By Harry P McGill ยท August 2, 2026
Training camp is a terrible place to make final judgments and a wonderful place to collect clues. A rookie can look ready for the Pro Bowl during an individual drill, then spend the next period discovering that NFL veterans have seen every trick he learned in college.
Two weeks into Panthers camp, this rookie class has already experienced just about everything. One first round pick has been pushed into an immediate starting role. A fourth round corner has made plays on the football. An undrafted quarterback has earned praise for moving the offense. A promising receiver has seen his rookie season end before the first preseason game.
Here is where the class stands as Carolina prepares to move from camp practices into actual preseason football.
The Panthers drafted Monroe Freeling with the 19th overall pick knowing he needed development. Taylor Moton's blood clot diagnosis changed that timetable in a hurry, and Freeling has spent camp working at right tackle beside Robert Hunt.
The early reports have been encouraging without suggesting the rookie is a finished product. Freeling has held his own during padded work, taken the inevitable losses that come with facing NFL pass rushers, and continued receiving valuable first team repetitions. His size and movement ability are obvious, but the important part is that he has not looked overwhelmed by an assignment nobody expected him to inherit this quickly.
Carolina did not spend a first round pick on offensive line depth because it photographs well. The decision already looks like responsible roster building rather than a luxury.
Fourth round cornerback Will Lee III has produced one of the best rookie moments of camp, closing a practice with a well timed interception. Cornerbacks are going to surrender catches during July and August, especially when they are learning against veteran receivers, so the response matters more than pretending every rep has been perfect.
Lee has shown the confidence to play the next snap and the ball skills to punish a mistake. He still appears headed for a reserve role behind Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, but he is giving the coaches a reason to consider him for subpackage work and special teams duty immediately.
Lee Hunter has not generated the same daily headlines, which is normal for a 318 pound defensive tackle whose best work may involve occupying two blockers while somebody else makes the tackle. The second round pick has received steady work inside and looks physically capable of joining the rotation beside Derrick Brown and Bobby Brown III.
His preseason snaps will tell us more than a dozen noncontact practices could. The question is whether Hunter can anchor against NFL linemen, maintain his pad level, and remain useful when offenses speed up the tempo. If he does those things, Carolina will have found an immediate contributor even if his name rarely appears in the box score.
Chris Brazzell II flashed exactly why Carolina selected him in the third round. His size, speed, and ability to attack the football gave the receiver room another intriguing option, and he made a memorable early play by climbing over veteran corner Mike Jackson.
Then came the knee injury.
Brazzell suffered a torn ligament during a seven on seven period and has been placed on injured reserve ahead of season ending surgery. It is a miserable outcome for a rookie who had a genuine chance to compete for meaningful snaps behind Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker, and Xavier Legette.
The injury also removes one of the roster's most interesting developmental players. Brazzell now faces a year of rehabilitation instead of route work, which is the sort of training camp development no depth chart can solve.
Sam Hecht entered camp with a real opportunity because Carolina has not treated the center position as permanently settled. The fifth round pick has worked through the expected learning process while competing with Luke Fortner and the other interior linemen.
Centers have the least glamorous rookie evaluation in football. Nobody posts a highlight because the protection call was correct and the quarterback remained upright. Hecht's test will be whether the offense functions cleanly when he is on the field during the preseason.
Safety Zakee Wheatley and linebacker Jackson Kuwatch were always likely to make their first arguments on special teams. Wheatley brings size and controlled tackling to the secondary, while Kuwatch was drafted with kick coverage very much in mind.
Neither needs to win a defensive starting job this summer. They need to become players the special teams staff would object to losing. That job description may sound modest, but plenty of long NFL careers started exactly there, back when Street and Smith still required readers to find the depth charts in a magazine.
Undrafted quarterback Haynes King has settled in well enough to move the third team offense and earn positive attention from Dave Canales. Will Grier's retirement created more practice and preseason opportunities, and King has taken advantage of them.
The active roster may still have room for only Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett. King is making a strong case to become the developmental quarterback Carolina keeps in the building.
The early rookie report is mixed. Freeling has handled an unexpected promotion, Will Lee has made plays, Hunter appears headed toward the defensive rotation, and King has strengthened his practice squad case. Hecht, Wheatley, and Kuwatch remain in competitions that will be decided through preseason snaps and special teams work.
Brazzell's injury hangs over the entire class. It is also a reminder that rookie development does not proceed according to anyone's plan.
Training camp has given Carolina a few encouraging answers and one painful setback. The preseason will now decide which of these rookies are merely promising and which ones are ready to help immediately.