3 major questions from Carolina Panthers' befuddling Week 1 snap counts

The Carolina Panthers suffered an embarrassing loss on Sunday, which means it's time for one thing: to analyze what exactly went wrong. Every piece of data from the game can be an indicator, including the snap counts the coaching staff employed. Upon analysis, those counts don't answer many questions. They only prompt more.

Where were the rookie edge rushers?

Princely Umanmielen got eight snaps on Sunday. Nic Scourton got 18. DJ Wonnum got 48, and Pat Jones recorded 41 snaps. The Panthers couldn't get any sort of pressure whatsoever on Sunday, but the coaching staff deemed that the rookies didn't deserve a chance to infuse the defense with some energy?

The Panthers drafted both Scourton and Umanmielen and then cut Jadeveon Clowney, only to sit Scourton and Umanmielen for most of the game. The pass rush was abysmal all day, so there was no reason to keep running out mediocre veterans who aren't the future of the position when you could see what the other two could do with meaningful playing time.

Why did Nick Scott play way more than Lathan Ransom?

The Panthers have a franchise record for rookies this year: 12. Yet, most of them struggled to see the field over veterans who are, with all due respect, not that good. Nick Scott played every single defensive snap at safety, and he was not very good. Meanwhile, preseason standout Lathan Ransom got nine snaps.

#Panthers snap counts for Week 1: pic.twitter.com/g4H0m3flc7
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) September 8, 2025

Ransom is a hard-hitter who plays better against the run. Take a wild guess at which facet of Jacksonville's defense ran wild on Sunday. It was the run, but Scott never took a seat for Ransom, who represented at least a chance of better play.

Why was Xavier Legette out there so much?

Xavier Legette is technically the WR2, so it's not all that surprising that he played 78% of the offensive snaps, but he shouldn't have. He was awful on Sunday, and while Hunter Renfrow had some struggles, he was much better than Legette and should've played more.

It might've even been better to give a few of Legette's snaps to David Moore or Brycen Tremayne, too. It seems as if the Panthers are intent on giving Legette every opportunity to make good on their potentially foolish investment on him, but at some point, the better players should get a chance, and Legette hasn't earned that sort of leash.

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