Panthers rookies learning how to balance excitement and focus with playoffs in sight

Dec 11, 2025 at 06:27 PM

Kassidy Hill

The Carolina Panthers hold practice on Nov. 13, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE — Jimmy Horn Jr. has three rules he abides by to help him get through his rookie season in the NFL, on a team making a late playoff push.

"So my main thing," he begins, putting up one finger, "first, keep your faith up in the Lord, then two, ride the wave," he continues before shaking his head and starting over.

"No, matter of fact, it's really just keep your faith in the Lord and win the day, and then those two right there could get you through all this. Win, lose, or draw."

This time of the season can be taxing on even the most experienced veterans. It can be physically, mentally, or even emotionally taxing. For a rookie, it's a unique roller coaster that takes a little massaging to handle.

The Carolina Panthers face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025 in Charlotte, NC at Bank of America Stadium.

Panthers rookies at a glance

Player, pick	Rookie year at a glance
WR Tetairoa McMillan, first round	Leads all NFL rookies with 57 catches for 826 yards and 6 TDs.
OLB Nic Scourton, second round	Second on the Panthers with 3.0 sacks and five tackles for loss
OLB Princely Umanmielen, third round	Registered the Panthers first sack of the season and has 1.5 so far, plus a forced fumble and recovery
RB Trevor Etienne, fourth round	Is 17th in entire league with 617 return yards, averaging 23.7 yards per return
S Lathan Ransom, fourth round	Seventh on the Panthers with 45 tackles; also 1.0 sack and a forced fumble
DT Cam Jackson, fifth round	Has appeared in five games, contributing on defense and special teams
TE Mitchell Evans, fifth round	Fifth amongst all NFL rookie tight ends with two touchdowns
WR Jimmy Horn Jr., sixth round	Contributed on offense as a gadget player with seven receptions for 77 yards, including 47 yards after the catch
CB Corey Thornton, undrafted	Played in 12 games before going to IR. In win at Atlanta, had a forced fumble and two PDs.
LB Bam Martin-Scott, undrafted	A staple on special teams, who has pitched in on defense. Third on team in special teams tackles.
DT Jared Harrison-Hunte, undrafted	Developmental DT has been inactive four games since promoted from practice squad.
K Ryan Fitzgerald, undrafted	Has hit 19-of-23 FGs, including three walk-off game-winners.

Every guy has his own tactic for staying focused and not becoming overwhelmed while doing their part to help the Panthers make the postseason. Horn has his rules. Guys like running back Trevor Etienne, who came from a program that appeared in four college football playoffs in eight years, lean on that training from Georgia, where he played in a college playoff game last season.

"It definitely does because it helps you stay focused, stay locked in," Etienne said. "It prepares you for those moments, going through it and seeing it firsthand at the collegiate level, then coming into the league and having an opportunity to go accomplish some of those same goals, it kind of prepares you in a way."

And others, like receiver Tetairoa McMillan, tap into the coaches and teammates around them that have been through this gauntlet before.

"I mean, I feel like our team does a good job as far as preaching just winning this week, not looking too far ahead," said McMillan. "So, obviously this week we have the Saints, and we just got to come out Sunday being 1-and-0 and then worry about the (Bucs) after that."

For McMillan specifically, who has become a focal point of the offense in less than one season and helped expand the passing attack, it's the balance of staying focused and locked in, combined with the chance to do something special as a rookie class (six members of the seven man class have carved out starting or significant contributing roles), that heightens this next month.

"I mean, if you feel the energy in the room, you know we have a chance to do something special, but we're staying cool, calm, and collected at the same time," explained McMillan.

"The main goal is to win, and I think I can speak for everybody, even though I haven't experienced it, but everybody wants to make the playoffs and make a run for it. This team hasn't done that in a long time, and we want to be that team that's different, that team that has an opportunity to do something special, and I feel like you just feel that energy."

The Carolina Panthers face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

That feeling, that excitement, is the wave that has to be ridden (to borrow Jimmy Horn's philosophy), and where players really have to strike the right tone between chasing a bigger goal while handling it one step at a time.

"I feel like that's what a lot of things in life are," responded Etienne. "It's easy to sit in here and say what you're going to do, but it's one thing to go out there and do it, and I feel like that's what we focus more on is the doing it part."

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The Carolina Panthers practice on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 at Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.