The Panthers released their final unofficial depth chart Tuesday night ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Jets.
Most of what was listed was expected. The biggest surprise was who was listed at punt return.
The Panthers have DJ Moore as the first-string punt returner, and Christian McCaffrey as second string. But take it with a grain of salt.
The depth chart lists John Miller as the starting right guard. Miller will miss Sunday’s game after being placed on the COVID/reserve list. Dennis Daley will start in his place.
Further changes could be made before the game, but as it stands now, here is how it looks:
Panthers’ Offense
Quarterbacks: Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker.
▪ Darnold was always going to be the starter. That’s why they traded for him this past offseason.
It was also no surprise that P.J. Walker won the backup job. He had experience playing last year and he was Matt Rhule’s guy since coaching him in college.
Walker had better moments during the preseason than Will Grier, particularly during that game against the Indianapolis Colts where he made some impressive throws and threw off the run well.
Running backs: Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, Royce Freeman, Giovanni Ricci.
▪ Panthers fans aren’t the only ones anticipating McCaffrey’s return. So is Rhule and the rest of the Panthers’ staff. He’s their best player and the Panthers were missing so much without him in the passing and running game.
Hubbard comes in at No. 2, which wasn’t a surprise after getting the majority of the carries during the preseason. Players like Reggie Bonnafon and Rodney Smith were injured throughout training camp, which allowed Hubbard to shine.
Left wide receiver: D.J. Moore, Terrace Marshall, Shi Smith.
Right wide receiver: Robby Anderson, Brandon Zylstra.
▪ D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson will be the top two targets. And Terrace Marshall was one of the most impressive players for the Panthers throughout the preseason. He led all receivers in the NFL with 181 receiving yards in three preseason games.
He was a big reason why the Panthers felt comfortable parting ways with David Moore.
Left tight end: Dan Arnold, Tommy Tremble.
Right tight end: Ian Thomas, Colin Thompson.
▪ The Panthers may try to use more two-tight end sets this season with the addition of Arnold. Thomas wasn’t bad in camp, either, and Tremble has shown he can catch the ball as well. Tremble had a touchdown in the preseason game against the Colts.
Left tackle: Cameron Erving, Trent Scott.
Right tackle: Taylor Moton, Brady Christensen.
Left guard: Pat Elflein, Michael Jordan.
Right guard: John Miller, Deonte Brown.
Center: Matt Paradis.
▪ Rhule has said all along who his starters will be on the offensive line. Miller’s COVID 19 designation prevented him from being the starter this week.
But Dennis Daley, who has had experience in starting roles the last two seasons, should play well. No one should be surprised if he earns a starting role at some point before the end of the season.
Panthers’ Defense
Left defensive end: Brian Burns, Marquis Haynes, Darryl Johnson.
Right defensive end: Morgan Fox, Yetur Gross-Matos.
Left defensive tackle: Derrick Brown, Daviyon Nixon, Phil Hoskins.
Right defensive tackle: DaQuan Jones, Bravvion Roy.
▪ Rhule hasn’t pivoted once from his first-string players on the defensive line. Burns, Brown and Jones were always going to start.
Fox was a wild card in his competition with Yetur Gross-Matos, but Fox won in camp.
Having Gross-Matos and Marquis Haynes behind the starting defensive ends is a plus.
Left outside linebacker: Shaq Thompson, Julian Stanford.
Right outside linebacker: Haason Reddick, Frankie Luvu.
Middle linebacker: Jermaine Carter, Clay Johnston.
▪ Reddick brings in a much-needed pass rush the Panthers were missing outside of Burns in 2020. He should also take some of the pressure off Burns.
Carter emerged as the clear-cut starter early in camp. Denzel Perryman, who Carter was initially competing with, was never healthy and the Panthers eventually traded him.
Carter started the final seven games of the 2020 season and showed they could trust him.
Left cornerback: Donte Jackson, Stantley Thomas-Oliver.
Right cornerback: Jaycee Horn, Keith Taylor.
Free safety: Jeremy Chinn, Myles Hartsfield.
Strong safety: Juston Burris, Sam Franklin, Sean Chandler.
▪ The Panthers drafted Horn No. 8 overall and expected him to make an immediate impact. He’s looked the part.
Jackson was injured for most of the 2020 season, but appears healthy (finally). And until A.J. Bouye returns from injury and his two-game suspension, Horn and Jackson will have to hold it down.
Chinn gets to return to his natural position in Year 2, after an impressive rookie year in 2020. And Burris, who has been dealing with a hip injury for much of camp, was no surprise as a starter either.
Panthers’ Special teams
Kick return: Chuba Hubbard, Shi Smith.
▪ Rhule revealed Monday that Hubbard will likely start as a kicker returner while rookie Smith is out.
Punt return: DJ Moore, Christian McCaffrey.
▪ This was perhaps the biggest and only surprise.
Last week, Rhule said he’d look at Zylstra, Moore and practice squad player C.J. Saunders as options at punt return.
However, he added that Moore would be used in certain situations if they needed a big return.
He didn’t mention McCaffrey. The Panthers don’t have many options. Smith was expected to miss two to three weeks with a shoulder injury.
And while having McCaffrey and Moore, two of your best playmakers, looks attractive, their risk of an injury increases. The Panthers need McCaffrey and Moore to win games.
The likeliness that McCaffrey returns kicks is low.
Punter: Joe Charlton.
Kicker: Ryan Santoso.
Kickoff: Ryan Santoso.
Long snapper: J.J. Jansen.
▪ Charlton showed he was a reliable punter during his rookie season. Santoso beat out Joey Slye in the final preseason game, but he still has a lot to prove. He hasn’t been in a regular season game before.