Training Camp Roster Battles / Competitiveness by Position

[KB_fan]

One of the first threads I created back in May when I joined the Huddle was an analysis of competition to make this year's 53 man roster.  As we're so near training camp, and given that there have been some minor roster moves since May, I thought I'd revisit that analysis. 

There is quite real competition at most spots on the roster with the exception of the specialists:  LS, P, K

But in several cases there are fierce battles for a place on the roster, while in other case the competition is for the order on the depth chart / starting job, with the actual players being pretty well locked in.  To keep this from getting too long, I'll do separate entries for Defense and Offense.

DEFENSE:

In bold are the players I think will make the 53 man roster.

Cornerbacks - one of the hottest battles. 

There are 9 CBs currently on the 90 man roster.  I assume we'll carry 5, POSSIBLY 6 CBs (but 6 would be a stretch).  I think the top 5 are pretty close to being set.  You've got 5 or 6 players battling for 1 - 2 spots.  If we were to go with 6 CBs, the battle for the 6th spot is likely to be between Byndom & T. Williams.  4 could be cut, though I'm assuming 1 or 2 may make the PS.

Name	Position	BBR - Voth	David Newton 53	My opinon
Benwikere, Bene	CB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Norman, Josh	CB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Tillman, Charles	CB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
White, Melvin	CB	Facing a Fight	Yes	Probable
Houston, Chris	CB	Facing a Fight	Yes	Probable
Byndom, Carrington	CB	Facing a Fight	Cut	Possible
Williams, Teddy	CB	Facing a Fight	Cut	Possible
Young, Lou	CB	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Peters, Garry	CB	Longshot	Cut	Longshot

 

SAFETIES:  Not so much competition here I think.  The 3 bottom players are probably fighting for a spot on the PS (if eligible?).  I assume we'll cary 4 Safeties and that Boston, Harper, Coleman & Jones have these positions pretty well locked up.

Name	Position	BBR - Voth	David Newton 53	My opinon
Boston, Tre	S	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Harper, Roman	S	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Coleman, Kurt	S	Lock	Yes	Probable
Jones, Colin	S	Lock	Yes	Probable
Lester, Robert	S	Facing a Fight	Cut	Longshot
Ball, Marcus	S	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Marlowe, Dean	S	Longshot	Cut	Longshot

 

DEs - At this point I think the battles are ONLY for spots on the PS.  I'm pretty sure that since we don't yet have a clear favored DE opposite CJ, we'll start the year with 5 DEs.  I think Alexander, Ealy, Horton & Johnson are all locks, and I think Addison too is a virtual lock.  At this point, I think the other 3 are fighting for a place on the PS.  The competition here is not so much for a place on the roster, but to determine the starting order / depth position.

Name	Position	BBR - Voth	David Newton 53	My opinon
Alexander, Frank	DE	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Ealy, Kony	DE	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Horton, Wes	DE	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Johnson, Charles	DE	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Addison, Mario	DE	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Miley, Arthur	DE	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Miller, Steve	DE	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Cox, Rakim	DE	Longshot	Cut	Longshot

 

DTs - Pretty much just fighting for spots on the PS.    As with the DE's, I think the roster places are pretty well decided.  In fact, barring something awful (injury) it's obvious who the starters will be too (Star & KK) . It seems probably we'll carry 4 DTs.  So unless we love one of the new guys and feel we MUST make an extra spot on the roster to carry 5 DTs, we've got 4 guys fighting for a spot on the PS.

Name	Position	BBR - Voth	David Newton 53	My opinon
Cole, Colin	DT	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Edwards, Dwan	DT	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Lotulelei, Star	DT	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Short, Kawann	DT	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Love, Kyle	DT	Facing a Fight	Cut	Fight for PS
Regis, Micanor	DT	Facing a Fight	Cut	Fight for PS
Redden, Terry	DT	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Alecxih, Chas	DT	Longshot	Cut	Longshot

 

OK, now to what may be THE HOTTEST COMPETITION ON THE TEAM:  Linebacker!  We are INSANELY deep at LB and this is going to be the place for some VERY VERY hard cuts.  We've got 3 absolute LOCKS in TD, Luke and Shaq.  I'm assuming we'll carry 6 LBs, with a SLIM chance of 7 if ST needs demand.   This is the position I have the greatest difficulty finalizing.  It's hard to believe DG would put a draft pick (Mayo) on the PS after what happened with Gaffney.  But there are also Klein, Glanton & Trusnik who are in strong contention for spots.  So there are 7 total guys fighting for 3 spots.  Even discounting the 2 or 3 longshots, You've got 4 or 5 very solid guys fighting for 3 spots.  Obviously Trusnik was signed as a special teams "ace."  Whether he makes the roster will depend on whether the coaches think Mayo or someone else could fill that role.

