Projecting the Panthers' depth chart following roster updates

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This past week, the Carolina Panthers had to take care of a little housekeeping—some work that resulted in what is now their 53-man roster. And heck, they had even more tidying up to do after that—with their moves to accommodate a high-profile injury, a new kicker and the start of a practice squad.

So, now that that’s all done, how will their first official depth chart of the 2022 regular season pan out? Here are our projections.


Position 1st Depth
QB Baker Mayfield PJ Walker
Mayfield, of course, will steer this ship into Week 1 against his old Cleveland Browns buddies. And as Sam Darnold and Matt Corral sit on the injured reserve, with the former out for about a month and the latter for the whole season, Walker is the de facto backup.


Backfield

AP Photo/Nell Redmond

Position 1st string 2nd string 3rd string
RB Christian McCaffrey D’Onta Foreman Chuba Hubbard
FB Giovanni Ricci
As long as McCaffrey is present, Foreman seems to be the likelier No. 2 option. His power style is a more complementary change of pace for the offense.


Pass catchers

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Position 1st string 2nd string 3rd string 4th string
WR DJ Moore Rashard Higgins Laviska Shenault Jr. Andre Roberts
WR Robbie Anderson Terrace Marshall Jr. Shi Smith
TE Tommy Tremble Stephen Sullian
TE Ian Thomas
Shenault could be the wildcard of the offense, let alone this group. The 2020 second-round pick, who was acquired this past Monday, may even take snaps out of the backfield—perhaps in a poor man’s version of how the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers deploy Cordarrelle Patterson and Deebo Samuel.


Offensive line

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Position 1st string 2nd string
LT Ikem Ekwonu
LG Brady Christensen Michael Jordan
C Bradley Bozeman Pat Elflein
RG Austin Corbett Cade Mays
RT Taylor Moton Cameron Erving
If Bozeman is indeed a go in Week 1, he should get the nod over Elflein.

As for their depth, the Panthers have made a pointed effort to fill their bench with versatile hog mollies. They have that in Elflein, Erving, Mays and—if need be—Christensen, who can swing over to the blindside.


Front seven

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Position 1st string 2nd string 3rd string
DE Brian Burns Marquis Haynes Sr.
DT Derrick Brown Daviyon Nixon Phil Hoskins
DT Matt Ioannidis Bravvion Roy Marquan McCall
DE Yetur Gross-Matos Amaré Barno
WLB Shaq Thompson Brandon Smith
MLB Damien Wilson Cory Littleton
SLB Frankie Luvu
Carolina has themselves two intriguing rookies in Barno and Smith. They’ll, obviously, start out as depth—but could make their presences felt with opportunities just waiting to be seized.


Secondary

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Position 1st string 2nd string 3rd string
CB Donte Jackson CJ Henderson Stantley Thomas-Oliver III
CB Jaycee Horn Keith Taylor Jr.
FS Jeremy Chinn Sean Chandler
SS Xavier Woods Myles Hartsfield Sam Franklin Jr.
Even though he stands at just 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Hartsfield should be a big player in this secondary. He can line up from a number of spots, giving defensive coordinator Phil Snow a chess piece of sorts over the top and from the slot.


Specialists

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Position 1st string 2nd string
K Eddy Piñeiro
P Johnny Hekker
LS JJ Jansen
KR Andre Roberts Chuba Hubbard
PR Andre Roberts Shi Smith
With Zane Gonzalez done for the season, Piñeiro takes over the kicking duties.

Roberts, the most experienced return man on the team by a wide margin, could handle both kickoffs and punts.