All Panthers Training Camp Notebook: QB Separation Begins
The Panthers went at it bright and early Saturday morning for the final practice of the week and they scrimmaged for nearly the entire day. This was the first real evaluation for the coaching staff and yes, us in the media too.
Here are my thoughts.
Baker is in front
These numbers are unofficial, but I had Sam Darnold completing 21 of 29 passes with a touchdown and one interception. As for Mayfield, I had him at 13/18, also with a touchdown and a pick a piece.
Darnold got the bulk of the reps with the ones and didn't look all that sharp. He got off to a hot start completing a ball to Giovanni Ricci for a touchdown on his first pass attempt in red zone offense but after his eighth attempt in a full field situation, he was very hesitant. As we've seen from Darnold in the past, he has some challenges bouncing back when something bad happens. That happened today when he forced a ball near the sideline that resulted in an interception by the newly signed Tae Hayes. He should have thrown the ball away and lived to see another down. There were two other occasions where Darnold was flushed out of the pocket and had two receivers wide open but couldn't pull the trigger because what happened earlier was in the back of his mind. He also held onto the ball too long on a handful of plays which either ended in a sack or an incompletion. He also had two delay of game penalties.
Mayfield did have a beautiful 50-yard(ish) bomb to Rashard Higgins that went for a touchdown but other than that, he didn't do anything exceptional. He took what the defense gave him and made smart decisions. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mayfield start to earn more time with the ones at some point next week after the coaching staff goes back and watches the film from today.
D-line needs help
The defensive line isn't in as bad of shape as I thought it might be but they could definitely use another body or two for depth purposes. That said, with Marquis Haynes likely out for an extended period of time, the Panthers need to go get a veteran edge rusher that can make an impact. No disrespect to some of the former UDFAs, but they need a proven talent to line up opposite of Burns.
A ton of Ickey at left tackle
Matt Rhule wouldn't commit to giving Ekwonu more reps with the ones moving forward at left tackle but that certainly seems to be where things are headed. Like every other rookie, there's been some good and some bad over the first two weeks. Today, he did an excellent job handling stunts and passing off stunts. He got better with each rep.
Myles Hartsfield is playing lights out
Aside from the proven stars, I don't know if anyone has had a better training camp on the defensive side of the ball than Myles Harstfield. He's been all over the place breaking up passes, picking balls off, and flying to the ball to make tackles. Played a lot of nickel today and played it well.
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