CHARLOTTE —  There is a lot of trust that must exist between a quarterback and his top receiver. It's born of time on task, chemistry, a complete understanding of how the other thinks, and a little bit of luck.

That trust was on display Wednesday as Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan connected not once, but twice for moments that qualified for play of the day. So, since we make the rules here, we're going with two plays, both featuring Young and McMillan during the final team period.

The first came early in the period.

Young dropped back, looked left, and realized he had McMillan one-on-one versus Mike Jackson. The veteran corner has made a reputation for himself as being one of the smartest defensive backs in the league the last two years. But McMillan was rookie of the year for a reason, and Young is learning to trust his receiver's ability to make the play when needed.

So, the quarterback double-pumped to buy McMillan time then lofted a pass down the left seam. It wasn't a particularly long pass, because it didn't need to be, but the trajectory on it gave the receiver enough time to fight his way out of Jackson's coverage. It worked, and McMillan pulled in the pass.

It was great coverage. But it was a better throw and catch.

"It feels great," mused coach Dave Canales on watching the connection grow. "It feels great to know that these guys have had the — they've put the time in, they put the work in, and, through the offseason, they were able to get together on their own this summer and just continue to work on those connections.

"Those are the opps that we need, and it brings out the best in all of us. Our outside guys going against Mike and going against Jaycee Horn every day is fantastic. And of course, Will Lee III having to deal with our guys as well, it's going to bring out the best in him, and that's what we look for: competition."

Jackson, for his part, was pretty upset with himself for letting the play happen at all. Granted, Jackson did lead the league last season with 19 passes defensed, so he's come to expect making the play more often than not.

"He shouldn't have caught the ball," spit Jackson, shaking his head. "I messed up almost because I — I messed up. He shouldn't have caught it. I just got to be better with my technique. Today I dropped the pick, I had a flag and gave up a pass. I don't do that. So I just got to come in here basically like lock more in because that don't happen."

The second big moment came on the final play of the day.

McMillan went deep down the right sideline, getting a step on Lee. His speed gave him space to pull away, and Young took advantage, dropping it in over the shoulder for what looked like an easy touchdown but was anything but.

"Really nice finish, Bryce to TMac in the back of the end zone on a little double move," praised Canales. "So, way to go for the offense to just kind of finish the day that way."

McMillan head-butted Xavier Legette in celebration as the rest of the offense sprinted towards the end zone. The horn blew three times, practice wrapped, and the Panthers walked off the field with a reminder of what kind of difference the Young to McMillan connection can make.