Carolina Panthers Training Camp 2024 Preview

Carolina Panthers Training Camp 2024 Preview

The Panthers season went as you expected, then worse than that. I mean no one was expecting the Panthers to be good, but no one expected them to be THAT bad. They were so bad that the Bears got the #1 pick again and they didn’t do anything. 2-15 is awful. They have a young coach in Dave Canales that had success with the Seahawks and the Bucs as their Offensive Coordinators, so hopefully the Panthers offense will look better and in turn Bryce Young. However, can this team as a whole rapidly improve enough to not be an embarrassment of the league? We’ll see but that all starts in camp. Here’s the Carolina Panthers training camp preview

Three Position Battles To Watch

RB: Chuba Hubbard vs. Jonathon Brooks vs. Miles Sanders vs. Rashaad Penny

In our first position battle in this Panthers training camp preview, we look at the RB position. This is a very interesting RB room because I was one of the fools that bought in the Miles Sanders hype last year. That was a mistake. Now, this room added Jonathon Brooks and Rashaad Penny to the roster. This RB room is murky, I couldn’t tell you who is starting week 1, if they even name a starter. I could safely tell you that Miles Sanders won’t be the guy for the Panthers, he might not even make the roster.

TE: Tommy Tremble vs. Ja’Tavion Sanders vs. Ian Thomas

Ian Thomas is more of a blocking TE but more was expected out of Tommy Tremble. That’s why the Panthers went out and drafted Ja’Tavion Sanders in the 4th round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Could th Panthers really keep all of these TEs? I would say Sanders is probably the best catching TE on this team, Ian Thomas is the best blocking TE, and Tremble might be a mixture of both. The fight for TE1 will be interesting depending on how the Panthers use their TEs. If they are relying on more pass-catching out of their WRs, we could see Ian Thomas and Tremble get more playing time for blocking. If this WR group is not very good (spoiler it’s not), Ja’Tavion Sanders could see a lot more playing time and might even be a good Fantasy TE.

WR3: Xavier Legette vs. Jonathan Mingo vs. Terrace Marshall Jr. vs. Ihmir Smith-Marsette vs. Jalen Coker vs. Cam Sims

This WR room is a mess. I safely went with Adam Thielen with WR2 and new traded for WR Diontae Johnson as WR1. I wouldn’t even say that Thielen is safe as WR2, he has definitely lost a step (or several) in his game. I wouldn’t be as bold to say he gets cut, but he could definitely be on the lower end of the WR room if he’s not careful. Xavier Legette might be the pick to be WR2 or WR3 seeing how the Panthers did erroneously drafted him in the first round. The rest of this room is bleak and a lot of unproven guys are on the squad. I’ve been waiting on Mingo or Marshall to break out but I just don’t think it is going to happen. I am on a new wave now: Ihmir Smith-Marsette, see more on him later. Jalen Coker is a UDFA rookie that is hopeful to make the roster and Cam Sims has bounce around the league that could be decent but hasn’t done anything. Either way, whoever makes the roster and is WR3 and WR4, these guys don’t inspire confidence.

Bryce Young: Is He A Bust?

Ready To Breakout: Rashaad Penny

Remember how I was talking about the RB room, I actually think Rashaad Penny could emerge as the guy for the Panthers. The Panthers might focus on developing Jonathon Brooks and feed him, but Penny can play and I feel better about him than Hubbard and Sanders. You could see Hubbard and say “Well, he did get 900 rushing yards last year Chickster,” cool. Did you see yards per carry? A measly 3.8 yards per carry, yuck. Penny did not play well with the Eagles last year, like awful, and he still got 3.0 YPC. In his last two seasons with the Seahawks, he averaged 6 YPC. He can play and might be 2nd guy behind Brooks if he plays.

Rookie To Watch: Xavier Legette

The rookie to watch in the Panthers training camp preview? Xavier Legette. Yeah, in the first round. It’s safe to say that he is the rookie to watch. Just because, with a 1st round pick and the 5th-year option, the standard is to be productive. Are we sure Legette is good or is he a product of one good season. He will have to earn that status and has immense pressure to produce. Also, I’m not even sure he was the best WR on the board. I don’t think it’s crazy to say that Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey, and AD Mitchell might have been better selections. So he has to produce and prove that he deserved to be picked over these guys.

Fantasy Sleeper: Ihmir Smith-Marsette

I got stock in Ihmir Smith-Marsette, just don’t tell anyone. My fantasy league has kick returning points and Punt return points. Smith-Marsette returns all the punts for the Panthers. The good thing is that you might not even have to draft him or can spend a late-round pick on him as a flier. As mentioned, this WR room is not good, could Smith-Marsette make a name for himself for the Panthers?

The goal for the Panthers is to improve. Not only in win total but just actually looking like they belong in the NFL. Last year was abysmal, they honestly don’t look like they could do worse than last year. But let’s put it this way, Week 1 hasn’t started and this team is already eliminated from the playoffs. The bright side is this team has their own 1st rounder this year which means they can get some great talent in a loaded draft class. Bryce Young better hope he improves though, because they are some QBs that can play and if he sucks the Panthers may draft a first-round QB.

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