Projecting Panthers Depth Chart and 53-Man Roster After Draft

The Carolina Panthers added seven new players in the 2026 NFL draft, and they're adding more with their undrafted free agent class, too. Those players will have to find spots on the 53-man roster and on the depth charts for their sides of the ball.

Ahead of training camp, which is where all of this gets decided anyway, we can project how we believe things will turn out and which players will end up on the roster for Week 1 and the beginning of Carolina's division title defense.

Offensive depth chart for Panthers

Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Monroe Freeling is selected by the Carolina Panthers | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Left tackle
Monroe Freeling
Rasheed Walker
Left guard
Damien Lewis
Center
Sam Hecht
Luke Fortner
Right guard
Robert Hunt
Chandler Zavala
Right tackle
Taylor Moton
Monroe Freeling
Quarterback
Bryce Young
Kenny Pickett
Running back
Chuba Hubbard
Jonathon Brooks
Trevor Etienne
Wide receiver
Tetairoa McMillan
Jalen Coker
Chris Brazzell II
Xavier Legette
John Metchie III
Jimmy Horn Jr.
Tight end
Ja'Tavion Sanders
Tommy Tremble
Mitchell Evans

Defensive depth chart

Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter (DL15) runs the 40-yard dash | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

LDE
Derrick Brown
NT
Lee Hunter
Bobby Brown III
Cam Jackson
RDE
Tershawn Wharton
LaBryan Ray
WLB
Nic Scourton
Trevis Gipson
LILB
Devin Lloyd
Claudin Cherilus
RILB
Trevin Wallace
Jackson Kuwatch
Isaiah Simmons
SLB
Jaelan Phillips
Princely Umanmielen
Thomas Incoom
LCB
Mike Jackson
Akayleb Evans
SS
Tre'von Moehrig
FS
Zakee Wheatley
Nick Scott
Lathan Ransom
RCB
Jaycee Horn
NB
Will Lee
Chau Smith-Wade
Corey Thornton

Special teams

K
Ryan Fitzgerald
P
Sam Martin
LS
JJ Jansen

That is also what we project to be the final 53-man roster. The Panthers had a lot of established players heading into the draft, and while some of them will be sent on their way to make some room for the rookies, most of them will stick around.

Some notable exits include Pat Jones, Bam Martin-Scott, Demani Richardson, and Brycen Tremayne. As for the starters, we expect plenty of camp battles at left tackle, nickel corner, free safety, and center.

The preseason will be huge for a lot of players. The Panthers will evaluate all their UDFAs and some of the veterans who may be on the chopping block. There will undoubtedly be some unpopular decisions, like when they decided to cut Hunter Renfrow ahead of Week 1 last year.

For the second straight season, there will be plenty of rookies in starting roles come Week 1. The Panthers had, by most accounts, a pretty good draft for the second straight year, and we all saw how impactful the 2025 class was.

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