Five Panthers to Pay Close Attention to During Preseason

The Panthers play their first preseason game in a little over a week. These five players should be interesting to watch.

The Carolina Panthers open up the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Aug 15th. They then take on the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the following weeks at home in Charlotte. It's exciting that we have preseason games this year after going without them in 2020. Although these games don't count in the standings, they are still incredibly valuable. Especially for a team like the Panthers who have a ton of new players filling in vital roles. 

Here are five players to pay close attention to this preseason:

QB Sam Darnold

All eyes will be on new quarterback Sam Darnold throughout camp and preseason. Anytime a team makes a change at the helm they are expected to go through some growing pains. The hope is that Darnold will be able to stretch the field in a way that the team was drastically lacking last season. 

Darnold has already won over some of his new teammates and re-gained the confidence of a former one. When asked about where the offense is this offseason compared to last, Robby Anderson had this to say: "We are light years ahead of where we were last year. It's a lot different."

This is the first time that the NFL has gone to a three-game preseason schedule. The standard used to be that the starters would see the majority of their work in the third preseason game while getting little to no game action in the first and fourth games. With the new schedule, I would expect Darnold and the starting unit to see the most action in preseason game two against the Ravens. This will be the game to pay close attention to to get an idea of how Darnold gels with his new team.

WR Terrace Marshall Jr.

2021 second-round pick Terrace Marshall Jr. has received some high praise at the beginning of training camp. None other than Panthers' legend Steve Smith had this to say while watching the rookie practice: "That young man is going to steal some folks' jobs." At 6-foot-2 Marshall is the biggest receiver the Panthers have and he is also surprisingly quick.

He is currently fighting for the third receiver spot behind DJ Moore and Robby Anderson. Make no mistake about it, the No. 3 receiver role proved to be a valuable spot in Joe Brady's scheme. Curtis Samuel eclipsed 1,000 total yards in that particular role last season. 

Marshall definitely has a foot in the door to see the field on the majority of three WR sets. He played under Joe Brady at LSU when they made their historic run at a National Championship in 2019. He will be the WR to watch all preseason long to see how he plays against NFL-caliber defensive backs.

TE Dan Arnold

Free-agent addition Dan Arnold steps into a tight end room that was underwhelming last year, to say the least. He has an incredible opportunity to become the primary receiving target at the position. At 6-foot-5, 220-pounds he is a bit undersized but makes up for it with incredible athleticism.

Arnold will have to prove that he is not a liability filling in as a blocker if he is to win the starting job. Rookie TE Tommy Tremble has the early edge as a run-blocker. 

In his time at LSU and with the Saints, Joe Brady was not afraid to use the tight end in the passing game. If Arnold and Darnold can create some chemistry throughout the preseason, then the Panthers could finally have found a receiving threat at the position. Pay attention to Arnold in the running game to see if he can set the edge for running lanes. This will indicate whether or not he gets an every-down role heading into the regular season. 

CB Jaycee Horn

Throughout OTAs and camp, Jaycee Horn has proven why the Panthers selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in the draft. After his two-interception practice on Monday, he told reporters "It felt good, but what's next? That's the mentality we try to bring." This shows that Horn is not content with simply making plays. He wants to be great and help out his teammates on each and every snap.

Horn has a tremendous opportunity in camp going against Moore, Anderson, and Marshall on every play. These are three incredible receivers with vastly different skill sets. Horn has proven that he has the size, speed, and technique to stay with all three of them.

The Colts, Ravens, and Steelers have some talented receivers in their own right for Horn to get some reps against. It will be interesting to see how he matches up against some NFL veterans in live competition. All eyes should be glued to the Panthers' first-round pick when preseason rolls around.

LB Denzel Perryman

It's no secret that Carolina struggled to fill the void left by Luke Kuechly last season. The hope is that Denzel Perryman can step in and help defend the middle of the field. When asked why Perryman wanted to join the Panthers he said "The tradition. They've had great linebackers come through here."

Carolina is in desperate need of Perryman to play like the greats of the past. The defensive line and the secondary improved a lot late last season but the LB group remained stagnant. Perryman and Shaq Thompson make up a decent duo on paper but will that translate to the field? Tune into the preseason to get the first look.

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