Stock Up, Stock Down For Carolina Panthers Following Clutch HOF Game Win

The Carolina Panthers literally walked off the Arizona Cardinals when Haynes King stretched into the end zone as time expired, delivering the Panthers a 33-30 victory in the first preseason game.

The win, as exciting as it was, is meaningless. Preseason games mean nothing, and the Hall of Fame Game really means nothing. That said, it's still good for teaching us a few things, including which players' stocks are rising or falling.

Stock up: Haynes King

Panthers Rookie QB Haynes King in the HOF Game:

🎯 21/34
🎯 219 Total Yards
🎯 3 Total Touchdowns
🎯 0 Interceptions@GeorgiaTechFB pic.twitter.com/Qz4uy2A3RX
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 7, 2026

How high can one's stock rise after the Hall of Fame Game? Whatever the answer is, that's how high Haynes King's stock rose. He was excellent. By our estimation, he only had one egregious miss all night, and he was clutch under center. He might be the new backup QB.

Stock down: Will Lee III

Will Lee has been having a good training camp, and the word around town is that he's going to force himself onto the field as a rookie. After playing in the Hall of Fame game, that narrative was put to bed for now. Lee had a pass breakup, but he also got beat bad a few times in coverage.

Stock up: Jimmy Horn Jr.

That one Haynes King misfire was after a beautiful route for a would-be touchdown to Jimmy Horn Jr., who had a good all-around day. He's been somewhat quiet at camp, and he really needed this. He made some nice catches and was a positive force for the offense.

Stock down: David Moore

You'd be forgiven if you didn't know David Moore even played at all. The veteran WR is a favorite of the coaching staff, but he didn't do a single thing of note during the game. While the rest of the WR department was pretty good, Moore slipped by virtue of not standing out.

Stock up: Brad Idzik

Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We wondered what a Brad Idzik offense might look like. Of course, it's just an extension of the Dave Canales offense, but the play-calling was very good during the Hall of Fame Game. That is the sort of thing that does matter in preseason games, and it was on point, which bodes well for the season.

Stock down: Panthers secondary

It wasn't just Will Lee who struggled. The entire secondary got eaten alive by Carson Beck and his wide receivers in the first half. They're fortunate Beck didn't continue. The cornerbacks and safeties let players get wide open and failed to make any big plays.

Stock down: Lee Hunter

Lee Hunter got some burn during the game, but he didn't do much with it. He looked raw and rough around the edges, which was not necessarily expected coming out of college. He will need some time to get going, unfortunately.

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