It's Beyond Time for One Underrated Panthers Rookie to Start

I've seen enough from Luke Fortner through three games. It's time for the Panthers to find out what they have in rookie Sam Hecht.

Aug 21, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers center Sam Hecht (75) warms up before a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Maybe I'm being a little impatient here. We're only three games into the season, and normally I'd say give Luke Fortner some more time. But after watching this offensive line through three weeks, I'm ready to see Sam Hecht at center.

I'm not saying Hecht is the answer, because I have no idea if he is. He's barely played, so none of us really know what he can do yet. I just think it's time to find out.

I Want to See What Sam Hecht Can Do

Aug 21, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers center Luke Fortner (77) warms up before a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Fortner hasn't been very good. PFF has him with a 52.1 overall grade and a 40.6 pass-blocking grade through three games. He's also allowed 11 pressures and a sack, and that's not what you want from the guy in the middle of your offensive line.

We've seen some of it during the games too. There have been too many times when Bryce Young has had pressure coming right up the middle, and Sunday against Cleveland was probably the worst we've seen. Young was pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks in that game.

Now, I'm not blaming all of that on Fortner. I just wrote about Monroe Freeling struggling, and he's certainly been part of the problem too. The entire offensive line had a rough day in Cleveland, so putting everything on the center wouldn't be fair.

But I keep coming back to Hecht.

The Panthers used a fifth-round pick on him, and I liked the pick when they made it. He started 25 games at Kansas State, earned All-Big 12 honors, and didn't allow a sack or quarterback hit during his final season. There was a lot to like about him coming out of college.

So why not see what you've got?

Hecht has only played 11 offensive snaps, so I'm definitely not going to sit here and tell you he's better than Fortner. Maybe he gets a start and struggles. That's certainly possible, but at least then Carolina would have a better idea of what it has in him.

If Fortner was playing really well, I wouldn't even be writing this. He's not, and I haven't seen anything through three games that makes me think Carolina can't at least give the rookie a chance. You drafted Hecht for a reason, so at some point I'd like to see whether he can play.

Give Hecht a start and let him play an entire game with Bryce Young and the starting offensive line. Maybe it works, and maybe it doesn't.

I'm just ready to find out.