Carolina Panthers roster analysis: Thoughts on Bryce Young and every position group (2024)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rookies have been in town since Friday. The veterans will join them Tuesday. It’s that time of year again, even if the setting has changed.

The Carolina Panthers will hold training camp in Charlotte for the second time in team history — and first since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced teams to stage camps at home. This time the move looks to be permanent as the team ended its long association with Wofford, the alma mater of the late Panthers founder Jerry Richardson.

Regardless of location, this is an important camp for the Panthers after yet another coaching change. Frank Reich is out, fired after just 11 games during a 2-15 season. He’s been replaced by Dave Canales, the 44-year-old, “quarterback whisperer” who will try to get Bryce Young, last year’s No. 1 pick, playing like a franchise QB.

Canales has a lot to sort through between Wednesday’s first practice and the Sept. 8 opener at New Orleans. The Athletic offers a thought or two on each of the position groups ahead of Tuesday’s full-squad reporting day.

Quarterback

The 5-foot-10 Young has joked that he’s not getting any bigger, at least height-wise. The question — the biggest one facing the franchise this season — is whether Young can get better following a challenging rookie season. Young was sacked a franchise-record 62 times and finished as the league’s lowest-rated passer behind a porous offensive line that cycled through guards at a dizzying pace.

First-year general manager Dan Morgan hopes he solved the guard issue by signing free agents Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to big contracts, while the former Panthers linebacker also loaded up on skill players via a trade and the draft to surround Young with more playmakers. Canales oversaw comeback seasons from Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield the past two seasons. He’ll try to do the same with Young by utilizing more play-action passes and quick hitters where the ball is coming out of Young’s hand in a hurry.

Running back

Given how much Canales has talked about establishing the run game after he was hired, it shouldn’t have been too surprising when the Panthers became the first team to draft a running back. It’s unclear when second-round pick Jonathon Brooks will be cleared following ACL surgery late last year. But whenever he’s 100 percent, the former Texas standout should add game-breaking ability to a group that only had one run longer than 22 yards in 2023.

Chuba Hubbard begins camp as the starter after a breakout, 900-yard rushing season, during which he leapfrogged Miles Sanders on the depth chart. Sanders was a major disappointment after signing a four-year, $25.4 million contract, but Canales insists there’s a place for him in the offense. Former Seahawk Rashaad Penny is expected to take Brooks’ reps until he’s ready.

Wide receiver

Diontae Johnson’s receiving numbers declined two years in a row after he went to the Pro Bowl following his 107-catch, 1,161-yard season in 2021. Still, Johnson caught five touchdown passes in his last year in Pittsburgh and gives the Panthers something they didn’t have during Young’s first season — a sudden route runner with a history of getting separation from defensive backs. The 28-year-old Johnson was a malcontent with the Steelers. But he was on his best behavior this spring after arriving via trade, and should be motivated while playing with an expiring contract.

It’s tough to expect 34-year-old Adam Thielen to match his production from his first season in Carolina. Nor should he have to after Morgan traded for Johnson and then traded up in the draft to take South Carolina wideout Xavier Legette with the final pick of the first round. It’s worth keeping an eye on Legette after the 6-1, 227-pounder missed several weeks in the spring with a hamstring issue.

Tight end

Tommy Tremble was a popular pick as a breakout candidate last year because of Reich’s history of involving tight ends in his passing offense. It didn’t materialize — in part because Thielen caught a lot of balls near the line of scrimmage that might have been tight end targets — and Tremble put up numbers similar to his first two seasons, though with a higher catch percentage. One of the more intriguing rookies is Ja’Tavion Sanders, who played with Brooks at Texas and looks to have all the physical tools to be an impact receiver.

Offensive line

The Panthers shelled out $70 million in guaranteed money to Hunt and Lewis, who they hope can shore up the interior protection and give Young clearer passing lanes. Hunt, a massive human listed at 6-6 and 335 pounds, has been one of the league’s best pass blockers. According to Pro Football Focus, the former Dolphin has allowed four sacks and 24 pressures in 954 pass-blocking snaps since 2022. Lewis, who was with Canales in Seattle, also has been stout, with six sacks and 44 pressures allowed in 1,167 pass-blocking snaps over the past two seasons.

