Carolina Panthers HC Dave Canales sticks up for his young wide receivers despite costly mistakes made against the Jacksonville Jaguars
A lot of blame can be placed elsewhere.
The Carolina Panthers’ loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 wasn’t anything anyone hoped to see out of this unit and a lot of the same issues reared its ugly head for this team.
“That’s a picture of where we’re at right now,” head coach Dave Canales told reporters after the loss. “Obviously, not good enough.”
That’s the blunt description for what the Panthers showed on the field on Sunday but it’s also a clear reminder of what the expectations are for this team. This is a young roster and experiencing a game like that to open the season sets the bar for the growth that is needed.
That’s not to say there weren’t some flashes, although those were harder to make out with all the bad going around. One thing to be excited about was the play of first-round wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who led the offense with five receptions and 68 receiving yards.
But, even McMillan isn’t immune from making some critical learning mistakes. Something the rest of the young wide receiver room needs to understand as well.
Panthers’ WR room needs to grow in one key area
Going into the 2025 season, the Panthers made the calculated risk to put a lot on the plate of the young pass catchers after trading away veteran Adam Thielen. The purpose was to open up more opportunities for the likes of McMillan and second-year receiver Xavier Legette.
In Sunday’s game, McMillan and Legette each had costly mistakes. McMillan’s came in the third-quarter on a fourth-down endzone shot deep down the field. McMillan was unable to come down with the football against cornerback Tyson Campbell for what could have been a momentum-swinging touchdown and was instead a turnover on downs.
As for Legette, his mistake came earlier in the game in the second-quarter when quarterback Bryce Young looked for Legette on a deep out route, but Legette wasn’t able to keep both feet in bounds.
After the game Canales made sure to stick up for the mistakes made by the two young wide receivers but added the learning moment these two need to take away from those missed opportunities.
“I’m excited for this group that we have. I’m excited for what I saw,” Canales explained. “For the couple of drives that we put together, to see the guys win and get open and make their plays. But, we got to make all the ones that we’re supposed to make. That’s the sign of consistency, that’s a sign of maturity to continue to grow and make plays those plays. We’re counting on them to do that and we’ll keep giving them [opportunities].”
More opportunities will for sure come for McMillan and Legette. Those two are the future for this offense and taking that next step forward is going to be key in their early development.
“That’s what I really want them to just grasp. The consistency it takes to be really good is you make all the ones you’re supposed to make and some of the special ones every once in a while when you have to,” Canales added.
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