Name	Position	BBR - Voth	David Newton 53	My opinon
Davis, Thomas	LB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Kuechly, Luke	LB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Thompson, Shaq	LB	Lock	Yes	LOCK
Klein, A.J.	LB	Facing a Fight	Yes	Probable
Mayo, David	LB	Lock	Yes	Probable
Glanton, Adarius	LB	Facing a Fight	Yes	V. Possible
Trusnik, Jason	LB	Facing a Fight	Cut	Possible
Jacobs, Ben	LB	Facing a Fight	Cut	Longshot
Blechen, Brian	LB	Longshot	Cut	Longshot
Reddick, Kevin	LB	Longshot	Cut	Longshot

 

Based on the above, we'd have 24 defensive players on the roster as follows:

CB	5
DE	5
DT	4
LB	6
S	4
Def Total	24

Of those 24, 17 seem like LOCKS, and 6 near locks (Probable).  That may leave only 1 open space (most likely for a LB - perhaps between Glanton or Trusnik?) with all the others fighting for PS places.  But obviously the numbers we carry at a given position could flux (1 more CB or LB, 1 less DE?) which could make room for some of the good players we can't bear to cut.

[thunderraiden]

Good Chance for Jason Trusnik, Kurt Coleman, and possibly even Pat Tillman all to miss the 53 if the team wants to make sure they get that third round comp pick for Greg Hardy.

[Snake]

I think Glanton beats out Klein for sure.

[KB_fan]

Sorry this is so long.  I was having trouble posting it, so I ended up creating a blog instead.  From now on, I'll post to the blog and include a short summary here in the forum.  I'm out of time for now, so I'll have to do the analysis of the offense tonight or tomorrow.

Blog entry: Offense part 1

Blog Entry: Offense part 2

[Jimmy]

Sorry this is so long.  I was having trouble posting it, so I ended up creating a blog instead.  From now on, I'll post to the blog and include a short summary here in the forum.  I'm out of time for now, so I'll have to do the analysis of the offense tonight or tomorrow.

Eh, if it's Panthers related and has some meat to it and it's interesting don't worry about the length. I think this was a good post and I might have missed it in the blog section.  It also gets people debating about the team which isn't a bad thing when coming to position battles. Good job.

[imminent rogaine]

Good post. There are certainly going to be some valuable pieces that get cut.

I think I'd rather let Horton walk and keep an extra LB. I'd hate to let some of that LB talent walk. Keeping a non-starting LB is nice since it isn't dead weight - they can play special teams.

Also, going into the season with 4DTs makes me a little uncomfortable. It would be really nice to be able to keep Love. I'm not a PS rules expert but I think that he has played too much to be PS eligible.

[mc52beast]

Bottom line is the team is getting deeper in talent due to the fact that some good players will be cut

[KB_fan]

I tried to post my analysis of the roster for the offense at the blog I set up this morning, but for some reason, the post cuts off before the end, and none of the editing tools come up to let me delete or change it.  I'll try to fix it later, but for now I need to head out the door to a meeting.

[Plewis]

I think Glanton beats out Klein for sure.

Adarius should start this season over Shaq until Shaq earns the position. Glanton has done nothing but produce when given the opportunity.

[Captain Morgan]

appreciate the OP's work for this post, but I did chuckle when he had to leave for a meeting..we're not posting on the Huddle on company time, are we??   

 

looking forward to the offensive side.

[t96]

Still think we should trade Klein to the Niners for a mid round pick next year.

[AndrewLaskoski]

I have a feeling Jones will be counted into the CBs, not the Safeties and take Whites spot to make room for one of the camp standouts

[davos]

I'd love to see one of those unknowns push Horton for a spot.  Arthur Miley could be one to watch.

[Moorgan]

When we picked up the UDFA class, he was the one I wasmost intrigued by.