Being that everyone and their mother pointed to wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. as the Carolina Panthers’ best kept secret last summer, he wasn’t really much of a secret by the time Week 1 rolled around. But after what happened (or didn’t happen) through his rookie campaign in 2021, he might’ve wanted to keep himself on the down low.
Marshall Jr. spoke to reporters following the team’s final segment of mandatory minicamp on Thursday afternoon. And he believes, after a quiet start to his career, that he’s ready to take that step many folks had been anticipating.
“I would say I’m a little bit more comfortable,” he said. “This offseason, I had time to grasp from last season and learn from all the mistakes and everything I got to learn from last season, apply it to this year. So I feel like I’ve taken a big leap and I’m ready to move forward.”
Last year’s second-round selection made some noise during exhibition play. The LSU product lit the preseason on fire, reeling in nine catches for 181 yards through three contests.
That eye-opening production, however, would not make its way into the regular season. Between not finding his footing in a broken offense and being sidetracked by a concussion, Marshall Jr. amassed all of 138 receiving yards in 13 games.
But hopefully, those bumps are far behind him—as he’s seen progress in his game going into the new slate.
“Just coming in and out of my breaks,” he said of his improvements. “Understanding info when it’s given to me, quickly. Just doing everything better overall. Just being more aware of, ya know, what’s going on on the field. Just feel like I’m ready.”