Carolina Panthers mailbag: How does Jimmy Horn fit into wide receiver puzzle?
The Carolina Panthers are less than five weeks away from their annual training camp. And naturally, fans are curious about what’s in store for the process blue crew.
So, The Charlotte Observer has brought back the Panthers mailbag to answer some questions from social media.
Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite topic: Wide receiver
Caleb asks: What’s your sense on what Jimmy Horn Jr.’s role will be this season?
Mike Kaye: Horn is still somewhat enigmatic, even as a second-year receiver. He’s clearly a talented player, particularly from a gadget sense, but it’s hard to see where he gets legitimate playing time with so many guys ahead of him.
He had an excellent catch for a touchdown on a “go” route off a pass from Kenny Pickett in 7-on-7 work during the final mandatory minicamp workout last week. If the Panthers feel like he can stretch the field in some form or fashion, he might get package duty, particularly on obvious running plays as a clear-out option. It’s just a matter of how much offensive coordinator Brad Idzik wants to mix and match personnel.
It’s going to be hard to get Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker off the field — barring injury — and Xavier Legette and third-round pick Chris Brazzell should get plenty of snaps as well.
The addition of Brazzell as a long-speed receiver could hurt Horn. If Brazzell is getting the bulk of the clear-out opportunities and Legette is being used as an occasional gadget weapon, what role can Horn really sink his teeth into? He’s also not the special teams player that Brycen Tremayne and David Moore have shown to be.
As of now, Horn looks like the seventh receiver on the depth chart. If he can snag a returner job or a gadget-package role, he will be active on game days. If he can’t, he might face a similar situation to last year when he was a healthy scratch for a portion of the season.
In theory, with how crowded the wideout room is, GM Dan Morgan could attempt to make one of his annual wide receiver trades that opens up an opportunity for Horn. But last year’s sixth-round pick will need to show he’s worth exploring that possibility.
It’s getting kinda crowded in the secondary
Austin asks: The safety room seems to be crowded with Tre’von Moehrig, Nick Scott, Lathan Ransom, Isaiah Simmons, Zakee Wheatley and Demani Richardson. Now Chau Smith-Wade is getting reps at safety, too. Who ends up making the 53-man roster?
Well, yes, when you list out the entire group, it does seem quite crowded, Austin. Competition is important, and the safety room should have some decent battles this summer.
Moehrig is the straw that stirs the drink on the back end. His ability to play safety, nickel corner and dime linebacker is essential to what defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is trying to accomplish both pre- and post-snap. So, he won’t be leaving the field all that much.
The sense here is that Scott, barring something unforeseen, will be in the driver’s seat (again) as the other starting safety because of his knowledge of the defense. Ransom will rotate into the mix similarly to last year, as he will be heavily involved in the big nickel package.
From there, it’s anyone’s guess, but it would be genuinely surprising to see Wheatley, a fifth-round pick, not make the squad. So, with four spots seemingly spoken for, Simmons and Richardson will need to battle with depth corners to keep their jobs.
The expectation is that the Panthers will keep 10 or 11 defensive backs. In Tuesday’s 53-man roster projection, six cornerbacks made the team, while Simmons and Richardson were left out in the cold.
On paper, it feels like Simmons and Smith-Wade could be a singular competition. Both can move around the secondary and both have special teams value. Simmons is somewhat redundant with Wheatley, while Smith-Wade will probably take a backseat to Corey Thornton at nickel corner.
Akayleb Evans, a depth corner with plenty of experience, was an early re-signing of the Panthers. He’s a terrific gunner on punt coverage, so it’ll be hard for Simmons or Smith-Wade to bounce him off the roster.
For now, Smith-Wade at least has the homegrown pedigree and Carolina draft-pick background to stand on. Simmons also wouldn’t be subject to waivers if cut, so he could, in theory, be brought back after the initial waiver process without much risk.
Richardson, a fun story in 2024, probably needs a change of scenery, especially after being cut and placed on the practice squad during the team’s late-season playoff push.
Position changes, position changes
Has there been any consideration of moving Brycen Tremayne to tight end?
After asking around a bit about this particular idea earlier in the offseason, the read here is that Tremayne will stick to being called a wide receiver in your game-day programs.
He’s listed as 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, and while the tight end height is there, the weight and strength aren’t on par. For instance, every tight end currently on the roster weighs at least 228 pounds. The lightest guy of the bunch, at 228 pounds, is former college QB-turned-special teams ace, Feleipe Franks. The rest of the group is 249 pounds and up.
Tommy Tremble (250 pounds), Ja’Tavion Sanders (252 pounds) and James Mitchell (249 pounds) are all listed at 6-4, too. So, even if Tremayne were to bulk up a bit this summer, it’d be next to impossible to gain 37 to 40 pounds in a healthy manner while still maintaining Tremayne’s wideout speed, which is used dynamically on special teams by coordinator Tracy Smith.
Tremayne has value as a big slot receiver, especially if there’s an injury to Coker or McMillan. He would need an entire offseason (or two) to make the Jordan Matthews-like transition from wideout to tight end, and to this point, he’s running receiver routes.
Questions, quandaries and riddles
Jess asks: What are the three biggest unknowns going into training camp in terms of depth chart?
That’s a great question, and you’d probably get a different grouping of answers from fellow Panthers scribe Alex Zietlow and columnist Scott Fowler. But they aren’t handling this mailbag, so here’s what this beat writer thinks:
- Left tackle. The unknowns here are plentiful. What is Ickey Ekwonu’s true return timeline? How will that (publicly) unknown timeline impact the battle between veteran Rasheed Walker and first-round pick Monroe Freeling on the blind side? If Freeling wins the job outright, could the Panthers trade Walker and roll with Stone Forsythe as a swing tackle? There’s a lot to figure out here, and it’s fair to wonder if the Panthers are still seeking those answers internally.
- Jonathon Brooks. The 2024 second-round pick looked good during the media-attended workouts this spring. But his injury history looms large over his upcoming training camp. When the pads come on, Brooks will need to show the same speed and shiftiness he had pre-injury. Can he handle a big workload in joint practices? How will the preseason factor into his evaluation? Will he share touches with Chuba Hubbard early on if he makes it out of August with a clean bill of health?
- Xavier Legette. With Coker signing a long-term contract extension, Legette’s summer performance will be put under a significant microscope. The 2024 first-round pick has admitted that last year was a forgettable output on his part, and he is motivated to change the narrative this summer. The former South Carolina standout was a late bloomer in college, so the Panthers are hoping history repeats itself and Legette becomes a threat in his third season. If he fails to launch in training camp, he could go the way of Jonathan Mingo.
