PFF Best Rookies so far: Two Panthers

[OldhamA]

29 minutes ago, Gapanthersfan said:

89 is in very rare air and I have him in the top 3 best players this franchise has ever seen. Smitty wrestled every ounce of potential out of his body, but I see Tet with having a higher ceiling when it comes to physical traits. I agree, he has a LONG way to go before comparing his impact to Steve’s. 

Nobody will EVER top 89 when it comes to dawg mentality, however. 

Smith was unbelievably fast and explosive. 

T-Mac is taller. 

[PleaseCutStewart]

7 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

The biggest thing holding TMac back from being a top 2 or 3 rookie WR is the QB.

Evans really needs to be getting more PT. Especially over Sanders.

I have loved TMac and he is a stud, but he also needs to work on his drops. Not sure if it's from a lack of concentration or what, but he has had at least 1 bad drop in just about every game this year.

 

Agreed with Evans. They need to use Sanders more as that slot TE and let Evans play the natural TE spot next to the tackle

 

[kungfoodude]

1 hour ago, PleaseCutStewart said:

I have loved TMac and he is a stud, but he also needs to work on his drops. Not sure if it's from a lack of concentration or what, but he has had at least 1 bad drop in just about every game this year.

 

Agreed with Evans. They need to use Sanders more as that slot TE and let Evans play the natural TE spot next to the tackle

 

Agreed. He is far from perfect but he is finally what we were looking for. A legit #1 NFL WR.

The trash heap recently is filled with failed Panther WR's(XL, Mingo, TMJ, etc).

[strato]

Well, at number 8 he should be. And I am glad he is. 

[MHS831]

10 hours ago, BEASTfromdaEAST said:

Thank God DM used that #8 pick on a bona fide WR1 and not some bum pass rushing prospect like Stewart or someone else.

I believe Tet is legit WR1 material and going forward will be our long term answer at that position since we desperately were in need of one once they traded away DJ Moore.  Tet could possibly end up even being better long term than someone who I respect a ton as a WR in Moore.

Evans has been a pleasant surprise and great TE/FB depth piece going forward who could make the most of his opportunities.  Any good offense worth a damn in the NFL has 3 TEs that can do multiple things and being scared by Ian Thomas play for years should makes us all appreciate what Evans is quietly doing as a ROOKIE at one of the hardest positions to learn at the pro level. 

Keep cooking DM. This season is not over obviously but seeing some growth out of young talent finally is a breathe of fresh fuggin air for once. 

[MHS831]

Just now, MHS831 said:

And this:  (Both Scourton and Walker have 3 sacks)

[TD alt]

9 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

The biggest thing holding TMac back from being a top 2 or 3 rookie WR is the QB.

Evans really needs to be getting more PT. Especially over Sanders.

I wonder if Dan and Dave have this same belief. We'll see what's what with Evans fairly soon. We'll see about Bryce in the off-season. What's on obvious to most Huddlers seems to escape the FO.

[CPcavedweller]

10 hours ago, BEASTfromdaEAST said:

Thank God DM used that #8 pick on a bona fide WR1 and not some bum pass rushing prospect like Stewart or someone else.

I believe Tet is legit WR1 material and going forward will be our long term answer at that position since we desperately were in need of one once they traded away DJ Moore.  Tet could possibly end up even being better long term than someone who I respect a ton as a WR in Moore.

Evans has been a pleasant surprise and great TE/FB depth piece going forward who could make the most of his opportunities.  Any good offense worth a damn in the NFL has 3 TEs that can do multiple things and being scared by Ian Thomas play for years should makes us all appreciate what Evans is quietly doing as a ROOKIE at one of the hardest positions to learn at the pro level. 

Keep cooking DM. This season is not over obviously but seeing some growth out of young talent finally is a breathe of fresh fuggin air for once. 

I'd still have preferred to have Tyler Warren or Matthew Golden. Canales is building this offense like he's got a 6'4, red haired bonifide MVP candidate, but we let that guy walk. For Bryce, you need slicers and dicers. 

[tukafan21]

I don't know guys, this is a lot of praise for a rookie from a non football school, I'm not sold yet.

[rmoneyg35]

9 hours ago, Tomcatn said:

 

Evans really needs to be getting more PT. Especially over Sanders

 

 

Don't forget who our head coach is.

TE is a position that takes time to develop. I’m not expecting much this year but I do think he can be a good starting TE in the future.

 

maybe I’m wrong but I just don’t see anything in Sanders. He just catches a few short passes and falls down as soon as he gets touched. I don’t think he’s a good blocker either.

[TylerDurden]

12 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

The biggest thing holding TMac back from being a top 2 or 3 rookie WR is the QB.

Evans really needs to be getting more PT. Especially over Sanders.

No lie. I feel like if he had a legit QB, Tet is putting up Mike Evans prime numbers as a rookie.

[kungfoodude]

4 hours ago, CPcavedweller said:

I'd still have preferred to have Tyler Warren or Matthew Golden. Canales is building this offense like he's got a 6'4, red haired bonifide MVP candidate, but we let that guy walk. For Bryce, you need slicers and dicers. 

No offense but I don't think either of those players are better. ESPECIALLY Golden. He has been one of the most underperforming 1st round picks from 2025.

[kungfoodude]

2 hours ago, rmoneyg35 said:

TE is a position that takes time to develop. I’m not expecting much this year but I do think he can be a good starting TE in the future.

 

maybe I’m wrong but I just don’t see anything in Sanders. He just catches a few short passes and falls down as soon as he gets touched. I don’t think he’s a good blocker either.

He was terrible to start last year, he had a hell of a streak and then he got injured and never has really produced much since.

At this point, the good games appear to be the outlier. 

Evans has popped immediately and looks to potentially be our best TE on the roster. Give him more reps. Could backfire but what are we losing by reducing Sanders snaps?

[rmoneyg35]

On 11/5/2025 at 6:54 PM, kungfoodude said:

He was terrible to start last year, he had a hell of a streak and then he got injured and never has really produced much since.

At this point, the good games appear to be the outlier. 

Evans has popped immediately and looks to potentially be our best TE on the roster. Give him more reps. Could backfire but what are we losing by reducing Sanders snaps?

I don’t know if people realize that Evan’s was one of the top TE prospects in college  before having some horrible injuries. I wanna say he had two major injuries in back to back seasons which limited his play and dropped his draft stock.