Cornerback DeVonta Smith is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Defensive tackle Anthony Goodlow is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Defensive tackle Parker Petersen is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Linebacker Devin Lloyd is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Cornerback Will Lee III is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Outside linebacker Trevis Gipson is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Wide receiver Xavier Legette is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Safety Tre'von Moehrig is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Cornerback Corey Thornton is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Safety Zakee Wheatley is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Tight end Tommy Tremble and Tight end Feleipe Franks are seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
TJ Rushing, Safety Isaiah Simmons and Cornerback Jaycee Horn are seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Running back AJ Dillon is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Running back AJ Dillon is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Tight end Mitchell Evans is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Tackle Monroe Freeling is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Tight end Darren Waller are seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Quarterback Bryce Young is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Safety Nick Scott is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Cornerback Will Lee III and Cornerback Chau Smith-Wade are seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Cornerback Jaycee Horn is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Dave Canales is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Quarterback Bryce Young is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Quarterback Bryce Young is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Linebacker Jackson Kuwatch is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Linebacker Jackson Kuwatch is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Quarterback Kenny Pickett is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
Safety Lathan Ransom is seen during Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC
