CHARLOTTE — One of the few universal truths in life is that you have to protect the baby. It's also a universal truth in the Panthers' wide receiver room, as offensive coordinator Brad Idzik shared Thursday.

While talking about the development of receiver Tetairoa McMillan and how the rookie is learning to play in the NFL, Idzik said, "For him, it's just continuing to develop the complementary routes to protect some of his babies."

Every now and then, football coaches speak in a different language, but that's a new one. What could "babies" possibly entail for a receiver on a field?

Essentially, it's understanding what he does well and ensuring those routes are protected in the sense that defenses can't take them away.

"Some of his key routes, really, you look at him and some of his in-breakers are probably one of the most high production things that he does for us," explained Idzik, "and we know Bryce Young throws that ball well, that's not a secret, so I feel good about saying that—but protecting that with double moves off of it, or the same stem and working a different route concept off of it, so defensive coordinators can't just lean on certain leverages knowing, 'Hey, here it comes, this is only the in-breaker.

"It's like no we to have the out, the double move, and something else off that stem to complement it."

To Idzik's point, McMillan has run in-breaking routes 37.1 percent of the time, second only to the amount of times he's run a vertical route, which is 39.7 percent of the time. McMillan has 111 yards on in-breaking routes, which is tied for seventh-most in the league; he also has 41 of those yards after the catch on such routes, fourth-most amongst all receivers.

However, defenses know that he succeeds there and can adjust their coverage accordingly. As the No. 8 overall pick continues to develop in the NFL, Idzik wants him to "protect" those areas where he's at his best by forcing defenses to respect his impact all over the field.

"Doing a great job at the line of scrimmage is another piece that—guys are going to continue to challenge us at the line of scrimmage, have to be physical, have to play with their hands," challenged Idzik, "He's done that. He's got to make sure that he's consistent in doing that when guys want to come up and press, you know, we've got to challenge them as the aggressor at the line of scrimmage and finish some of those plays downfield that they're so close, right?

"We had another shot down the left side last week, being physical in the right way at the right time, and then coming up with some of those explosive one-on-one shots, I think, is just going to continue to elevate his game."

It's a responsibility that also falls on the coaches.

"Continuing to flesh those things out as a staff, that's what we do on Monday. That's what we do on Tuesday when the players are a little bit out of the building away from us, and we get to try to make sure that we're protecting them, protecting what they do best within a route scheme, and for TMac, he does a great job with those in-breakers. We got a lot of other things also built into the plan to make sure we protect it."

Once the babies are protected, McMillan can start to have even more freedom to marry the route concepts with his own instincts. It's something he's already done well, Idzik said, but an area where he can continue to thrive as his game develops.

"For TMac, he has a general football understanding of timing for the quarterback, also, where the window (is) to throw," said Idzik. "So you'll see him a lot of the time, his routes don't look like the lines on the page, but he gets to the window in the appropriate amount of time for the quarterback to garner that trust of 'I know if I get to this window on my timing, he's going to be there for me.'"

Scourton making an impact on every play

Ejiro Evero isn't known for hyperbole. He addresses things head-on, as he sees them, and will not be one to wax poetically about any certain subject. Which is why when Evero was asked about Nic Scourton's impact thus far through this rookie season, his answer echoed so loudly.

"This guy, he's unbelievable," Evero bragged of his rookie pass-rusher. "I don't know if I've ever seen a player, especially at such a young age, play so hard. I mean, every practice rep, every game rep, he is running and running and running, jumping on the ball, doing all the little things."

Scourton was thrust into the starting lineup earlier than expected after starter Patrick Jones II was lost to the season with a season-ending back surgery in mid-October. But after an offseason of preparing harder than almost anyone around him, the Texas A&M product was ready.

"I mean, since the day he walked in here, phenomenal work habits, great in the classroom, he sat next to Pat Jones from day one and just trying to absorb as much as he could from him," Evero shared. "He's very, very coachable; he's very, very smart.

"This is not even hyperbole, but it's every time he's on the field. I mean that is—he only knows one way to go and it is hard and it is as fast as he can every time and so that's his play style."

Scourton has 20 quarterback pressures thus far this season, which is tied for second most amongst all rookies, with 3.0 sacks, which is also second amongst rookies. His defensive coordinator compared him to George Karlaftis, who was named to the PFWA all-rookie team in 2022, after racking up 33 tackles, 6.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries, and seven passes defended.

It's a trajectory that Scourton could reach and even surpass, as he continues to grow beyond the player the Panthers drafted.

"When you work and prepare the way he does in the classroom, in the training room, in the weight room, on the practice field, obviously, you're going to get better, and that's what you're seeing," continued Evero. "He was drafted in that position for a reason, and with his habits, he's going to continue to improve, and so that's what he's done."

Returners still have to adjust to conditions indoors

The Panthers are ostensibly through the weather-game portion of their schedule, as most of their remaining games are either at home, in Florida, or indoors.

But special teams coordinator Tracy Smith noted that conditions can still change, in ways beyond the normal shifts of wind like you get in New York or Green Bay.

The Falcons have the opportunity to open the hole in the top of their roof, but even if they don't, there are conditions they have to account for.

"They all have their little personality," Smith noted of the different indoor venues. "The biggest difference for us is the color and the texture of the actual roof because our returners are looking, seeing the ball in the roof of the dome to track it. That can be challenging depending on how their lights are structured."

Smith said in the Superdome in New Orleans, the ring of lights around the top means that a punt will pass through the lights twice on the way up and down. The Falcons have the big circular scoreboard and the translucent roof, which is a lighter background for returners to look for the ball.

Last year in Atlanta, that wasn't a problem, though, since the Falcons didn't punt.

The Panthers won that shootout in overtime, and of the Falcons' 10 possessions, six ended with points scored, along with a missed field goal, a turnover on downs, an interception, and the end of the half.