'I love the chemistry' — Panthers HC Dave Canales is starting to see the deep shot potential with Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan at training camp

This duo will be hunting some big plays.

As the Carolina Panthers continue on throughout training camp and heading into the preseason, the connection between quarterback Bryce Young and first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan is starting to heat up.

The two have connected numerous times throughout the first two weeks of training camp and most importantly are learning from any mistakes made out on the field.

“It’s going great. I love the chemistry they’re developing,” head coach Dave Canales said on Wednesday. “Especially down the field. Bryce has been giving T-Mac a lot of opportunities, lot of shots down the field to figure out where can I put this where he can put his hands on it.”

During Wednesday’s joint practice, Young attempted to go McMillan’s way on a corner route in the end zone. Instead of leading his receiver, Young placed the ball just over the defender. Canales added he was “excited” about the accuracy of the ball, even though it surprised McMillan and was dropped.

A few plays later, Young was able to hit McMillan on a slant route for a touchdown. After practice, Young praised McMillan for being able to move on to the next play and learn from it.

“Just want to do what we can to take advantage of what the defense gives,” Young explained. “I have all the confidence in the world in him and the rest of the receiving core.”

All throughout training camp, Young and McMillan have been building a strong connection with each other down the field, an area Young particularly excels at as a passer. Last season, Young had seven passing touchdowns on deep balls (20+ yards) and his 94.6 PFF passing grade on deep passes ranked fifth among quarterbacks with 20+ attempts.

Adding another dynamic downfield weapon in McMillan can only unlock more of that in his game going into the 2025 season and it’s already been on display.

Young-McMillan connection set to officially debut on Friday

As the team’s head coach revealed on Wednesday after practice, starters on both sides of the ball are expected to play early in Friday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, including Young and McMillan.

Offensively, the plan is for the starters to play “8-12” snaps depending on how the drives go. So, if the offense has a three-and-out on the opening drive, we should expect to see the starters out for another to get a full experience on the field.

In Young’s case, this is big news. Last preseason, Canales elected to only play his quarterback for 12 total snaps in the preseason. It seems like Young will get more preseason work this time around.

“I’m super excited. I think it will be great for us,” Young explained. “A lot of familiar faces but obviously some new pieces. Every year we’re a new team so I think it’s a great opportunity for us, go out there, and try to establish ourselves. Get more and more comfortable, get more reps. I think it’ll be a great thing for myself, and all of us, to get our feet wet.”

While everyone is excited to see the new QB-WR duo finally in live game action, seeing Young in general leading this team with a lot more poise and confidence is going to be fun to watch.