Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Are Terrace Marshall Jr. and Jonathan Mingo in a battle for the Panthers’ X receiver role? If they are, it could intensify during Saturday’s preseason opener.
On Saturday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers will kick off their preseason by locking up with their joint practice partners in the New York Jets. But there will be battles within that battle, as there always is during the summer.
So, let’s take a look at four of the most intriguing of them . . .
Brian Burns’ “Madden NFL 24” rating seems, well, a tad low . . .
On Tuesday, EA Sports rolled out the “Madden NFL 24” ratings for the league’s edge rushers. And for a two-time Pro Bowl starter, Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns seemed a bit underrated.
Check out the marks for Burns and the rest of the group here:
The Panthers still may have some work to do before reconvening for training camp later this summer.
The Carolina Panthers have been remarkably active this offseason. Yet, their work on the roster seems far from done.
Here are the three positions the teams should address before entering training camp later this month.
Panthers fans were even more hyped after Tuesday’s inside look at how the 2023 NFL draft came together.
From the decision on the 39th overall pick to the trade call made by Nicole Tepper, the third and final episode of “Panthers Blueprint” offered plenty of inside gems. And fans, for the third and final time, were amazed by the behind-the-scenes look into their team’s offseason.
Here are some of the best reactions to Tuesday’s release:
The third episode of “Panthers Blueprint” revealed Nicole Tepper made the trade call that helped secure third-round pick DJ Johnson.
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Now famously known to be “in on every deal,” Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer never shies away from making a move. And while he generally prefers to move back when it comes to swapping draft capital, he made an exception for not one, but two players this spring.
The first of which, of course, was quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina offered four premium picks and standout receiver DJ Moore to blitz atop the board back on March 10.
The second came during the draft itself with their third-round pick in outside linebacker DJ Johnson—who Fitterer talks about in the third and final episode of “Panthers Blueprint.”
“I love movin’ back because you acquire picks,” Fitterer said. “But sometimes when you get a player who fills a need, that fits the athletic profile and does exactly what you want—that’s when it’s worth it. That’s when you go up and take a shot.”
So, they did—shipping off the 93rd and 132nd picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 80th to secure the University of Oregon pass rusher. Oh, and perhaps appropriately enough, it was Nicole Tepper who made the call to the Steel City in getting the deal done.
Chief Administrative Officer of Tepper Sports and Entertainment and wife of owner David Tepper, Nicole has played an integral part behind the scenes in recent years. From establishing a healthy culture within the organization to attending pro days, Tepper’s been a highly-acclaimed member of the Carolina braintrust.
And now, she can add “wheelin’ and dealin'” to the job list.
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Now that the dust from the annual calling of names has settled, our managing editors have handed out 2023 draft grades for each NFC South squad.
Did the NFC South squads ace their respective 2023 drafts?
We asked our managing editors—River Wells of Bucs Wire, Matt Urben of Falcons Wire and John Sigler of Saints Wire—to help hand out grades for their teams.
As we enter June, let’s take a crack at projecting the Panthers’ initial 2023 53-man roster.
With one of the franchise’s most exciting offseasons in the books, the Carolina Panthers might be primed to contend this upcoming season. And although there still may be moves on the horizon, we can still sift through the 88-player program to make an opening-week projection.
So, here is our current set of predictions of how the team’s 53-man roster will look come Week 1.
(Side note: Players are listed in alphabetical order. So, no, this is not a depth chart projection.)
Although somewhat raw, can rookie LB DJ Johnson squeeze into the Panthers’ pass-rushing rotation in 2023?
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Carolina Panthers fans might’ve been caught off guard when general manager Scott Fitterer and company traded up to the 80th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. And they might’ve been caught even more off guard by the name on that card.
Nonetheless, the project out of the University of Oregon is set to begin.
One of the most unique prospects in the class, the potent pass rusher DJ Johnson served in multiple positions during his four-year career in Eugene. The linebacker made the transition to tight end during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign—having caught 10 passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns in the process.
Then, during his senior year in 2022, Johnson was finally able to settle down into his role as a classic rush backer. He even had a coming out party—totaling bests with 39 tackles (8.5 for a loss) and 6.5 sacks.
