Which Carolina Panthers rookies will make the most impact?
Chris We're less than 3 months away from training camp
We're less than 3 months away from training camp
Might be right at 2 because uh the Panthers will
start just a little bit early
But yeah it's it's coming man
I'm excited
It's yeah we're basically 2.5 months away from training camp
and the rookies show up this weekend
Who are we excited about Chris Let's get this sucker
started
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What rookie are you most excited about What rookie are
you most excited about Chris and I are gonna drop
a couple of names out there that we're kind of
looking forward to seeing even of the undrafted guys
Who are you most excited about this upcoming season Chris
But this time of year the rookies they come in
it's not just the guys that were drafted the undrafted
free agents there's some training camp invitees
And as Dan Morgan told us last week face to
face They'll find anybody that can make this team a
little bit better even if it's a guy that was
just brought into rookie minicamp just to be an extra
body
If he shows something they'll sign him
They ain't afraid to do it
Absolutely
I mean we've seen it over the last few seasons
right Jalen Coker Claude Cheli Thomas Ecum right Uh LeBrian
Ray Damani Richardson Corey Thornton Corey Thornton Bryson Tremaine
Like those guys have uh you know all were undrafted
guys and uh the Panthers are are willing to take
uh anybody from anywhere uh to help make this roster
You don't have to be uh a top draft pick
I mean even somebody like Isaiah Simmons is getting an
opportunity
He was a top draft pick and but he's kind
of coming at the same level as some of those
guys that we've talked about
Uh you know as a chance to kind of reprove
himself but as far as like who I'm excited about
first off from the guys who were drafted I feel
like I'm excited about the guys who I feel like
who can have the biggest immediate impact
Uh a couple of guys a lot of the picks
I feel like are
Even though Dan Morgan said this wasn't the case I
feel like or I feel like they're kind of long-term
projects um not necessarily a project but like um you
know it's they're depth pieces
If if somebody goes down this year then they'll get
their real opportunity or if somebody gets cut next year
then they'll get their real opportunity um but Lee Hunter
and Chris Brazil I think have the ability to make
the most immediate impact uh of the drafted guys
And so I'm excited to see what that possibly looks
like
Um and then from the undrafted guys and we can
go in in more detail later I'm excited about uh
Hanes Haynes King and uh potentially Kobe Prentice
Uh Kobe Prentice is a speedster and he can run
routes and you know we need that type of guy
We have that type of guy in Jimmy Horn but
who knows maybe Kobe Prentice uh comes in and you
know he ends up impressing
And can feel a need in the position for us
We have a lot of trees a lot of tall
receivers
He could be that uh that you know difference maker
that different type of uh look as a wide receiver
um you know that we that we need from from
the speed guy from the small speed guy
So uh I'm excited about those guys
What what about you man So Kobe Prentice by the
way not a very big guy
He's 5'9.5 basically just under 5'10 185
So he's actually probably slightly bigger than Jimmy Horn Junior
but roughly around the same time
But again another just flat out speed guy uh and
Kobe Prentice
I I'm I think the wide receiver room is gonna
be a hard one to crack
I really think it is
I could see him maybe if he gets onto a
practice squad but I think that wide receiver room is
gonna be really really hard to crack just because of
like you mentioned Razzle brought in unseating somebody surprising
Yeah like it would be it would be surprising if
that if that were to take place
A couple of guys that I'm interested in in terms
of undrafted free agents is because I feel like there's
potential to crack the roster in this area
I'm looking at Aaron Hall the defensive tackle from Duke
which by the way is a Durham kid
uh so he's from the state of North Carolina and
Wisconsin defensive tackle Parker Peterson
And the reason why I say that is because yes
they drafted Lee Hunter
They got rid of Asshaun Robinson salary cap casualty business
move
It's not because of his level of play it's simply
a financial thing
So no Ashaun Robinson but you drafted Lee Hunter
So who are the depth pieces that are after that
You know Derrek Brown's gonna be there
You signed Turk Wharton you have Bobby Brown you signed
Lee Hunter
I know there's Cam Jackson that's back from last year
but there might be a spot or even two that's
available
I know Jared Harrison Hunt a guy that was a
rookie last season that there were some people or at
least teams around the league that were looking to maybe
poach him off the Panthers practice squad
So the Panthers elevated him and kept him on their
