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The Carolina Panthers are a young team that will be entering its second season with head coach Matt Rhule. With Christian McCaffrey missing the majority of the season in 2020 due to injury and a new quarterback in Sam Darnold, the Panthers will have a difficult climb to the top as divisional rivals Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the reigning Super Bowl champions and looking for an encore.
With that in mind, the Panthers will enter training camp ready to finalize a competitive roster. This, more often than not, leads to difficult decisions being made, with training camp providing a stage for certain players to just about make the final roster.
5 Carolina Panthers players who need to come up with the goods in training camp
#1 Trenton Scott, OT
Trent Scott played just four games with the Panthers in 2020 due to injury. His production wasn't what the Panthers needed on the line last season, even with a mobile quarterback.
With Sam Darnold under center, who is a little less mobile, the Panthers needed to beef up the offensive line. One of the ways that was done was by moving up in the draft to get Brady Christensen out of BYU.
#2 J.J. Jansen, LS
J.J. Jansen has been with the Panthers the last ten seasons and is one of the longest tenured snappers in the league. Although Carolina re-signed Jansen to a one-year extension this offseason, the team then went on to draft long snapper Thomas Fletcher out of Alabama in the sixth round.
Drafting a long snapper is a pretty solid indication that the Panthers have looked elsewhere, which could leave Jansen in the lurch.
#3 Ian Thomas, TE
Tight end Ian Thomas was expected to be the successor to veteran tight end Greg Olsen when he left the Carolina Panthers. Thomas didn't quite have the type of production many expected.
In fact, the Panthers signed Dan Arnold, who was with the Arizona Cardinals, and drafted Notre Dame tight end Tommy Tremble in the third round. Thomas is now between a crowded TE room and a hard place.
#4 Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, CB
One of the Panthers' weakest spots on the roster last season was the secondary. One of the moves Carolina made to make improvements to that position was to draft Jaycee Horn with the eighth overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
While Stantley Thomas-Oliver III had a solid rookie season, he is going to need to show even more growth en route to his second year in the NFL.
#5 Keith Kirkwood, WR
Keith Kirkwood's 2020 season was dampened by a recurring shoulder injury. The Panthers drafted Shi Smith and Terrace Marshall Jr. this year, which pushed Kirkwood further down the depth chart considering that Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore are WR1 and WR2.
All things considered, Kirkwood appears to be on the outside looking in.
