CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers open the 2021 NFL regular season against the New York Jets on Sept. 12 at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers finished 2020 with a 5-11 record, third in the NFC South, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
This will be a chance for quarterback Sam Darnold, acquired in an offseason trade with the Jets, to prove himself immediately -- or prove New York was right in moving on from the third pick of the 2018 draft in favor of Zach Wilson.
The Panthers still have other questions, the biggest ones being whether Cameron Erving is the answer at left tackle and whether a defense with a lot of good pieces, but thin at linebacker, can come together as a unit -- and whether they have enough depth to remain competitive over 17 games.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Here's a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Will Grier
The jury is still out on Darnold, who was good but not great during training camp. Neither Walker nor Grier has done anything to forge a gap as the clear No. 2 -- or made an argument for the Panthers to keep them both. The third quarterback still could be on another roster.
RUNNING BACK (4): Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, Spencer Brown, Trenton Cannon
Hubbard has earned the role as McCaffrey's primary backup. The rookie out of Oklahoma State is dynamic as a receiver and runner. Cannon, a back who has worked primarily as a receiver in camp, gets the nod because of his contributions on special teams. The worry here is there's no fullback.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., David Moore, Brandon Zylstra, Shi Smith
The top three are a given, with Marshall proving why he was a second-round pick who could have been a first-rounder. Leaving rookie C.J. Saunders off this list was tough. He did nothing but make plays during camp. A concussion suffered by Keith Kirkwood early in camp took him off this list.
TIGHT END (4): Dan Arnold, Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble, Colin Thompson
Arnold looks like the real deal in terms of bringing the TE back as a receiving threat in this offense. Thomas still needs to prove he can be a threat past the preseason, and the addition of Tremble makes this a clear upgrade from 2020. Tremble also could fill that fullback role in terms of blocking.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Taylor Moton (T), Cameron Erving (T), Trent Scott (T), Brady Christensen (T-G), Pat Elflein (G), John Miller (G), Dennis Daley (G), Deonte Brown (G-C), Matt Paradis (C)
Erving at left tackle and Moton on the right side clearly is the best combination for starters. Whether Erving can stay healthy is the question. Greg Little was traded to Miami because Moton emerged as the second-best tackle. If the Panthers opt to go with 10 linemen, look for center Sam Tecklenburg to make the cut.
DEFENSIVE END (5): Brian Burns, Morgan Fox, Yetur Gross-Matos, Marquis Haynes, Christian Miller
The beauty of this group is most can play multiple positions and all can get after the quarterback. Burns (nine sacks in 2020) and Reddick (12.5 sacks for Arizona in 2020) are primed for a big season (and wagered a customized golf cart on who ends up with the most sacks). The biggest question here is whether Miller makes the cut.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE (4): Derrick Brown, DaQuan Jones, Bravvion Roy, Daviyon Nixon
Jones was brought in to add a much-needed veteran beside 2020 first-round pick Brown, but look for Roy to get a lot of playing time. And Morgan Fox can slide inside and provide pressure.
LINEBACKER (5): Shaq Thompson, Haason Reddick, Jermaine Carter Jr., Frankie Luvu, Julian Stanford
Who you don't see here is 2020 defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Jeremy Chinn, but he'll sneak up and play outside linebacker more than we might think. Carter at middle linebacker has emerged to the point the Panthers traded Denzel Perryman to the Raiders. Former Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., now an analyst for the team network, called Carter the leader of the defense and a key. With Perryman gone, Stanford could crack this list.
CORNERBACK (6): Jaycee Horn, Donte Jackson, Rashaan Melvin, A.J. Bouye, Keith Taylor, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III
Losing Troy Pride Jr. to injury for the year hurt the depth, but this group no longer is a weakness, with first-round pick Horn a legitimate shutdown corner and Jackson healthy. Bouye as a nickel back gives defensive coordinator Phil Snow flexibility to do things he couldn't do a year ago in terms of playing more man-to-man.
SAFETY (4): Jeremy Chinn, Juston Burris, Kenny Robinson, Sam Franklin
Chinn will be used at several positions, but his presence at safety is a big upgrade at the position. It wouldn't surprise if Sean Chandler snuck into this group.
SPECIALISTS (3): Ryan Santoso (PK), Joseph Charlton (P), J.J. Jansen (LS)
The Panthers were so confident in Joey Slye prior to camp that they didn't bring in competition for him, but after Slye missed three kicks in two preseason games, they signed Dominik Eberle. However, on Thursday, they traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Giants for Ryan Santoso and released Eberle. Only one will make the roster, but since Carolina traded for Santoso, he becomes the odds-on favorite. When Thomas Fletcher was drafted in the sixth round it seemed a sure thing the Panthers would move on from Jansen after 12 seasons as their long-snapper. That still could happen, but Jansen remains Pro Bowl-caliber and Fletcher could be stashed on the practice squad.