The Carolina Panthers have released their first unofficial depth chart of the year in preparation for Thursday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bears. There are no huge surprises to be found, but there were some interesting choices.
Here are a few notes.
- Kyle Allen is the No. 2 quarterback behind Cam Newton. Rookie Will Grier is No. 3 and Taylor Heinicke is No. 4.
- At running back, Cameron Artis-Payne is listed second behind Christian McCaffrey.
- Curtis Samuel and D.J. Moore are of course the top two receivers, followed by Chris Hogan and Jarius Wright. Torrey Smith and Aldrick Robinson round out the top six most likely to make the roster.
- For the offensive line Daryl Williams is first up at left tackle, followed by Greg Van Roten at left guard, Matt Paradis at center, Trai Turner at right guard and Taylor Moton at right tackle. Rookies Greg Little and Dennis Daley are listed No. 2 at left tackle and right guard respectively.
- On defense, the 3-4 front is now in print. Dontari Poe will play nose tackle, flanked by superstar 3-4 ends/4-3 tackles Kawann Short and Gerald McCoy. Bruce Irvin and Mario Addison have the top outside linebacker spots. Brian Burns is listed second behind Addison at LOLB, while fourth-round pick Christian Miller is further down the depth chart at ROLB behind Irvin and Marquis Haynes.
- As expected, Tre Boston is the starting free safety. Eric Reid is at strong safety. James Bradberry and Donte Jackson are the starting outside cornerbacks. Interestingly, Ross Cockrell is No. 2 behind Boston at free safety and Bradberry at corner. There’s no separate listing for slot corners, but potential contenders for that rule include Rashaan Gaulden, Corn Elder and Javien Elliott.
- On special teams, Jaydon Mickens is the No. 1 punt returner and for some reason Artis-Payne is first at kick returner.
Again, there are no surprises here outside of Cockrell and Artis-Payne ranking so high at two separate spots, and those are relatively mild.
