Who took the biggest steps forward and who took a few steps back in Friday night’s preseason loss to the New York Giants?
Here are our studs and duds from the Carolina Panthers’ second preseason outing of the summer:
Stud: RB Raheem Blackshear
Blackshear led all rushers on Friday night, amassing 31 yards and a touchdown off eight carries. He could’ve even had 14 more on a sharp run if not for a holding penalty on rookie offensive lineman Ricky Lee.
But that’s now here nor there for Blackshear, who also looked rather explosive on his 29-yard kick return in the second quarter. So the second-year back, especially with Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard dealing with injuries, is proving his worth.
Dud: LT Ikem Ekwonu
Another game, another sack charged to the 2022 sixth overall pick.
Ekwonu was responsible for the sack of rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who was promptly met by defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux off a snap from the Giants’ 10-yard line.
Looks like Ikem Ekwonu was more concerned about helping Brady Christensen with interior rush than blocking Kayvon Thibodeaux pic.twitter.com/aPdqJhQR7Y
— Edgar Salmingo, Jr. ✌️ (@PanthersAnalyst) August 18, 2023
Yeah, not great.
Stud: WR Shi Smith
After reeling in a 20-yard catch last week against the New York Jets, Smith came back to lead this entire game in receiving. He recorded a game-high 59 yards on four grabs, pushing his case to be included in the ever-interesting wideout room.
Duds: Tight ends
Unfortunately, that impressive catch you see Hayden Hurst making above didn’t count. The would-be 14-yard reception was called back due to a hold.
So, if we factor that in, Carolina’s tight ends combined for . . .
*calculates*
. . . two receptions for -3 yards.
Stud: DL Raequan Williams
Williams played the role of disruptor for Carolina’s defense. He recorded a team-high four tackles (tied with cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Keith Taylor Jr. and linebacker Brandon Smith) with a sack and a pair of quarterback hits.
His solid performances in practice appear to be bleeding over into the preseason realm.
Dud: First-team defense
Sure, the unit was without three very key players in defensive tackle Derrick Brown and outside linebackers Brian Burns and Justin Houston. But they still made Daniel Jones look like Peyton Manning. (Prime Peyton Manning, not the one from Super Bowl 50.)
Jones connected on eight of his nine throws for 69 yards in a breezy 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game. If not for safety Vonn Bell’s vicious breakup on tight end Darren Waller, Danny Dimes might’ve been perfect on what was a soft showing for the Panthers’ starting defense.
