While it was another tough loss for the Panthers, the rookie class showed much needed signs of life.
While the Carolina Panthers scratched and clawed to stay in the game versus the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the game eventually slipped away from them after squandering another late game opportunity. Considering the beatdown they were given by the Chicago Bears a game prior, coming out and playing a competitive game for nearly 50 minutes is a positive, at least for now.
While there was some optimism in the offseason the team could out-perform some admittedly low expectations, the rash of injuries suffered by the Panthers early in the season made the script for this season clear once again: the Panthers aren’t going to compete for anything this year. This season has always been about building towards the future, with little to no focus on short term success in the win column. Wins are nice, but the Panthers proving they have a good coach in place and an ability to develop young talent are paramount.
It is only 5 games into the season, so while there is still the mathematical chance to make the playoffs, you won’t see the Panthers fully lean into the “play the young guys” strategy of player development quite yet. That said, if more games trend the same direction as last few have, it will be time to start giving the majority of the snaps to those on rookie contracts instead of veterans who likely won’t be suiting up in process blue next season.
With that, we have approached the topic of this week’s game review. Let’s take look at some of the encouraging performances from the rookies on the roster projected to have increasing roles going forward.
Xavier Legette
For all intents and purposes, Legette looked exactly like the type of player you would hope he would be at this time in his career. He looked big, fast, physical and productive with his opportunities. In his 51 snaps, he put up a 67.8 PFF grade including a 65.3 receiving grade and 77.4 run blocking grade. Legette’s touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half was one of the best plays of the game by any Panthers player. The first round pick has been a bright spot so far, looking forward to seeing how he looks rest of season.
Trevin Wallace
With Josey Jewell still sidelined with an injury, Wallace was in charge of relaying the defensive calls. A tough ask for a 3rd round rookie, but to his credit he does not look overwhelmed by the opportunity. Wallace played every single defensive snap (70 of them) and performed okay. Wallace looked spotty in run defense, granted so did the entire team around him. On an encouraging note, Wallace had the highest tackling grade for the entire team from PFF with a 82.1, and even had the 3rd highest pass coverage grade on the team with a respectable 67.5. Oh, and Wallace probably had the play of the day for the Panthers after not only stripping the ball from a diving Falcons receiver, but also recovering the fumble – so that was pretty cool.
Ja’Tavion Sanders
The fourth round selection at tight end played 48 snaps for the Panthers, effectively being the Panthers first string tight end. Sanders had an up and down performance as a route-runner and receiver but is still showing improvement week-to-week as a blocker. Sanders had the second most receptions on the team with 5 catches, his offensive grade per PFF was 51.6, but did have a pass blocking and run-blocking grade hovering around 70.0. All in all, Sanders has looked serviceable and flashed some potential. Tight end is a notoriously difficult to learn position for young players entering the NFL, so his performance rest-of-season will be worth watching.
Chau Smith-Wade
Smith-Wade is an undersized defensive back still getting his feet wet in a complicated defensive scheme under Ejiro Evero. If you didn’t already know that, watching him in limited snaps on Sunday would give you that impression. Playing in 9 snaps as the Panthers slot cornerback, he was in rush defense 4 times, blitzing the passer on 2, and in coverage for 3. Smith-Wade’s cumulative PFF defensive grade was a 27.9, certainly not helped by a particularly brutal play in run-support where he was penalized for attempting a cut block on a pulling offensive lineman. That play ended in a touchdown and with the Falcons taking a two point try from the 1 yard line that eventually succeeded. Better days ahead for Smith-Wade.
Jalen Coker
The undrafted rookie continues to show flashes in limited action with the Panthers offense. I say “limited” in that he is rotational receiver, but in actuality Coker received the 3rd highest snaps among Panthers wide receivers versus the Falcons. Coker surpassed sophomore receiver Jonathan Mingo with 13 more total snaps, including running 34 routes compared to Mingo’s 15 routes run. Coker had two catches in the two minute drill to end the first half -one for 15 yards and the other for 6 yards. Both catches went for first downs and set the Panthers up to put the game within reach before halftime. Time will tell, but the Panthers getting a solid NFL player as a UDFA would be a much needed success story.
That’s all I have for you this week Panthers fans. I’ll see you right back here next week after the Panthers take on the Washington Commanders in Week 6. Keep pounding.