Training camp has already started sorting out the Carolina Panthers’ offense, and one of the clearest signs so far points toward a change at wide receiver.
The left tackle battle that opened camp as one of Carolina’s biggest questions looks close to settled, with free-agent signing Rasheed Walker and first-round pick Monroe Freeling in the mix before starting RT Taylor Moton went out indefinitely with blood clots. That pushed Freeling over to RT and, in the process, likely ended that competition.
With that spot no longer the main focus, the real decision for this offense now sits at WR3. The fight there is between third-year receiver Xavier Legette and 2026 third-round pick Chris Brazzell II out of Tennessee.
Legette, a former first-round pick in 2024, has not delivered much so far, and Carolina responded by bringing in Brazzell as a downfield option. Early in camp, Brazzell has become one of the louder talking points around the team.
Head coach Dave Canales explained after practice how Brazzell could change the way the Panthers use their passing game, especially alongside WR1 Tetairoa McMillan.
Canales said, "Chris Brazzell gives us the opportunity to move him (McMillan) inside. We can pop Tmac inside, put Chris at the single. When you have someone that tall and fast sitting on the single side with a one-on-one matchup, that gives us an advantage and creates a little bit of space inside."
Canales: Chris Brazzell’s size and speed will allow Panthers to use Tetairoa McMillan more in the slot this year. pic.twitter.com/OAfmApyR2o
That lines up with the idea behind adding Brazzell in the first place: give Carolina something it has not really had in the passing game. His ability to stretch the field should fit with Bryce Young, who thrived throwing deep balls last year and posted a 38.9% big-time throw rate in 2025.
Legette’s first two seasons in Carolina have been frustrating, and if Brazzell locks down the final starting receiver job, Legette could be shifted later in the season. That would not take him off the field entirely - he would still get plenty of reps - but the Panthers would need a major jump in reliability and production for this setup to keep going.
In Other News...
Kenny Pickett Is Putting Carolina In A Tough Spot Behind Bryce Young
Carolinas quarterback room looked different when the offseason began, with the Panthers moving on from Andy Dalton and bringing in Kenny Pickett, Will Grier and undrafted rookie Haynes King to sit behind Bryce Young. Griers retirement already thinned the group, and now the team is getting a clearer look at how the depth chart might settle once camp work starts to matter more than offseason plans.
Picketts training camp has not given Carolina much comfort, and that has opened the door for King to at least make this interesting. The Panthers are still sorting out what they want behind Young, and if Pickett does not steady himself soon, the conversation could shift from simply finding a backup to deciding whether Carolina needs to keep an extra quarterback around at all. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Huge Camp Test Up Front
The Panthers were supposed to use the start of camp to get a head start, opening early because of their Hall of Fame Game appearance. Instead, the first real test up front has arrived almost immediately, with the offensive line already being reshuffled before the pads even come on in earnest. Carolina has had to adjust around Taylor Moton and the left side as well, turning what should have been a routine summer ramp-up into a live evaluation of depth and adaptability.
Rookie Monroe Freeling has been thrust into the mix on the right side, while Rasheed Walker was brought in to help stabilize the left tackle spot after Ikem Ekwonus injury. For a team trying to build continuity, the challenge is obvious: the Panthers are now asking new pieces to settle in fast, and the early weeks of camp will tell them a lot about whether this front can hold together when the regular season arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Made Their Biggest Pass Rush Bet Yet
Carolina spent the early part of the offseason trying to solve a problem that showed up in plain sight all year: the pass rush never consistently threatened opposing quarterbacks. After finishing last in pressure rate and near the bottom of the sack leaderboard in 2025, the Panthers went looking for a difference-maker and found one in Jaelan Phillips, the former Eagles edge rusher whose arrival instantly changes the conversation around that front.
Phillips move to Charlotte also says plenty about how the Panthers sold the opportunity, not just the money. He pointed to the contract as a major factor in choosing Carolina, and the teams willingness to make him one of the biggest investments of the free-agent cycle shows how urgent the need felt. The question now is whether the Panthers finally have the kind of rusher who can turn a glaring weakness into something much harder for opponents to plan around. [Read more 🡒]