The Panthers managed to emerge victorious against the Dolphins in their second preseason game which started with a long McCaffrey touchdown run and ended with a pair of late short-yardage touchdowns. While the score is fairly meaningless during the preseason, the Panthers will have hoped to see the positives from the Bills game carried over and mistakes corrected as they move towards the final preseason game with much relevance to the starters. So how did the Panthers rookies look in just their second chance at in-game action?

DJ Moore

Moore had a much quieter game against the Dolphins than he had against the Bills, with the most notable play being the interception in which the ball was knocked from his hands and into the hands of a Dolphins defender, though this play should be noted for its positive as well as its negatives. Moore did a nice job of separating quickly and made a nice grab only to have the ball knocked free and intercepted; while his ball security could, of course, have been better, this was not a case of a bobbled catch or carelessness, but rather a good tackle by the safety and a bit of bad luck. For receivers, it is always going to be difficult to get a full picture without access to coaches’ tape and with limited sample sizes, but Moore has looked good enough throughout the preseason to quash any rash worries about his play based on the Dolphins game.

Donte Jackson

Jackson seems to have emerged as the favorite to start opposite Bradberry once the season starts and did some nice things with his start against the Dolphins. The Panthers seemed determined to have him in off-coverage for much of the game, allowing for easy underneath receptions, but Jackson did a decent job of limiting yards after the catch and securing the tackles that he went in for. Given Jackson’s speed, the Panthers would be well advised to play him closer to the line of scrimmage, as he has the speed to recover deep and this prevents teams from being able to dink-and-dunk beneath him.

Rashaan Gaulden

Without All-22 tape (unavailable for the preseason) it is going to be extremely hard to get a representative impression of Gaulden until he starts getting a more significant number of snaps. As with the Bills game, Gaulden didn’t appear to have any huge blunders or amazing moments, but if all you get from a rookie safety is decent but unspectacular play then that should be seen as something of a success. Realistically though, it’s too early to make much of a judgement on Gaulden.

Ian Thomas

Ian Thomas’s preseason to this point should be seen as a huge success for, as a developmental mid-round pick, his athleticism is not only evident, but being put to good use. All too often, developmental picks come into their rookie season and draw praise for their moments of athletic prowess, but fail to turn that into short-term production on a consistent basis. While Thomas had a couple of plays taken away in the Bills game to review and penalty, his stat line against the Dolphins of two receptions for 35 yards and a score on two targets is an impressive if unspectacular one. The major concern with Thomas coming out of Indiana was how long it would take him to develop as a route runner in order to contribute as a pass catcher using more than just his athleticism, and if the preseason is anything to go by –  the answer is not long at all. Don’t expect Thomas to surpass Dickson’s 437 receiving yards from last season, but if he can continue to get an efficient 20-to-30 yards-per-game as a rookie that should be seen as an immediate improvement at tight end for the Panthers, with the potential for continued development down the road.

Marquis Haynes

Haynes managed to come away from his second preseason game with a clean-up sack, but it is still unclear how the Panthers expect him to contribute going forward – for the most part they have used him as a conventional 4-3 end and even when they did look to use some more ‘interesting’ defensive fronts those did not include Haynes. Haynes himself is not without guilt when it comes to his ineffectiveness, albeit in limited snaps. He has a tendency to get too high when his initial move doesn’t work, and he would also be advised to work on being effective almost solely with his speed; not only is this his biggest advantage as a pass rusher, but if he can force tackles to respect his speed around the edge, this should open up space inside, both for himself and the interior defensive linemen. Haynes wasn’t bad against the Dolphins, but he could be better.

Jermaine Carter, Jr.

Carter continues to look something of a man against boys going against the second and third team offenses he’s mostly faced this preseason. He again made an impact as a blitzer off the edge and his potential to be a highly valuable cover piece in space stood out once again. It will be interesting to see whether he gets any playing time at all when Thomas Davis is suspended, as the safer option is undoubtedly to turn to the veteran Mayo, but if there is a doubt about who the favorite is to replace Davis as the third linebacker should he retire next offseason, then Carter is doing his utmost to extinguish it.

Kendrick Norton

Norton, like Butler before him, is a hard player to judge as the respect the opposing offenses show him makes it all but impossible for him to make an impact. When he was on the field, Norton saw a significant number of double teams from the Dolphins in both the rushing and passing game, and while he was able to anchor reasonably effectively and push the pocket, his biggest impact was that he was able to free up space for the other defensive linemen. Norton will likely be facing an uphill battle to make the roster as Kyle Love seems to have done nothing to jepardize his spot as the fourth defensive tackle, but Norton will certainly interest teams on the waiver wire and, should he make it that far, will likely be a prime candidate for a practice squad spot.

Brendan Mahon

Mahon had another strong game, spending time with the starters at right guard and doing nothing to harm his standing as the next man up at guard should Greg Van Roten falter. He might not have produced a play quite as impressive as the one he managed against the Bills, but there is certainly a lot to be encouraged by in Mahon’s play, and it would not be shocking to see him take the field at some point this season.

Taylor Hearn

Hearn had another night worth forgetting, with a couple of poor plays in particular that could have led to significant negative plays. Hearn is likely on the edge of those in practice squad consideration, and will need to do better in the coming preseason games if he is going to be considered for anything more than a September cut.

There is still a lot of time for the edges of the roster to come into focus, but if this preseason is anything to go by, then the Panthers can expect to get a far more significant contribution from the rookies this seasons than the meager showing from last year’s class.

Vincent Richardson on Twitter
Vincent Richardson
Managing Editor at Riot Report
Fan of zone coverage, knee bend and running backs running routes. Twitter: @vrichardson444