Curtis Samuel
The second half of last season was a long one for the Panthers, but one of the few bright spots was the play of Samuel. After having just six catches for 81 yards in his first eight games, Samuel had 33 receptions for 413 yards and five touchdowns during the second half of 2018. If Samuel can remain healthy, he should be able to have a career year this upcoming season.
As pointed out by Johnny Kinsley last week, Samuel has all of the skills, he just needs to put them together for 16 games – the Panthers have constructed their wide receiver room with a lot of faith in both Samuel and Moore, so a full 16 games for the electrifying wideout should be his goal as he aims to jump to the next level.
James Bradberry
Bradberry had arguably his best season as a pro in 2018 as he had 70 tackles while recording an interception along with 15 passes defended. However, Bradberry was inconsistent at times during the year and that’s an area he will need to improve on – the Panthers #1 corner had the unenviable task of being matched up on the outside with Julio Jones, AJ Green, Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, and Michael Thomas in 2018; as 2019 is his final season under his rookie contract, Bradberry should be poised to improve on his play from last year – but he’ll have to do it against the likes of Jones, Evans, Thomas, Deandre Hopkins, Davante Adams and TY Hilton in 2019.
Bradberry’s job was perhaps the most unforgiving on the entire roster, but he lived up to billing, only allowing five touchdowns to #1 wide receivers in 2018. It will take that kind of performance throughout the season to vault him into the upper echelon of NFL cornerbacks.
Bryan Cox, Jr.
Judging by Cox’s numbers during his first two seasons, it may be difficult to see him making a significant jump in his play this season. However, Cox has shown potential at times as he appeared in 11 games in 2018 and seven in 2017; with the Panthers revitalizing their pass rush and transitioning to more three-man fronts, Cox could potentially see more playing time.
Even newest Panther Bruce Irvin sees a little bit of himself in Cox.
“He reminds me of a young Bruce,” said Irvin of Cox back in March. “I’m kind of eager to share my knowledge with Bryan and really get to know him, and I’m looking forward to him having a lot of success in this league.”
Cox has the potential to become an impact player for the Panthers and there are opportunities for a player who can excel in a three-man front, now it is up to him to show it on the field.
