It’s far too early to write anybody off just yet. That said, the early returns for the Panthers’ 2019 draft class have not been promising.

In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, they were the second-least productive group of first-year players in the league. Only Cincinnati’s rookies were ranked lower. Here is what they had to say about Carolina’s quiet class of 2019.

“Outside of pass-rusher Brian Burns‘ promising start to the season, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about with Carolina’s 2019 class. Offensive tackles Greg Little and Dennis Daley recorded overall grades under 60.0, and third-round pick Will Grier (zero touchdown passes, four interceptions) did not look like their long-term answer at quarterback.”

This is. . . not ideal. Then again, we have to remember the context.

Burns was the only rookie who saw consistent playing time and even he was kept off the field too often in favor of much older EDGE defenders like Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin. Ron Rivera infamously put Burns to work as a gunner on special teams but didn’t use him as a pass rusher nearly enough. According to PFF, he was ranked No. 55 out of 112 qualifiers among EDGE defenders. Not a great ranking. However, we saw Burns flash enough to still believe he will become one of the elites at his position. It will take time.

Second-round pick Greg Little was limited by concussion and ankle injuries and only played 230 offensive snaps, or 20.3% of the team’s total. It would be unfair to give him anything but an incomplete grade for his rookie year. Thanks to Little’s and other injuries up front, sixth-round pick Dennis Daley was called into action a lot more than expected. He was on the field for a total of 691 snaps (61.1%) split between left tackle and left guard but he never really settled into a rhythm.

With more time to develop, they could both become starters. A lot of that will depend on what incoming offensive line coach Pat Meyer can get out of them.

If there’s one legitimate concern here it’s the play of No. 100 overall pick Will Grier. While two games is hardly enough to go on, Grier did not look much better than he did during the preseason when he bombed. His processing speed and decision making simply aren’t at the level they need to be for him to compete at this level yet. General manager Marty Hurney looks like he might have whiffed on another third-round pick here.

The rest of the 2019 class hardly saw the field at all. Jordan Scarlett was stuck behind Christian McCaffrey and Reggie Bonnafon on the depth chart, Christian Miller was hurt and then languished on the bench, often being inactive on game days. Terry Godwin was cut before the season even started.

A lot of this falls on coach Rivera, who always preferred to play veterans at the expense of rookies and younger players. Perhaps Matt Rhule will take a different approach.

Either way, fans should not panic about this class. Yet.

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