Roughly 250 players are drafted every year in the NFL, with another few hundred being signed as UDFAs and, if you were to believe every training camp storyline, you could be forgiven for being confused as to why half of them don’t end up in the Hall of Fame. However, as teams move into the preseason and then the early regular season, expectation begins to meet reality and some of those players touted as being the next franchise cornerstone end up looking a lot less impressive than fans hoped.

Last season, the Panthers didn’t get a huge amount out of their rookies not named Christian McCaffrey for a number of reasons, and while some of those players are making more of an impact in 2018, Panthers fans will likely be hoping for a more impactful rookie class in 2018. With the obvious caveat to not judge too much after four games, how have the Panthers’ rookies looked?

DJ Moore

Despite not being listed as a starter in any of the Panthers’ four games – and only getting nine touches in that period – DJ Moore is very quietly third among the skill positions players in yards-from-scrimmage with 131 yards through four games, behind only Devin Funchess (238 yards) and Christian McCaffrey (an NFL-best 521 yards). Unfortunately for Moore, he is always going to be compared to Calvin Ridley, who was taken just a couple of picks later by Atlanta; on brief inspection, that comparison doesn’t look good for Moore.

Ridley is averaging 63 yards of total offense per game – compared to Moore’s 34 – and has an NFL-best six touchdown receptions. However, the numbers on a per-target basis the numbers are far less clear. Moore’s catch percentage of 75% is almost exactly the same as Ridley’s 73.1%, and his yards-per-reception of 17.2 is ahead of Ridley’s 15.9. These numbers are actually very close, with both actually being in Moore’s favor – the major difference between the two players is the number of targets they have received to this point. Part of this is just that the Panthers’ don’t throw the ball as much as the Falcons, but it is also true that the Panthers haven’t targeted Moore as much as they could have, and for a real evaluation of Moore going forward, it would be nice to see Moore get more of a chance to make plays.

Donte Jackson

When Ross Cockrell went down during training camp, it soon became very clear that Donte Jackson was going to have to step in and play significant snaps from day one, whether he was ready or not. However, as has become clear, Jackson was very definitely ready and, while he has made some rookie mistakes as should have been expected, he has also made a number of big plays and currently is tied for first in the NFL with three interceptions.

He has the speed to run with almost any receiver and has the ball skills to make the most of the opportunities he does get; what is more, he has also been solid in the run game, and while his small size may mean that he’s not going to be blowing up blockers, he is a good tackler in space and has shown the discipline required to be an effective run defender in the NFL. Jackson isn’t perfect, but he has been about as good as can be hoped from a rookie corner and if he continues to play like this, he should be part of the conversation for defensive rookie of the year.

Rashaan Gaulden

Gaulden was always going to be something of a developmental pick, having been asked to make the transition from corner to safety after being drafted from Tennessee where he didn’t play much of the latter. Despite this expected transition period, Gaulden has seen some snaps on defense with Da’Norris Searcy going on IR and Eric Reid taking some time to get fully up to speed. In the playing time he has seen to this point, he has managed to make some decent plays, but has also been responsible for a couple of big gains by the opposing offenses – most notably getting too narrow on a run by Barkley on Sunday thereby allowing the rookie to bounce the run for a big gain. With Eric Reid looking to take over the majority of snaps alongside Adams at safety going forward, Gaulden will hopefully not see much more playing time this season, and it will likely not be until next season at the earliest that a conclusive assessment of this pick can be made.

Ian Thomas

As with Jackson and Gaulden, Thomas has seen more playing time thus far than he would have expected after Greg Olsen’s injury. While his numbers don’t jump off the stat sheet – ten receptions for 72 yards – and he did drop a would-be touchdown against Atlanta, he has gotten open with reasonable regularity and while his blocking could certainly do with some work, he hasn’t lacked for effort in this regard. Thomas was another player who was always going to be something of a developmental pick – that’s a real theme with this draft class; but given how much he has grown since the draft and how he has played in the extended snaps he has seen so far, there is reason to expect big things of him going forward, where he will hopefully see a reasonable amount of playing time as the Panthers’ second tight end alongside Greg Olsen.

Marquis Haynes

Yet another player expected to make a transition from one role to another upon entering the NFL, Haynes has been asked to move from a classic 4-3 defensive end to a more versatile ‘joker’ role in the Panthers’ defense. While Haynes has an intriguing combination of speed and agility which could make him a suitable candidate for this role, this is possibly the most significant transformation expected of any of the Panthers’ rookies, and Haynes’ lack of playing time thus far is likely a reflection of that. Haynes could see more playing time as the season goes on, but of all of the Panthers’ picks from this year, Haynes is probably the longest shot.

Jermaine Carter, Jr.

With Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson on the roster, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of spare snaps at linebacker. Even with Davis missing the first four games, David Mayo was expected to take on his snaps, having been the primary backup linebacker last season; and yet despite all that, Jermaine Carter, Jr. was still able to get onto the field a reasonable amount against the Giants, even getting close to bringing down Eli Manning on a blitz. Carter was lost in a somewhat questionable Maryland defense last season, but with talent around him, his athleticism really showed up during the preseason and with Mayo being somewhat of a liability in coverage, Carter was put in on most passing downs against the Giants and did well. While Davis’ return likely means his reps will decrease, there is a lot to be excited about with Carter for the future based on his first four games.

Andre Smith and Brendan Mahon

Mahon and Smith are combined here as neither has seen the field in any meaningful sense outside of special teams – neither are likely to unless there are injuries or, in Mahon’s case, if they decide to use him in heavy sets given the performance of Silatolu thus far this season. Both players have a lot of talent, and might have a better chance of seeing some extended playing time down the road, but if nothing else they are providing a higher quality of depth and practice competition at their respective positions than the Panthers have had in recent years.

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