Even though we didn’t see many of the Carolina Panthers’ starters on Friday night against the New England Patriots, we did get ourselves a good look at how the men behind them are lining up.
Here are the biggest snap count standouts from the 20-10 loss.
Tae Time
Hayes has made a very short time his time.
The 25-year-old Appalachian State product played in 55 defensive snaps—the most of the entire unit. While some of that can be attributed to the cornerback group missing a number of its guys—Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson included—Hayes has undoubtedly balled out in each of the team’s two preseason tilts.
He turned those snaps into four tackles and an interception return for a touchdown—Carolina’s lone end zone visit of the night. Can the 2022 USFL champion, who was signed less than three weeks ago, wiggle his way onto this roster?
Getting Cade
Speaking of uncertain depth, the Panthers could certainly use some type of assurance of insurance for their revamped offensive line. Mays could be apart of that.
The 2022 sixth-round pick led the offense with 42 snaps, occupying the field nicely over 69 percent of the group’s presence on the night. He looked pretty solid doing so too, exhibiting his power and athleticism from both center and right guard.
Mays entered the summer as a likely candidate for the practice squad given what Carolina already had ahead of him. But the 23-year-old is beginning to look like a keeper, so they probably won’t want to put him out there on platter for other teams to take.
Is Brady Christenen beating out Michael Jordan?
On Wednesday, head coach Matt Rhule said this outing would be all about the non-starters. Well, at least mostly.
The game began with Carolina’s left side of the offensive line being occupied by Ikem Ekwonu and Brady Christensen, both of whom recorded 19 snaps. So if Ekwonu has already been named the starter on the blindside and Christensen was in for the same amount of looks as him, does that mean the second-year hog molly is set to beat out Michael Jordan?
Perhaps, as Jordan racked up 38 snaps—the fourth most of the entire unit. Now, while Christensen was favored over his competitor anyway, this could be an indication of where the Panthers are going on Ickey’s right.