53-man roster even though he didn't dress in games
But there's potential there on the defensive front for a
guy to come in
And earn himself a roster spot
And I so that's why I'm looking at seeing if
guys like Aaron Hall and Parker Peterson those are two
guys that are popping out of my name in terms
of undrafted guys that I'm really am curious to see
how they're gonna show during not just rookie mini camp
but just over the course of this offseason for sure
And and you know I guess one of the things
to kind of look at too is like some of
these names um you know that you named some of
the names that I named some of these guys may
end up being on
The the Panthers practice squad I'm gonna call them the
Hurricanes because I'm so used to talking about Hurricanes right
now um um but they might be on the Panthers
uh practice squad and um it's gonna be interesting to
see like what that looks like also because that is
when you get to that level of having an embarrassment
of riches where it's like this guy that's on our
practice squad could possibly get poached off mainly because Um
he could be a a fringe starter somewhere else but
we just don't have enough room on our roster for
this partic this particular guy
Um it that will be a horrible position to be
put in in the moment but when you look back
at the work that got you there I think that
uh that will show like where the where the uh
Hurricanes Hurricanes I did it again
Where the Panthers are look this says Panthers playbook
Let me make sure um you know that'll show exactly
where the Panthers are uh and you know as far
as getting talent into that uh into that building
And so I'm excited to see what ends up shaking
out there
I feel like when me and you do the exercise
of picking the 53 man roster it'll be the toughest
10 it's gonna it's not gonna be easy
I I was actually thinking about this the other day
because I know we were gonna do it at some
point this offseason but I was looking at even like
specifically wide receiver I'm like oh
Yeah like like there's someone who's good who's good
Like who can you can justifiably say that is like
yeah that person should be on the roster and can
contribute in some way shape or form in a positive
way
And they ain't gonna be here
Now granted there also there's a potential knock on wood
injuries do take place
You never know when someone might get injured during the
offseason or whatever it might be
That is a real possibility so we'll have to wait
and see
Sometimes these decisions make themselves but it's it's not gonna
be an easy thing to make
That's why I was looking again looking for guys specifically
in terms of you know who could be
Of the undrafted guys that could potentially fill a void
And you mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes Chris
I I I know that Tim Donnelly and I have
talked about this on air and I I think this
is actually something that the the the Panthers and the
Hurricanes might have something in common
So the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes have done a really really good job of
finding what they call marketed inefficiencies
They find stuff in the margins to make things to
make better
There are certain traits that they value and analytics that
they value that other teams might not
For example they're they're 100% comfortable drafting a guy that's
a little bit undersized but is an elite skater and
has elite hands like at least the elite stick skills
that is
So you have elite hands elite skills and an elite
skater but Undersized and they can find those guys in
the middle part of the draft a la Jackson Blake
They can find those guys
That's where they're able to to to really thrive is
they find guys that have key characteristics that they like
skating ability
Eric Robinson for example a depth forward for them that
skates on the fourth line is an elite skater also
has physical size but may not have the finishing ability
but his skating
fits into the system that Carolina runs
Look at what the Carolina Panthers have done in the
last couple of offseasons in terms of finding undrafted free
agents
What's Jalen Coker an elite route runner good footwork tremendous
hands didn't run a great 40 time but they know
they can work with certain traits
Same thing with a guy like Corey Thornton has the
physical traits that they're looking for
They know they can
Develop him
So it all depends about what you value in terms
of these players and you can find guys that other
teams might not value but they know they can fit
into your system
And Carolina Panthers have done a really really good job
of that over the last couple of years
Sure
Let me go back to Prentice real quick because of
something that you were saying and I I I don't
think that it's a foregone conclusion that he couldn't make
the 53
And the reason why I say that is Um I
think that if you find somebody who is a better
route runner than Jimmy Horn Junior that is one of
the the knocks against him which is probably why he