While the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder’s athletic profile and size is that of a first-rounder, his rawness at the spot dropped him down to the third round. It will be up to the Carolina coaching staff to bring the 24-year-old up to speed in his rookie season.
Part of the reason the front office likely felt comfortable taking a chance on Johnson, is the defensive coaching staff they put together. The group, of course, is headed by one of the fastest rising and most respected minds in the game—defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
There is a clear need for an edge rusher opposite Brian Burns as Yetur Gross-Matos has not exactly fit the bill—and it is likely Johnson will be given every opportunity to earn that role. He is already an effective rusher despite his lack of a premier tool box and is a big piece of clay waiting to be molded.
If he can pick up on some of the finer details of the craft, Johnson could be a surprise rookie for Carolina.
| Tackles | Tackles for loss | Sacks |
| 24 | 9.0 | 7.0 |
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If the Panthers’ 2023 NFL draft haul could be boiled down to a GPA, this would be it:
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Have you ever had a test graded by every single teacher in your school? Well, the Carolina Panthers just have . . . kind of.
Twitter user René Bugner recently rounded up 2023 NFL draft grades from 29 evaluators across the web. Using those marks, Bugner compiled a cumulative grade point average (GPA) for each of the league’s 32 teams.
Here’s how the grades stack up:
🏈🧑🏻🎓 I´ve compiled 29 evaluations of the 2023 NFL draft and totaled the team grades.
Here is the spreadsheet. Sorted by GPA for all 32 teams.
I also sorted the 29 evaluations by GPA. From left (soft graders) to right (hard graders).
Thanks to all who give out grades every year! pic.twitter.com/lEvqCkViCT— René Bugner (@RNBWCV) May 25, 2023
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, who got in in Bugner’s action, had the following to add about the Panthers’ 2023 class:
The success of this draft of course depends on how well Young plays at the next level. I might have preferred C.J. Stroud here, especially given what the Panthers had to spend for the first overall pick, but we’re splitting hairs here. If Young was 6-foot-2 and weighed 220 pounds, nobody would have a question, and he has every other attribute you want in a franchise quarterback. Mingo might be a bit of an overdraft here to me, but there are a lot of people I respect who like him better than I do.
Johnson is a hybrid end whose production last season made him a bit underrated, and I absolutely love the last two picks. Zavala is one of the better power guards in this class, and he has a positive history with former college teammate Ikem Ekwonu. And Robinson might be a bit undersized, but you wouldn’t know it when you’re watching his tape — he has a tonesetter’s alpha personality that shows up all over the place. The Panthers were clearly going for players who could win in the locker room as well as on the field.
Will a 3.12 GPA, however, translate into winning on the field? Can the wiz kid Bryce Young lead his fellow rookie teammates (and the rest of the Panthers, for that matter) in acing the 2023 season?
That’s another test for another time. So study up, cats.
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Panthers LB DJ Johnson, who said he had a dope experience at rookie minicamp, realizes the job that’s ahead of him.
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The Carolina Panthers knew they were entering a process when they traded up to draft DJ Johnson two weeks ago—and apparently, so does he.
Johnson spoke with reporters following the second and final installment of rookie minicamp on Saturday afternoon. When asked about having to “set the edge,” a phrase brought up numerous times by general manager Scott Fitterer in regards to the upside of the outside linebacker, he acknowledged what lies ahead of him.
“You gotta earn the right to pass rush,” Johnson stated. “Stoppin’ the run is the first thing and as an outside backer, my job is to set the edge. So it’s a big focus.”
2023’s 80th overall selection, Johnson comes in a bit on the raw side. The 24-year-old even played some tight end during his collegiate career before firmly settling in on defense.
But what Johnson may lack in experience as a pass rusher, he has in that aforementioned upside. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, as far as an athletic profile, compares closely to fellow edge defenders in Kayvon Thibodeaux, Josh Allen, Whitney Mercilus and Will Anderson Jr.—all of which were first-round selections.
It’s just a matter of if he reaches that potential, something Fitterer and the Panthers could certainly use on the edge—whether he’s setting it or flying off of it.
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