Two Panthers That Could Exceed Expectations in 2022
The Panthers are still an extremely young team and will need some of those young guys to take the next step in their development to help this team compete in 2022. There's a laundry list of guys that will have an increased role and leave a bigger impact on the field this fall but there are two players in particular that I believe are set up for the best season yet.
TE Tommy Tremble
Ben McAdoo has a history of heavily targeting tight ends and having guys at those positions produce at a high rate. When I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago following one of the OTA practices, he grinned ear to ear talking about the potential of this tight end group, particularly Tommy Tremble.
Head coach Matt Rhule also told me that he believes Tremble has grown as a receiving threat. When they first drafted him, they knew that they were getting a physical tight end that could block amongst the best of them but the receiving aspect of the job was going to need some work.
"You saw some of the things that we did with Tommy last year," Rhule said. "Handed him a speed sweep from the tight end position and he ran it in for a touchdown. The sky is the limit I believe for Tommy Tremble. Tommy is still a young guy, an anxious guy. As he gets more and more confident, I think we'll continue to see him evolve as a player. I think he'll be a weapon for us."
Although Ian Thomas signed a three-year deal this offseason and will likely be the starter to begin the year, that doesn't mean that Tremble can't take over the majority of the reps at some point throughout the season.
DE Marquis Haynes Sr.
How are the Panthers going to generate enough of a pass rush opposite of Brian Burns to prevent him from being constantly double-teamed? The platoon of Marquis Haynes Sr. and Yetur Gross-Matos. Gross-Matos will bounce around on the defensive line but Haynes is going to be settled in as a stand-up edge rusher. He has more experience than YGM and will likely have a bigger impact on the field in 2022.
Despite playing in only 30% of the defensive snaps over the past two seasons, Haynes has been active when on the field registering 38 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and seven sacks.
"Marquis has the ability to rush the passer," defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. "I think one of the things that's hurt him a little bit is his power game. Rushing, he's really a speed guy. So we asked him to put on some weight and he's around 250 now and he played at about 240 a year ago. I think that's really going to help him and I'm expecting him to put pressure on the quarterback. I think you'll see him step up and his role will be more than it was a year ago."
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