The arrivals of Hunt and Lewis forced Austin Corbett to shift to center, a position he’s never played in a regular-season game. But the biggest concern up front is left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who allowed 11 sacks in 2023 — among the most in the league and nearly twice as many as he gave up as a rookie.

Defensive line

Derrick Brown looked unblockable for much of his 2023 Pro Bowl season, during which he set a NFL record for a defensive lineman with 103 tackles (since the stat was first tracked in 1994). Brown parlayed his big year into a big contract (four years, $96 million), and could be even more of a backfield menace this season with free-agent acquisition A’Shawn Robinson drawing attention on the other side of the line.

Robinson, one of several additions with ties to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, had 60-plus tackles in two of the past three seasons. Nose tackle Shy Tuttle played in 17 games in his first season in Charlotte and tied a career high with five batted passes.

Outside linebacker

Edge rusher is the Panthers’ leanest position group entering camp. There’s Jadeveon Clowney and … who exactly? Most of the other outside linebackers either worked out on their own during OTAs (K’Lavon Chaisson) or were injured (D.J. Wonnum, Amare Barno, Eku Leota). Wonnum and Barno will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list. Canales indicated Wonnum would be eased into action after a setback in his recovery from quad surgery.

So there will be opportunities for guys like DJ Johnson, who was mostly a nonfactor as a rookie, and Chaisson, a first-round pick in 2020 who had five sacks in four seasons in Jacksonville. If no one steps up, Morgan should look for another edge rusher on the waiver wire, where the Panthers are first in the claiming order through the first three weeks of the regular season.

Inside linebacker

With much attention focused on the new guys on offense, some of the defensive additions were overshadowed — such as Josey Jewell, whose best season in Denver came in 2022 when Evero was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. Jewell isn’t the pass rusher Frankie Luvu is, but he’s had 100-plus tackles and at least two sacks his last three full seasons. A linebacker corps featuring Jewell, a healthy Shaq Thompson and rookies Trevin Wallace and Michael Barrett should be solid.

Cornerback

Much of the discussion of the corner position has centered more on a player who hasn’t played for the Panthers since 2021. Stephon Gilmore, a five-time Pro Bowler who lives in Charlotte during the offseason, remains unsigned following offseason shoulder surgery. Gilmore, who turns 34 in September, told NFL insider Josina Anderson last week he doesn’t think there are 64 starting corners better across the league.

But it feels like the Panthers want to see what they have in Dane Jackson before pursuing outside help. Morgan lobbied for the 5-11, 180-pound Jackson in Buffalo, where he was mostly a situational corner. But the bigger picture concern here is the health of Jaycee Horn, who has played in just 22 of 51 games since the Panthers took him eighth overall in 2021.

Safety

The remade safety room is a sneaky good position group. The Panthers cut Vonn Bell just one year into a three-year deal and signed two safeties who were with Evero and defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley with the Rams — Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott. Fuller was adept at defending the run and the pass in L.A., where he had a pair of three-interception seasons and fell six tackles short last year of a second 100-tackle season.

Xavier Woods was one of Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded safeties in 2023, playing sound coverage and finishing among the team’s top five tacklers. The Panthers have good depth in Scott and Sam Franklin, a special teams stalwart who scored on a 99-yard interception return last year against Minnesota.

Specialists

Harrison Mevis had a terrific spring while Eddy Pineiro skipped OTAs. Mevis, who set an SEC record with a 61-yard field goal last year at Missouri, looks to have the stronger leg. But Pineiro is the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history, trailing Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker. Can Mevis, aka “the Thiccer Kicker,” keeping drilling kicks when the pressure intensifies during a position battle that will be closely watched all summer?

(Top photo of Jaycee Horn: Jim Dedmon / USA Today)

Joe Person is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Carolina Panthers. He has covered the team since 2010, previously for the Charlotte Observer. A native of Williamsport, Pa., Joe is a graduate of William & Mary, known for producing presidents and NFL head coaches. Follow Joseph on X @josephperson Follow Joseph on Twitter @josephperson