you know was a 6th round pick probably would have
been a higher pick if if a lot of teams
felt like he was a better route runner than what
he was able to display in workouts and also in
college
If Prentice is able to do that
That could be the spot right there uh and then
you just never you also just never know like you
know is is David Moore there to simply bring guys
along and there's an understanding that you're here to bring
guys along
If you're here uh we're gonna make sure we put
you on the 53 so I mean I'm sorry on
the practice squad so that you can help guys on
the 53
Um and so you you just to me you just
never know even though there's that room is crowded I
still feel like there's like 4 like for sure you
know what I'm saying And and those those last two
spots can go anywhere
And then sometimes we've seen them uh potentially take uh
you know 7 depending on you know how many guys
are are are willing participants and really good at playing
a special teams
So um you know I'm I'm interested in seeing how
all of that shakes out
And uh your point about finding market inefficiency inefficiencies I
think that that has been um Something that Dan Dan
Morgan and crew have really excelled in uh the last
couple of years
And when you're able to not only You know draft
well but find the undrafted guys that are actually having
a chance to make your roster
That to me shows a great eye for for scouting
talent
For some teams
That's showing that you know hey there's a lack of
talent on your particular roster but the Panthers have been
able to find you know this is a diamond in
the rough here and and somebody like Haynes King you
know we haven't seen the the Panthers take the emergency
third quarterback spot uh under Dave Canales
He could end up being that guy right You know
and there there's some competition in front of him uh
but the fact that they gave him a a guaranteed
$250,000 as a UDFA
It means something
It absolutely means something for sure
I Again going back to those traits some of those
guys that you can find I mean I think that's
where you get a guy like for example Wheatley the
5th-round draft pick out of out of I'm sure you're
out of Penn State
I'm gonna say Florida State out of Penn State
You get Wheatley as a 5th-round pick and that's a
guy who has the size the length everything that you're
looking for but didn't run a great 40
But if you watch him on tape According to what
you know the experts what they say is that he
plays faster than his 40 time
So again it's finding that little that little nugget of
like all right we can maybe get this guy up
to a 455
You it's hard to teach speed but maybe there's just
things with technique and just more training that you can
maybe
And get a guy just a step faster but there
are different traits and stuff you're looking for
Jackson Kuach the 7th-round pick a guy that has a
great physical traits just didn't have the production in college
because of where he started as a walk-on with Ohio
State
Guys building through adversity
That's a Dave Canales type guys that we've heard him
describe it
Same thing with Sam Heck the 5th-round pick
These guys have traits and different things that the Carolina
Panthers value
And I think that's also something that you know We
gotta give credit to Dan Morgan and talk about in
terms of changing culture
You gotta find the traits and aspects of players that
you value
Like what do you truly value Is it just size
Is it just speed or the combination thereof I mean
certainly you can look at
You know guys like for example you can look at
the we'll just throw back an old name since he's
not playing anymore
You can look at Adrian Peterson and go yeah you
know he had the size and speeds and all that
kind of stuff but not everyone's built like that
So what do you value the most Do you value
size and speed Do you value IQ like what are
the things that you value most as a franchise Figure
that out and go find those guys
I I've also been thinking of like what do I
want from this uh particular rookie class you know um
each rookie class uh they're drafted to do different things
they're drafted to um or they're in a in different
positions when they're joining the team
I think last year's rookie class was tasked with um
a little bit more
Uh they had to make a more of an immediate
impact I think uh just because of where the the
roster was
This year's rookie class I don't think needs to make
an an immediate impact but I I do think that
um that they're there for sure to um build the
depth uh for this Panthers squad but then also push
the starters uh because if you got somebody who's hungry
coming right behind you
Um as we talked about before that competition is is
definitely gonna drive you to a new level
So where what can this rookie class push um you
know uh the the current roster where what level can
they push them to That's kind of what I've been
thinking is like what the role of these guys are
for the most part pushing the guys who are already
