Analyzing Carolina Panthers’ offensive depth chart ahead of 2026 rookie minicamp
The Carolina Panthers will host their annual rookie minicamp Friday and Saturday just outside of Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte. And they’ll welcome seven draft picks to the fold, along with a talent pool of 11 undrafted rookies and a few other tryout players hoping to latch onto the roster before training camp.
The two-day camp will launch the next phase of the team’s self-evaluation process. With a youth movement in the building, the Panthers will try to get the most out of their limited time with the rookie class before introducing the group to the rest of the roster.
Carolina has three draft picks who could reasonably start on offense right away. That trio could benefit from one-on-one time with coaches this weekend.
Here is a breakdown of each position group on offense:
(Note: Rookies are noted in italics, while draft picks are additionally identified in bold. All reported undrafted free-agent agreements are subject to physicals before the rookie minicamp.)
Quarterback
Projected starter: Bryce Young
Projected backup: Kenny Pickett
Competition/depth: Will Grier, Haynes King
Young is locked into his rookie contract through 2027. But the fourth-year QB is hoping to land a long-term extension, which could be attained if he continues to ascend from his humble NFL beginnings. Pickett replaces longtime backup Andy Dalton, who was shipped to Philadelphia in March. Young is the most experienced starter in the position room now, and Pickett will be there to serve him as his backup.
King, who agreed to terms as an undrafted free agent, will compete with Grier, a former Carolina draft pick and local standout, for training camp reps and prolonged preseason snaps.
Running back
Projected starter: Chuba Hubbard
Projected backups: Jonathon Brooks, Trevor Etienne
Competition/depth: A.J. Dillon, Anthony Tyus, Montrell Johnson
Hubbard is back in the driver’s seat as the top running back in what figures to be a bit more of an open-ended rotation. In the past, head coach Dave Canales has favored a two-back carousel. But in 2026, he might turn to a three-man weave, especially with Brooks coming off back-to-back ACL surgeries.
Brooks said he has been cleared to participate in the offseason program by his surgeon, but the training staff will likely ease him back into action this summer. Etienne, a 2025 fourth-round pick, will look to gain some momentum offensively after mostly being used as a returner on special teams as a rookie.
The team brought in Dillon in free agency to compete for a job. He will also offer insurance in case Brooks has a setback or Etienne fails to take hold of a job in the backfield.
Wide receiver
Projected starters: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette/Chris Brazzell
Projected backups: John Metchie, Jimmy Horn Jr., Brycen Tremayne
Competition/depth: David Moore, Dan Chisena, Ainias Smith, Ja’seem Reed, Kobe Prentice, Malick Meiga
McMillan and Coker have earned their spots at the top of the depth chart. The next question is: Who is part of the starting trio in three-receiver sets?
Right now, the competition is likely to come down to Legette and Brazzell. There’s also a chance the Panthers could just rotate the 2024 first-round pick with the new third-round selection to give Coker more range in the lineup. Metchie, a free-agent addition with college ties to Young, also could factor into that third spot as well.
Horn and Tremayne will need to hold off fellow holdovers like Moore, Chisena, Smith and Reed throughout the summer. Prentice and Meiga are likely to competing for practice-squad jobs. Meiga was selected in the second round of the CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders last week, so he has a fallback plan if he can’t earn a gig this summer.
Tight end
Projected starter: Tommy Tremble
Projected backups: Mitchell Evans, Ja’Tavion Sanders
Competition/depth: Feleipe Franks, James Mitchell, Bryce Pierre
While most fans were hoping for an immediate upgrade in the draft, the Panthers dig their incumbent tight end group.
Tremble is a do-everything tight end who was developed internally. Evans, a fifth-round pick last year, has a similar makeup and playing style to Tremble, and he is a good platoon backup for him. Sanders, who is more of a receiving threat, is coming off an injury riddled second season, and he will need to bounce back and show some consistency if he wants a feature role in 2026.
If the Panthers decide to keep four tight ends again this season, the competition will probably come down to Mitchell, a 2025 holdover, and the returning Franks, who is a special teams ace. Both will need to outshine the deeper ends of the wideout depth chart to stick around.
Offensive line
Projected starters: Monroe Freeling (LT), Damien Lewis (LG), Luke Fortner (C), Rob Hunt (RG), Taylor Moton (RT)
Projected backups: Rasheed Walker, Stone Forsythe, Chandler Zavala, Sam Hecht
Competition/depth: Nick Samac, Ja’Tyre Carter, Joshua Gray, Saahdiq Charles, Isaia Glass, Albert Reese
Injured list: Ickey Ekwonu
Freeling, the team’s first-round pick, will be under a microscope over the next several months. The team signed Walker as Ekwonu insurance, but Freeling is the future of the line, and he should be given every opportunity to battle for the Week 1 left tackle job. Lewis, Hunt and Moton will continue to be stewards of the line, as the Panthers try to figure out their center position and core depth linemen.
Speaking of center, the team’s most wide-open starter competition will feature Fortner, Samac and Hecht. Fortner should be considered the early favorite, as he’s the only member of the trio with NFL offensive snaps on his resume — he was a starter in Jacksonville for two years, too. Samac, a 2025 holdover, has fans in the building, but the fifth-round selection of Hecht makes his outlook a bit more fluid. Both Hecht and Samac are center-only linemen, so keeping both might not be advantageous on game day if one doesn’t outright win the starting job against Fortner.
Forsythe, a free-agent addition, and Zavala, a 2023 draft pick, appear to be the favorites for the final O-line depth spots. But Carter and Charles have some experience and Glass and Reese — a pair of undrafted rookies — might have upside worth exploring.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Panthers add to this group before training camp, especially with Brady Christensen most likely to recover from Achilles surgery prior to training camp. Christensen, who has played all five positions on the line for Carolina, remains a free agent.
