Multiple Rookies Step Up for the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are still very well in the midst of their rebuild. They put all of their eggs into the proverbial Bryce Young basket, trading a couple of first-rounders and top wideout D.J. Moore for the Alabama passer. Another brutal season in 2023 was followed by an awful start to the 2024 season, leading to Young landing on Carolina’s bench to make room for veteran Andy Dalton.

Multiple Rookies Step Up for the Panthers

Dalton’s car crash helped Young back into the starting role, and since then, the Panthers are marching, winning two consecutive games. Granted, those victories came over the subpar Saints and Giants, but no win in the NFL is easy, and winning against bad opposition is a step in the right direction.

Since regaining the starting gig, Young has thrown for five touchdowns and four interceptions. He has a long way to go to turn into the player the Panthers wanted him to be when they moved heaven and earth to bring him to Carolina, but he’s been looking much improved.

A trio of offensive rookies have helped him grow. Jonathan Mingo was traded to Dallas, Diontae Johnson to Baltimore, and Adam Thielen landed on IR. Those moves allowed rookie pass-catchers Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker to be featured more in the passing game. The same can be said about rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, whose role is slowly growing, too.

Legette was drafted with the final pick of the first round after a trade-up. The University of South Carolina alumnus has been a popular player because of his accent, and his interviews spread like wildfire. On the field, meanwhile, he had produced numbers early in the season but hit a rookie wall, collecting just 34 receiving yards in a three-game span.

In the last three games, however, Legette has been consistently solid, catching four, four, and three passes for 34, 33, and 40 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. He has yet to have a signature game, but his role is slowly growing, so a big game could be right around the corner.

Coker didn’t have nearly the expectations Legette had when he arrived in Carolina after playing at Holy Cross. He went undrafted, but many analysts saw a hidden gem in the recently-turned 23-year-old. Coker was held out of the first few games of the season. He has played in the last five contests. In those limited opportunities, he caught 17 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, including a six-catch, 78-yard performance against the Broncos. Coker is slowly becoming Young’s favorite target.

At the tight end spot, the Panthers invested a fourth-rounder in Texas tight end Sanders. He joined a TE room with plenty of opportunities, but also the competition of former third-rounder Tommy Tremble, who was involved in the passing game early in the season. An injury has slowed him down.

Rookie tight ends generally need time to adjust to the NFL, and Sanders wasn’t any different. In Week 10, he caught his first NFL touchdown, just a game after recording a career-high 87 receiving yards. Through his first ten games, he has made 26 catches for 253 yards and one touchdown.

Second-round rookie running back Jonathon Brooks is close to returning from his torn ACL, completing a nice group of first-year offensive skill position players. The Panthers have a bunch of problems, and it’s a long way to return to relevancy in the NFL, but the young stars have been quite the silver lining for the franchise.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who was drawn to the sport by Adrian Peterson’s excellence. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and has an affinity for Classic rock. His active Twitter page can be found here. His work can be found on PurplePTSD, VikingsTerritory, and DraftHuddle.