With one of the franchise’s most exciting offseasons in the books, the Carolina Panthers might be primed to contend this upcoming season. And although there still may be moves on the horizon, we can still sift through the 88-player program to make an opening-week projection.
So, here is our current set of predictions of how the team’s 53-man roster will look come Week 1.
(Side note: Players are listed in alphabetical order. So, no, this is not a depth chart projection.)
Quarterbacks (3)
- Matt Corral
- Andy Dalton
- Bryce Young
The quarterback room is unlikely to see much shakeup given the investment at each position. Each player has something valuable to bring to the group.
Running backs (3)
- Spencer Brown
- Chuba Hubbard
- Miles Sanders
Sanders and Hubbard are all but locked in for the next season. And given it is hard to foresee four running backs making the 53, the battle for the No. 3 spot could be one to watch.
Wide receivers (7)
- Damiere Byrd
- DJ Chark
- Terrace Marshall Jr.
- Jonathan Mingo
- Laviska Shenault Jr.
- Shi Smith
- Adam Thielen
The Panthers receiving room is deeper than it’s looked for a long time, and some tough cuts are coming down the line if they keep seven players at the position.
Tight ends (3)
- Hayden Hurst
- Ian Thomas
- Tommy Tremble
It will be hard for any other players to move these three off the roster. And unless the Panthers decide to retain four, some talented players are going to become available from this roster.
Offensive lineman (9)
- Bradley Bozeman
- Brady Christensen
- Austin Corbett
- Ikem Ekwonu
- Cameron Erving
- Michael Jordan
- Taylor Moton
- Sam Tecklenburg
- Chandler Zavala
This is also the most talented offensive line the Panthers have had in a while. There are some good depth players that will be cut, but the unit will remain solid.
Defensive lineman (6)
- Henry Anderson
- Derrick Brown
- Marquan McCall
- Bravvion Roy
- Shy Tuttle
- DeShawn Williams
A new system for Carolina means less players at the position. The Panthers have a beefy bunch, one that may be anchored by the free-agent addition in Tuttle.
Linebackers/EDGE (10)
- Amaré Barno
- Brian Burns
- Yetur Gross-Matos
- Kamu Grugier-Hill
- Marquis Haynes Sr.
- DJ Johnson
- Frankie Luvu
- Bumper Pool
- Brandon Smith
- Shaq Thompson
It will be interesting to see how these positions play out—specifically the edge spot across from Burns.
Defensive backs (9)
- Vonn Bell
- Jeremy Chinn
- CJ Henderson
- Sam Franklin Jr.
- Jaycee Horn
- Donte Jackson
- Keith Taylor Jr.
- Jammie Robinson
- Xavier Woods
It may not all be great, but there’s a lot of depth at this position that the team will unfortunately need to pass on. The battle for backup spots will be crucial in camp.
Specialists (3)
- Johnny Hekker
- JJ Jansen
- Eddy Piñeiro
Not much controversy here. These positions are all set.