starting ahead of you into their best position
What are your thoughts on that Oh I agree
I 100% agree
Now I think there are guys that will step in
and start right away
I don't be shocked if Monroe Freling is your starting
tackle at some point this season
Lee Hunter I expect to get a lot of snaps
this season
Even if he's not technically a starter Lee Hunter can
still play 45 snaps for you a game this season
which is significant
Chris Brazil probably not gonna be a starter but there's
real competition for that
Wide receiver spot like Xavier Legette Jimmy Horn Jr
John Becci Chris Brassel that's 4 guys going for one
spot
I'm like so if you're not that 3rd receiver OK
what else can you do OK can you play special
teams Can you return kicks Can you do all these
other things Because there's the limitations of what you have
to dress on game day
You have to be able to do more than just
one thing
I mean obviously if you're Tedderro McMillan your one thing
is being your number one wide receiver
That's different
But for most guys that's not the case
So the competition is there it really is it's pushing
guys and I think even for a guy
Even for a guy you're talking about like depth on
the team like Chandler Zavala was a mid-round pick of
this team just a few years ago and we've seen
him injured often unfortunately but we've seen him often injured
They kept Nick Samak a guy that they signed off
a practice squad last year
Chandler Zavala might be pushed out of a position
You never know
There's interior offensive linemen that could be possibly taking over
some of the backup spots as well
Like there's gonna be competition is exactly what Dan Morgan
was looking for
It's 100% what that Dave Canales has been preaching since
day one
They want competition in every position Chris
So I'm I'm with you
I mean they There are 3 guys that I actually
I say I'm gonna there's 4 guys of the rookie
draft class that I think will Truly contribute
On a down by down basis this season
Monroe Freeling Lee Hunter Chris Brazil Sam Hecht
Like those are the four guys that I see
Now not saying that that Lee that Will Lee that
is that Wheatley that some of the other guys won't
get playing time or can't earn it but those are
4 guys that I see that can contribute right from
the get-go
Yeah I'm with you on that
Those those are the guys I would pick as well
Something tells me that Wheatley will get um a a
decent chance uh this year
Um to play but it'll be interesting to see excuse
me kind of how it all shakes out for sure
um
But again you know there's there's not a lot of
pressure on these guys right Like you know you don't
the the The success of our season doesn't necessarily depend
on one of these guys working out
Like last year T Mac needed to be the Offensive
Rookie of the Year for the Panthers to to sneak
their way into the playoffs right If that doesn't happen
if he doesn't you know catch all the passes and
get all the yards that he he got the Panthers
barely moved the ball and we're probably looking at another
3 or 4-win season
I mean there there were a lot of times where
T Mac was the one
Who is you know kind of bailing us out in
in a lot of situations
Um I don't necessarily see a situation like that for
anybody on this on this uh from this rookie class
like they we need them to do this
Now it'll be cool if somebody steps up like a
uh apprentice or a Chris Brazil to help take the
top off to be that home run hitter uh to
you know Be able to open up things in the
Panthers' offense that they needed to have opened up right
Like you know we I think we all agree that
that offense needs to be a lot more explosive uh
than what it was last year
One of you know the the bottom teams as far
as um you know explosive plays are concerned uh in
the NFL as a total as a in in the
whole season
Uh I know that things kind of picked up at
a certain point at the end of the year
Um but you know uh those guys could help out
with that but it's not like they're absolutely needed for
that
Cause there's some guys who are already on a roster
uh if they kind of get their stuff together they
could potentially do that um and and help out in
those situations
So um I I like where we're at
I really do like where we we are at uh
as far as the roster is concerned
Happy that rookie minicamp is here
That means that we're gonna be on the beginning of
the OTAs and the mini camps and then of course
we're leading uh to training camp and um I'm going
to Canton
I'll be in Canton for the Hall of Fame Hall
of Fame game
So I'm excited that you know maybe we can get
on uh Panthers playbook together
I could do some stuff from from Canton there as
well
So I'm excited to see uh how the season goes
man
They're going in this direction they're going in this direction
Again let us know what rookie are you most excited
about What rookie are you most excited about We got
2 words for you Panthers playbook
See y'all next week
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