By Harry P McGill ยท July 11, 2026
There are few exercises more dangerous than predicting an NFL roster before training camp.
One twisted ankle, one rookie who suddenly looks ready, or one veteran who has lost half a step can turn a sensible July projection into something fit for the recycling bin.
Still, the Panthers report to camp soon, and the current roster gives us enough information to take an educated swing at the final 53.
This is a deeper Carolina team than we have seen in recent years. There are established starters on both sides of the ball, promising draft picks, and legitimate competition for the final spots. That is progress. There was a time when cutting the roster to 53 felt less like making difficult decisions and more like checking whether everyone had a pulse.
Here is my early prediction, with all 53 spots accounted for.
There is no mystery at the top. Bryce Young is the franchise quarterback, and the Panthers have picked up his fifth year option.
Kenny Pickett was brought in to replace Andy Dalton as the veteran backup. Unless something unexpected happens, that settles the position.
Will Grier gives Carolina an experienced camp arm, while rookie Haynes King is an interesting developmental player. Neither makes my initial 53. King feels like a strong practice squad candidate if another club does not claim him.
Chuba Hubbard
Jonathon Brooks
Trevor Etienne
AJ Dillon
Hubbard remains the dependable veteran at the center of this group. Brooks is the most important variable. If he is healthy and ready for a normal workload, the Panthers suddenly have an impressive pair at the top.
Etienne gives the offense speed, receiving ability, and another option in space. Dillon brings something different. He is 247 pounds and gives Carolina a short yardage runner who can wear on a defense.
Keeping four backs may feel excessive, but Brooks' injury history makes depth important. Dillon also gives the offense a physical option that the other three do not quite provide.
Miles Davis and Anthony Tyus III have a difficult road to the roster unless injuries change the picture.
Tetairoa McMillan
Jalen Coker
Xavier Legette
Chris Brazzell II
John Metchie III
David Moore
McMillan is the clear number one receiver. Coker has earned a substantial role and a new contract. Legette enters camp with pressure to become more consistent, but his talent and draft investment keep him safely on the roster.
Brazzell is one of the rookies I am most interested in watching. At 6 foot 4, he gives Young another large target and comes to Carolina after a productive final college season.
The last two spots are where this gets interesting.
Metchie brings experience and gives Carolina another polished option from the slot or outside. Moore makes my roster because he understands the offense, contributes on special teams, and has the trust of the coaching staff.
Jimmy Horn Jr. is the toughest cut. His speed and return ability could force the Panthers to keep seven receivers, particularly if he becomes difficult to remove from the special teams units. Brycen Tremayne, Dan Chisena, Ainias Smith, Kobe Prentice, and Malick Meiga also have a chance to make this a noisy competition.
Ja'Tavion Sanders
Tommy Tremble
Mitchell Evans
Feleipe Franks
Sanders has the best receiving upside in the room. Tremble remains the strongest blocker and most established all around tight end.
Evans gives Carolina another big body with developmental upside. Franks gets the final position because of his unusual versatility and special teams value.
James Mitchell is firmly in the conversation. This may ultimately come down to whether Carolina values Mitchell's traditional tight end experience or Franks' broader special teams role.
Taylor Moton
Ikem Ekwonu
Monroe Freeling
Rasheed Walker
Stone Forsythe
Robert Hunt
Damien Lewis
Chandler Zavala
Luke Fortner
Sam Hecht
The health of Ekwonu may determine how this entire group is arranged. He is returning from a torn patellar tendon, and Carolina used its first round pick on Freeling. The rookie was not drafted to spend the next three years admiring the scenery.
Moton remains the anchor at right tackle. Walker and Forsythe provide veteran tackle depth, which matters while Ekwonu works his way back.
Hunt and Lewis are secure at guard. Zavala has starting experience and can provide interior depth.
Center will be one of the most important competitions in camp. Fortner brings NFL experience, while Hecht was drafted after consecutive all conference seasons at Kansas State. I expect both to make the roster, with the starting job decided during camp and the preseason.
Nick Samac, Saahdiq Charles, Ja'Tyre Carter, Joshua Gray, and rookie Isaia Glass are the primary challengers. If Ekwonu begins the season on the physically unable to perform list, one of those players could claim an additional spot.
That gives Carolina two quarterbacks, four running backs, six receivers, four tight ends, and ten offensive linemen.
Derrick Brown
Bobby Brown III
Lee Hunter
Cam Jackson
LaBryan Ray
Derrick Brown is the foundation. Bobby Brown provides size beside him, and rookie Lee Hunter was selected in the second round to strengthen the interior.
Hunter is 318 pounds and arrives with a reputation as a powerful run defender. He should have an immediate rotational role.
Jackson and Ray round out the group because both have experience in the system and can handle multiple responsibilities along the front.
Tershawn Wharton is the major question. He underwent neck surgery during the offseason. For this projection, I am leaving him off the initial 53 while assuming he begins the year on an injury list. If he is cleared for camp and looks healthy, he belongs on the roster and somebody else loses a chair.
Jared Harrison Hunte, Tywone Malone Jr., Parker Petersen, and the undrafted rookies will compete for the next opportunity.
Jaelan Phillips
Nic Scourton
Princely Umanmielen
Patrick Jones II
Trevis Gipson
Phillips gives Carolina a proven edge player if he stays healthy. Scourton should take another step after his rookie season, and Umanmielen brings speed and upside from the other side.
