Panthers’ first depth chart: Questions remain at backup QB; Manhertz is No. 1 TE
The Carolina Panthers have released the first team depth chart of the season.
With the team placing wide receiver Keith Kirkwood and cornerback Eli Apple on injured reserve Monday, even more young players will get opportunities early. The Panthers are preparing to open the season by hosting the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Note that the Panthers release depth charts but refer to them as being “unofficial.” Here is that depth chart, along with some takeaways.
▪ Quarterbacks: The Panthers are not going with an official backup quarterback, at least for now. Both Will Grier and P.J. Walker are listed as the number two quarterbacks behind starter Teddy Bridgewater. Grier seemed to have the edge in camp, but Walker had his moments as well, and was Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s quarterback when he was the head coach at Temple.
Rhule shared that the backup quarterback job will likely switch on a week-to-week basis.
“Joe (Brady) and (quarterback coach) Jake (Peetz) will make that decision. I think really the thing that Joe said to me, it’s kind of like a lot of other positions. I think we’re going to just kind of take that week to week and see who practices best each week,” Rhule said. “I think we’re going to take that approach like, hey, let them both compete it out each week, see who practices the best and let that guy go. And then eventually, at some point, someone will have to play and get some game reps and it’ll really crystallize itself.”
▪ Tight ends: Arguably the biggest surprise was seeing Chris Manhertz as the starting tight end over Ian Thomas. While Manhertz is listed as the starter, it likely won’t take away from Thomas’ production. The Panthers are expected to use some two tight end sets. Thomas is also dealing with a hyper-extended toe. Rhule said Thomas is day-to-day but expects him to play on Sunday.
Manhertz, who is entering his sixth season in the NFL, has been primarily known for his run-blocking ability. He has six catches for 90 yards and one touchdown in his career. Thomas had 56 catches for 469 yards and three touchdowns through his first two seasons.
▪ Linebackers: Overall there is not a lot of surprise at the linebacker position. But one thing to take note of: Rookie Jeremy Chinn is listed as the right outside linebacker along with Jermaine Carter. Chinn has been practicing all over the field throughout training camp. He’s also listed as the backup free safety behind Tre Boston. The two positions listed on the depth chart won’t be the extent of his role. With Chinn out on the field as often as he will be, the Panthers will have four rookies — Chinn, Derrick Brown, Yetur Gross-Matos and Troy Pride Jr. — starting on defense.
▪ Cornerbacks: The Panthers are extremely young at cornerback. Eli Apple’s recent injured reserve designation, allows rookie corner Troy Pride Jr. to step into that No. 2 cornerback role opposite of third-year cornerback Donte Jackson, for at least three weeks. It’ll be a tough task for Pride, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Rhule said Monday that the rookies, including the corners, are going to have to grow up and not play like rookies. He’s right. In week 2, Pride will be lined up against either Mike Evans or Chris Godwin, both Pro Bowl-caliber wide receivers.
Carolina Panthers depth chart
Offense
Wide receiver: DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, Brandon Zylstra
Left tackle: Russell Okung, Greg Little
Left guard: Dennis Daley
Center: Matt Paradis, Tyler Larsen
Right guard: John Miller, Michael Schofield
Right tackle: Taylor Moton, Trent Scott
Tight end: Chris Manhertz, Ian Thomas, Colin Thompson
Wide receiver: Robby Anderson, Seth Roberts, Pharoh Cooper
Quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater, Will Grier OR P.J. Walker
Fullback: Alex Armah
Running back: Christian McCaffrey, Mike Davis, Trenton Cannon
Defense
Left defensive end: Brian Burns, Marquis Haynes, Shareef Miller
Left defensive tack: Kawann Short, Zach Kerr
Right defensive tackle: Derrick Brown, Bravvion Roy
Right defensive end: Yetur Gross-Matos, Stephen Weatherly, Efe Obada
Left outside linebacker: Shaq Thompson, Julian Stanford
Middle linebacker: Tahir Whitehead, Adarius Taylor
Right outside linebacker: Jermaine Carter and Jeremy Chinn
Left cornerback: Donte Jackson, Corn Elder
Right cornerback: Troy Pride Jr. Rasul Douglas, Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Strong safety: Juston Burris, Sam Franklin
Free safety: Tre Boston, Jeremy Chinn, Myles Hartfield
Special teams
Kicker and Kickoffs: Joey Slye
Punter and holder: Joe Charlton
Punt returner: Pharoh Cooper, DJ Moore
Kick returner: Pharoh Cooper, Trenton Cannon
Long snapper: J.J. Jansen
This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Panthers’ first depth chart: Questions remain at backup QB; Manhertz is No. 1 TE."
