NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Anthony Walker Jr, Panthers, Tetairoa McMillan

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles is impressed with how quickly LB Anthony Walker Jr. is picking up the defense.

“[He is] very intelligent from a communication standpoint, which we thought he was when we got him. He really fit right in once he came here – I feel like he’s been here the whole time. He’s got a good grasp of the scheme and an understanding of what to do. Him and ‘Voss’ (SirVocea Dennis) are really hitting it off,” Bowles said, via the team’s website.

Tetairoa McMillan

Panthers WR Xavier Legette is excited about first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan, saying they’ve added a “masterpiece” to their offense. 

“We’re trying to win games,” Legette said, via Joseph Person of The Athletic. “Any time you can add a masterpiece like that to what we’re trying to build, it’s great.”

Legette said he was always aware McMillan was an option for them going into the 2025 NFL Draft. 

“I already knew that was gonna happen,” Legette said. “We had talks throughout the building. He was an option, but they had some defensive players as options as well.”

Panthers HC Dave Canales said Legette and McMillan have gravitated toward each other and are having a lot of fun in practice. 

“Even in routes on air, they’ll catch a ball, they’ll put it away, burst. And then they’re looking for the other one, they’re throwing it across the field, playing catch,” Canales said. “For two young guys that we hope and expect to be here for a long time, it’s about enjoying it. It’s about having fun. This game is meant to be fun. And they’re also wired the right way where they’re grinding, they’re working hard and they’re studying it and it means something to them.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales said he and TE coach Pat McPherson have seen fifth-round TE Mitchell Evans proving that he could be a versatile part of the offense during the rookie minicamp.

‘What carries over from the film is just a really versatile guy,” Canales said, via Panthers.com. “So whether it was the individual drills, going through blocking with Pat, the footwork stuff, you know, and then just being a reliable target, you know, he’s a really smooth mover in his routes, plays compact at the top. So I think just all those things—we just felt like a really well-rounded, clean football player, you know, and certainly fits into what we do.”

“I think we’re very versatile, you know, we do a lot in this offense,” Evans noted. “We’re not just blocking, we’re not just pass catching, we’re doing it at all. There are a lot of different moving elements to this offense. It’s very complex in a good way, and I think we do it all, so this is a very good offense to be a tight end.”