Pleasant surprises: Here are our Carolina Panthers preseason MVP awards

By Alex Zietlow and Mike Kaye

August 20, 2025 6:00 AM

Tuesday marked the official end of preseason practice, and that means many things.

Among those things:

The Charlotte Observer has many concluding thoughts!

In the latest podcast episode of Processing Blue, Observer writers Mike Kaye and Alex Zietlow give out end-of-camp awards. That includes the offensive MVP, the defensive MVP and the practice squad player the Panthers need to be most keen to keep. The two also discuss if the Carolina brass should pursue Trey Hendrickson in a trade — and they also draft this year’s 2025 draft class based on camp performance.

Listen to the latest episode at the embed in this story, or download it on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also check out the show on YouTube.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription

Mike Kaye

The Charlotte Observer

Mike Kaye writes about the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer. He also co-hosts “Processing Blue: A Panthers Podcast” for The Observer. Kaye’s work in columns/analysis and sports feature writing has been honored by the North Carolina Press Association (NCPA). His reporting has also received recognition from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE).Kaye previously covered the entire NFL for Pro Football Network, the Philadelphia Eagles for NJ Advance Media and the Jacksonville Jaguars for First Coast News. Support my work with a digital subscription

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