Seltzer

Jacoby Windmon really flashed to me when he got snaps late last year, both in the run & pass game. I researched bc I had no idea who he was. As a redshirt junior at Michigan State in 2022, Windmon compiled an impressive first half of the season, leading the nation with six forced fumbles and collecting 5.5 sacks. However, he got into a fight and was suspended for the last 4 games of 2022, then battled injuries and a nondescript 2023 season before being an UDFA last year. PFF gave him a 64 pass rush grade (58/189) last season in his limited snaps, which is good. Windmon generated 3 preasures and a sack in only 11 snaps as a pass rusher. Certainly not bad. Maybe he can develop into a Luvu type player. I do think he's got some legit upside and can claim one of the backup ILB spots. I also think they value Jon Rattigen as a depth ILB and core ST player. Evero usually keeps 5 ILBs, and like others have mentioned they also seem to like Wooten & Cherulus also so thats 6 guys there if you add Jewell & Wallace who will definitely be on the roster. So maybe they dont bring in any further outside help. Like others have said, if they do it will almost certainly be at TC or final cuts at this point.

'08 Season. Smitty was suspended first 2 games for sucker punching Ken Lucas. Ironically we went 2-0 without him to start the season.

Nailed it

Im excited to see what Shemar Bartholomew shows in preseason. He didn't give up a single reception last season in preseason with the Jets. 4 teams put in waiver claims last season- we got him due to sucking and being at the top of the waiver wire, so there were a lot of teams interested. He played sparingly last season and didn't do anything really of note, but he has a full year now in the Evero system. Evero as noted is hesitant to play rookies, but now is the time to see what we have. We desperately need another CB to step up and prove they've earned a depth spot on the roster. Mike Jackson did very well all things considered, but upgrading CB should still be a priority

I really thought this was a nice TC story and nothing more... But it sounds like Renfrow has a legit chance to not only make the roster but contribute. Honestly, this is one of the best WR groups we've ever had on paper going into TC. This group has a diverse skill set, and good mix of established veterans and younger players. Other than in 2008/2009 when we had Smitty & Moose as our starters (and both were established All Pros at this point), this is as good of a room as i can remember going into a season. Honestly, if you take Smitty out of the equation, our WR groups overall have been subpar for the most part throughout our history. I'm not crowning this group before they've proved it on the field, but it's hard to not be excited about this group relative to most years. I think McMillan, XL, Coker, Theilen, Horn, Renfrow, and JT Sanders is exponentially better than what Bryce had 2 years ago as a rookie (Chark, Mingo, TMJ, Theilen, Hurst).

It would be so amazing to find a dependable young kicker about the Butker debacle. I really thought Renfrow was just going to be a nice TC story. Really appears hes got a legit chance to make the roster and contribute

Shaq Thompson signed with Buffalo

It's amazing looking at boards like the Saints where they are huffing hopium despite a roster anyone from the outside knows is garbage. We have posters acting like this is the worst roster of all time... Well, this offense was 11th in points from Week 9 on, brought back our entire Oline, added Dowdle as a backup who had 1300+ yards, drafted McMillan & Horn, and are bringing back a QB with the 6th highest rating when he returned. Of course defense is still a massive question, but we are bringing back a top 5 DT in additions to bringing in probably 5 new starters. Also, look at defensive variance by year. Very, very few teams stay bad (or good) on defense for extended periods of time like offense. Anyone who wants to be negative is entitled to their view... this team has been bad for years. But I've watched this team since Day 1. This roster headed into this season is much better than some people are willing to see.

