CHARLOTTE — The Panthers have a top-10 pick they think highly of and want to develop.

Fortunately, they have another one to make him better.

Rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has already made a handful of catches that defy explanation in two days of camp (including his casual one-hander in Wednesday's individual drills), but it was a catch he didn't make Thursday that could conceivably make him better.

Matched up with cornerback Jaycee Horn on a deep ball, the rookie wasn't able to get enough space to make a play on a ball that had to be overthrown to not be picked, the kind of coverage that earned Horn his first Pro Bowl invitation last year.

For Panthers head coach Dave Canales, that kind of competition is exactly what he hopes to see.

"Oh yeah, that's what it's all about, right?" Canales said with a grin. "Position to position, the guys you go against in practice is how we become us. It's how we find our best. When you bring your best, you bring out the best in the guy across from you."

McMillan was drafted eighth overall for his ability to go get it, but the getting is obviously tougher against Horn, who is a strong enough player to partially negate McMillan's height-and-reach advantage.

"Jaycee's just kind of owning his land, his territory right there in that situation," Canales continued. "Cutting off the deep ball is going to teach TMac how to get in position, how to reduce his surface to try to get back on top, or do I need to stop and pop against a really big, strong, fast corner, as big and fast as they come. So, really brings out the heart of competition."

And that's going to make McMillan better. He has already shown the kind of hands he displayed in college, when he had 2,721 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in his final two years at Arizona.

Every day, he makes difficult catches look very nonchalant, with the ability to one-hand balls out of mid-air. He also made a number of contested catches across the middle on Thursday, showing some versatility in a group that also includes veteran Adam and fellow first-rounder Xaver.

Austin Corbett and Cade Mays continue to compete at center

On the second day of camp, the Panthers had a different look on the offensive line, with Cade Mays working at center with the ones.

He's competing with Austin Corbett (who took the first snaps of camp with quarterback Bryce Young on Wednesday), and Canales said that will continue throughout camp.

Both started games in the middle last season. Corbett began the season at center after the team acquired free agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, but he was lost to a torn biceps after five games.

Mays was actually released, went to the Giants practice squad, but came back and ended up starting eight of the final nine games.

"Yeah, I think we're just going to let them both kind of play it out and alternate days with who goes with Bryce," Canales said. "That chemistry matters, how the whole group works with communication and all those things. We're looking at all of it, and we're going to evaluate it, and again, I love competition. I love asking guys to bring their best."

The Panthers brought back the entire starting lineups plus key backups like Mays, and Brady, meaning they have their top nine offensive linemen in snap counts back for another year.

(That never happens in the NFL.)

Tommy Tremble back to his usual routine while rehabbing

Canales said it was likely going to be three or four weeks before tight end Tommy Tremble was back on the field after back surgery in May.

But he was on the field and working out before and after practice, doing his normal rehab and conditioning work, and then heading to the Jugs machine with his buddy cop movie partner Chuba Hubbard for some post-practice pass catching.

Princely Umanmielen exonerated after watching film

Rookie outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen got some unwarranted attention yesterday, when his attempted strip-sack of Young at the end of practice appeared to be beyond the norms of quarterback protection in practice.

But it looked worse that it actually was, and serves as an example of why they watch film (and also of the dangers of reading to much into context-less social media posts.

"It was cool for me to talk to the guys," Canales said. "What looked like Princeley going for the ball, you've got to wait and see the film. We watched the film. He was actually trying to avoid, but Bryce didn't have anywhere to go in the pocket. So as he pulls his arm back, he kind of hits him, but you can see Princely running kind by.

"Still made a point of it, right? It's still great to teach the guys in those moments, just another great teachable moment for the whole group. Hey, let's not pass judgment on what happened. I saw the play kind of, but I didn't see it specifically. We'll be able to rewind it 10 times and figure out what happened.

The third-round rookie continues to look good in these unpadded practices, using his speed to get inside of Ikem on a rush, and staying safely away from Young as the play went on.

"He had a couple of other good rushes today," Canales added. "So every day shows up and does something good. I'm really encouraged with the effort, first and foremost, that he's giving and the strain to finish all the way through practice."

Run defense missing some key parts

Canales was asked a question about the run defense on Thursday, which is at least premature, since they're not in pads yet and playing without a couple of their anticipated top linemen.

Derrick Brown, who has been cleared physically, was out for a second straight day for personal reasons, and Bobby Brown remains on the non-football injury list with a hamstring issue, and continues to work on the side.

But they continued to add through the preseason, bringing in interior pass-rusher Turk Wharton in free agency, and adding Cam Jackson in the draft to go along with a returning group that includes A'Shawn, LaBryan, Shy, and Crumedy.

"There's a bunch of really talented athletes in that room with different skill sets," Canales said. "You got your big power guys, you have some twitchier guys like Turk, who can really get off the ball and present some problems that way. So, I think it just gives us versatility in what we can do, how we can play the opponents, whatever their system might be."

The Panthers will put on full pads next Monday, and that'll be the time they see that come together.

Adam Thielen: The more you can do

Speaking of holders, Dalton has done it before, and cares deeply about being good at whatever he tries, but Canales said veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen volunteered to help out if needed.

(He certainly has the hands for it.)

"Thielen came up to me during practice, he said he held in college with gloves on," Canales noted. "So he was kind of asking the kickers, does it matter if a guy has gloves on? I can do it in a pinch,

"And their response was, we like guys whose hands aren't beaten up from diving and catching and blocking. So, a little more reliable hands as your backup quarterback if it's not the punter."

Rookie Ryan Fitzgerald's turn in kicking compeition

Rookie Ryan Fitzgerald was up in the kicking competition Thursday, and matched veteran Matthew from the day before with a 4-for-5-with-an-asterisk.

They're kicking on skinny goalposts, and Fitzgerald's miss appeared close enough to have been good on standard goalposts.

Canales said the competition would likely continue through preseason games, giving them plenty of time to work.

It's complicated by the absence of punter Sam Martin, who generally holds for kicks, meaning Andy Dalton was there for the second straight day.

Kickoff return auditions

After trying out punt returners on Wednesday, they had a cast of thousands working as kickoff returners on Thursday.

The two-deep setup of the new kickoff rules demands a few more bodies anyway, but they had a look at Raheem Blackshear, Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne, Jimmy Horn Jr., David Moore, Jacolby George, T.J. Luther, and Emani Bailey back there.