The Carolina Panthers’ roster picture for 2026 is starting to come into focus, and one NFL analyst thinks the answer at one spot is clear while another area still needs help.
In Bleacher Report’s “Every NFL Roster's Biggest Strength and Weakness Before 2026 Preseason,” Kristopher Knox pointed to cornerback as Carolina’s top strength and pass-catching depth as its biggest concern.
That makes sense on paper. The Panthers can line up Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade at corner, and Knox described all three as really, really good. On the other side of the ball, Carolina has Tetairoa McMillan, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, but Knox raised questions about the rest of the receiver group, including Jalen Coker, John Metchie III, Chris Brazzell II and Xavier Legette.
The challenge ahead is not a small one. Carolina’s 2026 schedule includes the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.
The Panthers did win the NFC South last season, but they still finished below .500 and needed help in Week 18 to take the division. Dave Canales and his staff will have to show next season that the run wasn’t simply a product of playing in what was the league’s weakest division.
There’s also a different kind of pressure now. After reaching the playoffs last season, Carolina won’t be sneaking up on anyone in 2026.
Bryce Young is right in the middle of that conversation. Last season, he threw for 3,011 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while adding 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. That performance helped push the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
For his Carolina career, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft has 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
Young is slated to make $12.1 million next season in the fourth year of his rookie deal, and his fifth-year option is worth a guaranteed $25.9 million.
Most NFL insiders do not expect Carolina to work out an extension with Young this offseason, largely because of his inconsistency. He’ll need another strong season to change that outlook.
Still, Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is firmly in Young’s corner. Idzik made it clear he believes the quarterback delivers when the moment gets biggest.
"Just an ultimate competitor and distributor, and he's ice cold in the big moment," Idzik said about Young, via Panthers.com. "The competitor, for him, looks different.
But every single person in that team meeting room knows, this guy, he's going to give you everything he's got. He's going to extend every play to the very last second.
Go back to Miami last year, down 17, fourth down, and he's buying one extra tick with three guys barreling down on him just to be able to get that ball off to (Tetaroia McMillan) and keep us alive and eventually win the game.
"And then the clutch moments for him, where he doesn't bat an eye, that's just something he's always had. It goes back to Alabama, goes back to Mater Dei; he's a winner, and we've enjoyed watching all those fourth-quarter last-minute drives, giving us a chance in games."
In Other News...
Panthers Camp Already Has Clear Winners And Alarming Early Losers
The first week of Panthers training camp has already started sorting the roster into early winners and players with work to do. Monroe Freeling is trending toward a starting role and has handled himself well in the mix, while Jonathon Brooks has put himself in position to be part of the conversation at running back as the team looks for answers behind the established names. On the other side, Xavier Legette has not yet separated from the pack at receiver, leaving plenty of room for the competition to keep unfolding.
There has also been no shortage of concern around the edges of camp, with Jaycee Horn and Taylor Moton both dealing with injuries that have kept them out of the action. The biggest ripple, though, comes from the defensive front, where Nic Scourtons absence has already forced Carolina to rethink how it will distribute reps and pressure off the edge. For a team trying to build momentum early, the next few practices should say a lot about who is ready to seize the opening and who still has to catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Former Panthers QB Will Grier Just Made An Unexpected NFL Turn
Will Griers football journey took another turn just days after he announced his retirement from playing, closing the book on a seven-year NFL career that included stops with multiple teams. For Panthers fans, Grier remains a familiar name from his time in Carolina, where his career once seemed headed in a very different direction before the league kept pulling him from one opportunity to the next.
Now he is staying in the game in a new capacity, moving from the field into the coaching ranks with Dallas. The shift gives him a fresh role under Mike McCarthy and on an offensive staff that already knows his background well, and it also adds another layer to a Cowboys connection that has been building for years. For a player who only recently stepped away from active duty, the next chapter arrived almost immediately. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers WR3 Battle Could Change Everything For Bryce Young
The Panthers training camp has already forced one major adjustment up front, with the left tackle competition effectively ending after Taylor Motons injury pushed Monroe Freeling over to right tackle. Now the attention has shifted to a receiver battle that could shape how this offense looks around Bryce Young, with Xavier Legette and Chris Brazzell II competing for the WR3 job behind Tetairoa McMillan.
Dave Canales has made it clear Brazzell brings a different kind of value because of his size and speed, traits that could let Carolina move McMillan into the slot more often and build the passing game around that flexibility. If that role settles the way the Panthers hope, it could ripple beyond one depth chart spot and give Young a different set of answers when the offense needs to create space and stress defenses. [Read more 🡒]