Four Quick Thoughts on the Panthers' Initial Depth Chart

Tuesday evening, the Carolina Panthers released their first depth chart of the 2022 season. With the ones and twos getting the day off on Wednesday, the guys listed toward the end of their respective position on the depth chart will have an opportunity to show out.

Here are a few thoughts on the freshly released depth chart.

No QB1, as promised

Head coach Matt Rhule told reporters that a starter would not be named anytime soon and will likely come after the team's preseason game against the New England Patriots next week. That said, don't read much into P.J. Walker being ahead of Matt Corral. Walker is entering his third year with the team and will get those third string reps in the preseason in order to showcase his talents for other teams, assuming he gets cut.

Ekwonu has to earn it

Rhule has been pretty adamant about making Ikem Ekwonu "earn" the starting left tackle spot. They are going to be more aggressive with his reps but Brady Christensen has had a strong camp as well. I think it's safe to say that the Panthers are in a much better situation at the left tackle spot than they were a year ago, regardless of who wins the job.

Center battle

Both Pat Elflein and Bradley Bozeman have worked almost exclusively at center during training camp and have each taken a significant number of reps with the ones. This might be one of the tighter position battles on the roster aside from quarterback. The feeling is that Bozeman will eventually win the job, even if it's not at the start of the regular season.

Luvu listed as starter

I figured this would be the case. He was always around the ball in limited action last year and has continued to make plays in training camp. Thought Cory Littleton would split reps with him but it appears they'll have him lined up on the other side behind Shaq Thompson.

Take a look at the depth chart below.

OFFENSE

QB: Baker Mayfield OR Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Matt Corral

RB: Christian McCaffrey, D'Onta Foreman OR Chuba Hubbard, Spencer Brown, Darius Bradwell, John Lovett

LWR: DJ Moore, Rashard Higgins, Brandon Zylstra, Keith Kirkwood, Andre Roberts, Ra'Shaun Henry

RWR: Robbie Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., Shi Smith, C.J. Saunders, Derek Wright, Charleston Rambo

LTE: Tommy Tremble, Stephen Sullivan, Giovanni Ricci, Josh Babicz

RTE: Ian Thomas, Colin Thompson, Jared Scott

LT: Brady Christensen, Ikem Ekwonu, Wyatt Miller

LG: Michael Jordan, Dennis Daley, Deonte Brown

C: Pat Elflein OR Bradley Bozeman, Sam Tecklenburg

RG: Austin Corbett, Mike Horton, Cade Mays

RT: Taylor Moton, Cameron Erving, Austen Pleasants

DEFENSE

LDE: Brian Burns, Marquis Haynes Sr., Amare Barno, Drew Jordan, Marquan McCall

LDT: Derrick Brown, Daviyon Nixon, Phil Hoskins

RDT: Matt Ioannidis, Bravviyon Roy, Frank Herron

RDE: Yetur Gross-Matos, Darryl Johnson, Austin Larkin, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner

LOLB: Shaq Thompson, Cory Littleton, Julian Stanford, Khalan Tolson

MLB: Damien Wilson, Kamal Martin, Isaiah Graham-Mobley

ROLB: Frankie Luvu, Brandon Smith, Arron Mosby

LCB: Donte Jackson, CJ Henderson, Chris Westry, Madre Harper, Duke Dawson, Devin Jones

RCB: Jaycee Horn, Keith Taylor Jr., Kalon Barnes, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, Tae Hayes

FS: Jeremy Chinn, Sean Chandler, Kenny Robinson

SS: Xavier Woods, Juston Burris, Myles Hartsfield, Sam Franklin Jr.

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