3 Things to Watch Out for at Carolina Panthers Rookie Minicamp This Weekend

Rookie minicamp starts today for the Carolina Panthers. It's the first time the seven drafted rookies and the handful of undrafted signees will be on the field for the Panthers.

It's also the first step in moving towards the next season. It all begins now, and the work done here will be instrumental in how the rest of the offseason, and thus the next season, goes for Carolina.

With seven rookies who could all start, there's plenty to watch for. There are also some UDFAs who stand a good chance at making it onto the roster, but they've got to survive this weekend and get invited back first. Here's what to look out for.

New offensive line mates

Kansas State offensive lineman Sam Hecht (OL27) during the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Panthers added Monroe Freeling and Sam Hecht in the draft, and there are a few offensive linemen in their UDFA class, such as Isaia Glass and Albert Reese IV. The latter two are fighting to make the roster, but if they do, this will be a pivotal moment.

For all of them, this is the first chance to work together. If they're on the roster, given the injuries Carolina suffered up front last year, there's a good chance many of them will be on the field together, so now is when they must begin building that chemistry. Hecht and Freeling may be starters together regardless.

Chris Brazzell's routes

Chris Brazzell is known primarily as a vertical route runner from his time at Tennessee. However, his tenure at Tulane before that featured a more diverse route tree. If he's going to become more than a burner who runs vertically, he's got to develop that.

The Panthers will learn a lot about him this weekend. This is his first chance to show he can be more, and the way he does that in the absence of the rest of the main NFL offense is to run his routes well and run different ones than he typically does.

Haynes King's progression

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King (QB09) during the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Haynes King is the main quarterback here, so a lot of the eyes will be on him, even though he's an undrafted free agent. The former Georgia Tech signal-caller stands a good chance of making the roster and surviving until training camp.

But if he's going to displace Will Grier as QB3 (or Kenny Pickett, though that's extremely unlikely), then he can't just coast by through rookie camp. He's got to develop chemistry with everyone and play well in the drills.

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