Maybe on defense. I honestly cannot take anyone serious who would trade the Giants offense for ours... what are we doing here??!! Some of you people are delusionally pessimistic... this roster is nowhere as bad as some of you would like to imagine

I think they are holding back to see what they have in the young guys, but I think it's a near certainty at some point they will bring someone else in. Right now (assuming we keep 5 CBs which is normal), the top 5 IMO are: 1) Jaycee Horn 2) Mike Jackson 3) Chau Smith-Wade 4) Shemar Bartholomew 5) Akayleb Evans Obviously Jaycee is the alpha in that room and paid as such. Need him to stay healthy and continue to play at a Pro-Bowl level. Mike Jack did pretty well all things considered last year, and they gave him lower-level starter money. Fair deal for both sides. Smith-Wade showed some promise as a slot CB. I think low-key he's a lock for the team. Different size and skill set than the other CBs. Shemar Bartholomew was the most sought after waiver claim last preseason. Was 5th CB most and inactive most of last year. Had a few defensive and ST snaps. Nothing of note good or bad but too small a sample size to make any judgment. Akayleb Evans was a 2022 4th Rounder for the Vikings. Has started 19 games (including Week 18 for the Panthers) in his career and played in 43. Was pretty good in 2023 before getting injured and falling down the depth chart last year. There's some other guys on the outside looking in, but until they show more in training camp I dont see anyway they make the 53. And only Jaycee, Mike Jack, and Smith-Wade are locks to make this roster IMO.

I think Sanders can be a legit weapon for us, but like others are saying, there's still only 1 football to go around... It's a good problem to have, but with the mouths to feed at WR and with hopefully running the ball a lot behind this Oline that is suited for that, a season of 500-600 yards and 5ish TDs would be great for Sanders... and for the team.

Agreed. Our fanbase, specifically the people who follow the team fairly closely, are more excited going into this season bc of the way we finished last year and the additions we made, but that hasn't filtered out beyond the fanbase for the most part. I think most outlets are going to have us finish 3rd in the division (some 2nd) with a legit chance to win the division but definitely seen as a dark horse. Which, objectively, I think is fair. So, definitely an improvement over last year, and we definitely are not being put in the same tier as teams like the Saints who are expected to bottom out. Still, for the most part, fans of other teams still see a poverty franchise with a meddlesome owner and a QB who's too small. I know bc I work in sales and talk to them everyday. So, I think your point is spot on. The team's performance on the field is the only thing that's going to change the narrative...

He's the only TE with actual receiving juice since Greg Olsen. We have become almost numb to the idea of drafting an actual TE that can be a difference maker as a franchise... Seriously, TE and S are probably the 2 positions where I feel like this franchise has historically overlooked for the most part. Sanders said he wants to be the next Olsen. Hope he does- having a dependable TE can make an offense so much more dynamic.

I'm excited to have other guys in here old enough to remember Nick Goings. Goings almost pushed us back into playoff contention in late 2004 after Davis & Foster went down, and in addition to being a solid ST player, also had some great rushing performances when he was needed.

Great point. Not including CMCs numbers as receiver is like when people didn't include Cam's rushing totals when talking about his QB play. It understates just how big on an impact they had on the game. CMC really might have been both our best rushing & receiving threat from 2019-2021. That 3 year stretch really was incredible. That kind of usage is catching up to him though IMO given all the injuries. I read an Niners article earlier talking about CMC looking like hes lost a step since his Achilles injury. Granted, he'll probably have an incredible game against us on MNF, but football is just inherently too violent to escape unscathed after the kind of usage CMC has had. One great thing about Dowdle is that hes a proven RB who still doesn't have a lot of mileage

Exhibit A for why WR depth is so crucial.