Jones and Gipson provide veteran depth. Both have enough experience to play meaningful snaps without forcing the defense to change its approach.
Thomas Incoom and Nick Hampton are the most difficult omissions. Incoom's special teams work could earn him the fifth spot over Gipson. Hampton has also played meaningful defensive snaps. This battle will probably be decided by the kicking game as much as pass rush production.
Devin Lloyd
Trevin Wallace
Maema Njongmeta
Isaiah Simmons
Claudin Cherelus
Lloyd gives the Panthers another athletic veteran in the middle. Wallace has the physical ability to become a long term starter and enters an important third season.
Njongmeta has developed into a useful player and gives the defense dependable depth.
Simmons is difficult to classify because he can line up at linebacker, safety, or in a specialty coverage role. That versatility makes him valuable on game day.
Cherelus claims the final spot because of his special teams work. He started games last season and was brought back for a reason.
That leaves seventh round pick Jackson Kuwatch outside the initial roster. The Panthers drafted him partly for special teams, so he could absolutely beat out Cherelus or force the team to keep six inside linebackers. For now, I have him landing on the practice squad.
Jaycee Horn
Mike Jackson
Will Lee III
Chau Smith Wade
Akayleb Evans
Horn and Jackson give Carolina a settled pair on the outside.
Lee was drafted in the fourth round and has enough size and college experience to compete immediately. He is one of the rookies who could climb the depth chart quickly during camp.
Smith Wade brings experience in the slot and on special teams. Evans has size, veteran experience, and kicking game value.
Tyrek Funderburk, Robert Rochell, Corey Thornton, Cam Miller, Michael Reid, and the undrafted rookies give Carolina plenty of options. Rochell may be the strongest threat to the fifth spot because of his special teams experience.
Tre'von Moehrig
Nick Scott
Lathan Ransom
Zakee Wheatley
Moehrig is the centerpiece of the secondary. Scott returns after starting all 17 games and recording a career high 111 tackles last season.
Ransom enters his second season with a chance to earn a larger role. Wheatley, a fifth round rookie, brings size and production from Penn State.
Demani Richardson is the most notable cut here. He has enough experience to make the roster, but keeping only four true safeties is possible because Simmons can handle snaps on the back end.
That gives Carolina five defensive linemen, five outside linebackers, five inside linebackers, five cornerbacks, and four safeties.
Ryan Fitzgerald, kicker
Sam Martin, punter
JJ Jansen, long snapper
There is no reason to complicate this.
Fitzgerald returns at kicker. Martin was re signed after a solid first season in Carolina. Jansen remains the long snapper and may continue playing football until Bank of America Stadium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The return jobs remain unsettled. David Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr., and several defensive backs should receive opportunities during camp. That competition could influence the final receiver and cornerback spots.
Quarterbacks, 2: Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett
Running backs, 4: Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks, Trevor Etienne, AJ Dillon
Wide receivers, 6: Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette, Chris Brazzell II, John Metchie III, David Moore
Tight ends, 4: Ja'Tavion Sanders, Tommy Tremble, Mitchell Evans, Feleipe Franks
Offensive line, 10: Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu, Monroe Freeling, Rasheed Walker, Stone Forsythe, Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, Chandler Zavala, Luke Fortner, Sam Hecht
Defensive line, 5: Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown III, Lee Hunter, Cam Jackson, LaBryan Ray
Outside linebackers, 5: Jaelan Phillips, Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, Patrick Jones II, Trevis Gipson
Inside linebackers, 5: Devin Lloyd, Trevin Wallace, Maema Njongmeta, Isaiah Simmons, Claudin Cherelus
Cornerbacks, 5: Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Will Lee III, Chau Smith Wade, Akayleb Evans
Safeties, 4: Tre'von Moehrig, Nick Scott, Lathan Ransom, Zakee Wheatley
Specialists, 3: Ryan Fitzgerald, Sam Martin, JJ Jansen
Total: 53
The most difficult omissions are Jimmy Horn Jr., James Mitchell, Nick Samac, Thomas Incoom, Nick Hampton, Jackson Kuwatch, Tyrek Funderburk, Robert Rochell, and Demani Richardson.
Several of those players have legitimate roster arguments. Injuries will create openings, special teams will settle a few debates, and the Panthers may still add another veteran before Week One.
Horn could force his way onto the team as a returner. Incoom could beat out Gipson. Kuwatch could make it impossible to expose a draft pick to waivers. Samac could claim the backup center job. Richardson could become too useful to release.
Those are the decisions good teams have to make.
This roster is not complete, and neither is this prediction.
Camp will expose weak spots. The preseason will make a few unknown players impossible to ignore. There will be injuries, waiver claims, and at least one transaction none of us saw coming.
What stands out is the number of difficult cuts.
Carolina has young draft picks fighting experienced veterans. It has former starters battling for reserve jobs. It has players with legitimate NFL experience who may not survive the final weekend.
That does not guarantee a winning season. It does mean the roster is finally becoming competitive enough that getting released by the Panthers no longer automatically means the end of a player's NFL prospects.
For a franchise that spent too many summers searching for competent starters, arguing over the last five roster spots feels like a rather pleasant problem.