Panthers players who have stood out the most at every position in training camp
Regular season mode is around the corner for the Carolina Panthers. In one week, the team will break training camp and begin making major roster cuts and fully preparing for the 2021 season.
During the course of training camp at Wofford, a number of players have stood out. With two sets of joint practices and three preseason games still to come, there is even more potential for eye-catching players and telling moments.
But before we get there, let’s take a look at players at each position that have stood out as the team begins practices with the Colts near Indianapolis on Thursday.
Quarterback
▪ Sam Darnold
Neither of the two backup quarterbacks — Will Grier and P.J. Walker — have particularly stood out with the two sharing reps with the second- and third-teams. Darnold has received plenty of attention, but he’s been inconsistent in practice. It’s hard to take too much from that and far more will be learned during the upcoming joint practices with both the Colts and Baltimore Ravens.
Still, Darnold’s ongoing performance, good or bad, will continue to be the focus, especially with the backup situation.
Running back
▪ Rodney Smith
With Mike Davis now in Atlanta, the backup running back competition is one of the more compelling battles on the roster. While the team drafted Chuba Hubbard in the fourth round from Oklahoma State and still has Reggie Bonnafon on the roster, Smith is certainly someone to keep an eye on. He’s looked consistent making catches as a receiver and is the fastest of the backups.
“I think Rodney Smith has looked really, really quick,” coach Matt Rhule said. “He came here last year, the poor guy was just coming off of COVID, and then we released him, and then (he) came back in the middle of season. He looks really quick.”
Undrafted out of Minnesota last year, Smith was on and off the practice squad and ultimately made it on the active roster toward the end of the season. He has a shot of hanging around this season and helping this offense.
Wide receiver
▪ Terrace Marshall Jr.
Is it a surprise that the Panthers’ second-round pick has already become a player to watch? Not really. While Marshall’s participation in OTAs and minicamp was limited due to injuries sustained in college, offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s familiarity with the LSU receiver seemed like a recipe for success. He made plenty of big plays early in practice and has been a starter throughout camp.
“We’re trying to force-feed Terrace and bring him along as fast as we can,” Rhule said.
Brady is carving out a specific role for the wideout to focus on and the 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver will need to continue to develop before the season. But he should have a key role in the offense.
Tight end
▪ Dan Arnold
Arnold, 26, only has seven career touchdowns and only one 16-game season under his belt, but his connection with Darnold has been one of the early surprises of training camp.
Arnold also has experience with Brady from their time together in New Orleans in 2018 and is coming off a solid season with the Arizona Cardinals, in which he scored four touchdowns.
“I know how (Brady) can work the tight ends into the offense, and I thought it was gonna be a really, really good situation,” Arnold said on deciding to come to the Panthers. “But then also trusting myself that I can become the Ben Watson kind of guy back in New Orleans, Jared Cook, Jimmy Graham; those guys that played really well in that offense. That’s kind of the next step for me, and that’s something that I want to push myself to be every single day.”
Each quarterback has consistently looked for him downfield during practice and the 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end has already shown the potential to fill a big hole in this offense.
Offensive lineman
▪ Taylor Moton
Moton has played right tackle well on a consistent basis, which is why the Panthers rewarded him with a big deal this offseason. He also may be the team’s second-best left tackle. That’s saying a lot, on both the offensive line talent on this roster and what Moton can do.
At this point, it’s unlikely that a permanent switch is made, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that Moton has been asked to play left tackle with the first-team offense when Cam Erving has been out with a shoulder injury.
Defensive line
▪ Daviyon Nixon
The rookie out of Iowa hasn’t caught the most attention on the fields at Spartanburg, but he seems to have earned himself a spot on the defensive line rotation. Nixon may not surpass Derick Brown and DaQuan Jones at the defensive tackle position, but he has looked solid in camp. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound tackle had 19 tackles for loss in two seasons with the Hawkeyes. He has the potential to make an impact this year.
Linebacker
▪ Denzel Perryman
Linebackers have been struggling to stay healthy and it was already a position of limited depth for the Panthers.
Perryman has stood out for different reasons than many of the players on this list. One of the few unvaccinated players on the Panthers roster, the veteran has missed most of training camp with a soft-tissue injury that Rhule admitted was not healing as quickly as the team hoped. Perryman has never played a full 16-game season due to a variety of injuries throughout his career. In his short time with the Panthers, an injury has already been an issue.
The team signed veteran Josh Bynes to help fill the various holes at linebacker. Perryman’s absence does give fourth-year player Jermaine Carter more opportunities.
Defensive backs
▪ Jaycee Horn
The first-round pick needs to work on reducing potential penalties, but Horn, 21, has looked as good as advertised thus far in camp. The eighth overall pick out of South Carolina should stand out in training camp, and he is. His next big test will be showing what he can do against a different team.
Specialists
▪ Joey Slye
Slye hasn’t made all of his kicks at training camp, but he’s made a lot of them from a variety of distances. While two different kickers were brought in to compete with him during the offseason training, he has had zero competition in camp.
“Joey’s been good,” Rhule said when asked about bringing more competition in.
Enough said.