In retrospect he was probably right, especially given how badly the Oline played and all the injuries. If that were the case, I wonder how much of it was Reich not thinking Bryce was ready vs his realization that the rest of the offense sucked, injuries, etc. Objectively, though, this team gave up a lot to get Bryce, so i understand the side of playing him immediately too although that was obviously a disaster, some on Bryce and a lot not IMO. However, its Year 3 and there is the adequate infrastructure on offense to perform at the same level he did down the stretch last year, and that should absolutelybe the expectation. Many great QBs have had rough starts to their careers, but statistically, if a guy isn't playing at a franchise level by Year 3 they probably won't. There should be pressure on everyone this year to perform, and none bigger than on Bryce. We are in the middle of the worst stretch in franchise history in terms of on-the-field performance. I have an 11 & 13 year old, and neither have a living memory of a good Panthers team. It effing sucks. The fanbase is mostly either apathetic or pessimistic, and as much as I razz you on here, a lot of the pessimism has been richly earned. Sometimes I think you are on the far side of the pessimism, but in all honesty I understand (most) of it lol even if I'm playing devils advocate. This fanbase deserves a product we can be proud of this year. I do think on paper this team has improved dramatically over where we were 2 years ago, but there are still a lot of unknowns. I'm tired of arguing about a losing team and I know you are too. Hopefully Bryce plays like he did and there have been enough defensive improvements that we will be arguing, but at least for a winning or at least competing team.

I think Horn is probably going to be used as the primary PR to start the season, and maybe they will incorporate him into some jet sweeps, etc. My hope is that he follows the Smitty path of being the returner and then getting incorporated into the rest of the offense. Separation for the most part was still a major issue last year with our WRs. Hopefully Horn can help with that in the long-term as well as adding much needed speed in general to the WR group

Mahomes didn't play at all his rookie season. That is one massive thing about his career people have somehow memory-holed. The Chiefs had Alex Smith, and decided the best thing would be to give Mahomes a year to develop (even though Smith wasn't great). And obviously the same with Jordan Love, etc. I wonder how different the narrative would be on Bryce if he hadn't had been put in such dysfunction his rookie season. If Bryce hadn't seen the field until the 2nd half of this past year, it would be completely different. Regardless the past is the past, the ink is dry, and he gets a chance to have a say in the narrative of his career this year. He has to perform, and I think he will. And I love Cam to death, and while he probably did have better MVP odds going into 2015 than Bryce does going into this season, no one had Cam seriously on the MVP radar going into 2015.

Every advanced metric has Chuba in the top 10 range last year. I think you're selling him short here. He's not one of the very best backs in the league, but he's earned a spot in that next tier IMO. I definitely think Chuba has proven to be an above average starter. Go look at broken tackles and yards carried over expected. Hubbard would get a lot more buzz if the team were more relevant. Watching Chuba break through 2 tacklers to high step into a game winning TD in OT against the Cardinals was one of the coolest images we've had on offense (besides the Bryce to Tremble pass) in quite a few years. Chuba is almost certainly the best 4th round pick in franchise history. I dont think Chuba has that final gear that CMC or Deangelo Williams had in their prime, but outside of that Chuba is solid as can be. Chuba still has good speed though. That TD run against the Bears where he blew past their entire secondary showed that. I think watching CMCs preparation showed Chuba as a rookie how much work it took, and to his credit, Chuba has always been one of the last guys off the practice field. Given all the almost comical dysfunction of the Panthers since Tepper bought the team, Chuba really is one of the few true organic successes this team has had. A 4th rounder who has turned into a borderline top 10 RB. I think Chuba deserves all his flowers. And pairing Chuba with Rico Dowdle will low-key give us one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Both these guys had 1300+ combined yards last season. That doesnt happen without a lot of talent. And while they dont have the same 1st round pedigrees that J-Stew & D-lo had, Chuba & Rico could be the best duo since Double Trouble Hopefully they perform well enough we give them a nickname

100%. Him picking his guys so far, whether through the draft or free agency, has been a bust. Evero has been given an incredible amount of rope here really. Other than Bryce (and maybe equally so) is pressure on Evero. If his scheme and coaching is so great, it's time to see it on the field.

It's been depressing AF

It's all good... dont you know we're in Year 7 of this masterpiece now??!!!.. even by Rhule's standards this should be our year... /s

Honest to God with all the crazy poo that has happened since 2020, who knows man... I'm sure as hell leaning in on this one though!

Low-key this is one of the bigger (and best) storyline heading into this season. Football people are being allowed to do their jobs, and hopefully we will see that effort come to fruition in terms of competing for the playoffs this year