With thousands of people and all of his teammates silently watching, right tackle Daryl Williams lay on the ground being attended to by trainers – literally screaming in pain and what, in all likelihood, was frustration as he had entered this camp and the final year of his contract entrenched at the right tackle spot and ready to improve on his 2017 season in which he was voted second-team All-Pro. As the cart came out to take him back to the locker room, where he would eventually be sent back to Charlotte for further evaluation, most of his teammates took a knee aside from the handful of veterans who surrounded the 25-year old – Trai Turner and Kawann Short would help Williams onto the cart, and Williams exited the field. Just thirty yards away, some of the offense ran passing drills – a moment later, Chase Blackburn would be yelling at his special teams unit to mind the new kickoff rules as they lined up.
Football moves on.
Here are some other storylines we noticed from today’s training camp session:
- Once Williams exited, Taylor Moton took all of the reps at right tackle with the first team – his versatility and skill level should allow him to step into that position if Williams’ injury does prove to be as serious as it seemed. The second-year Western Michigan product will compete with free agent signee Jeremiah Sirles for the starting spot, with Amini Silatolu still slated to slot in at left guard after getting almost all of the first-team snaps at that position.
- Speaking of left guard. Yesterday, I told you a quick anecdote about Brendan Mahon getting called up to the first group of offensive linemen, and his skill level is being noticed by Ron Rivera and the rest of the coaches – today, the first day of practice in pads, Mahon was called into a pre-practice gathering at midfield to face off against seventh-round pick Kendrick Norton in the first big hit of Panthers training camp – later, he got a single rep with the first team offensive line at left guard. Whatever Mahon is doing, it’s working.
Rookie battle (Mahon vs Norton) to get things going pic.twitter.com/AHfZfFQPsn
— Max Henson (@PanthersMax) July 28, 2018
- With the first day of pads comes the first day of contacts and one-on-one drills, here were some highlights of those drills – please don’t read too much into these, they’re only one drill out of hundreds that will be performed and not necessarily indicative of a player’s skill level:
- In the pass blocking drill, Christian McCaffrey handled Luke Kuechly easily, but second-year corner Cole Luke was able to blow by him on the outside. Pass blocking will be a huge part of McCaffrey’s development if he wants to become a three-down back and get the 200 carry workload that Rivera has hinted at throughout the offseason.
- Rookie Ian Thomas was able to handle Thomas Davis – twice – as Davis came around the edge, and CJ Anderson was able to show off his impressive pass blocking chops as he kept Kuechly away from the theoretical quarterback.
- After being the star of the first two sessions, tight end Jason Vander Laan had real trouble taking care of rookie linebacker Jermaine Carter, Jr.
- Mario Addison spun by Matt Kalil, but there was a false start on the play – couldn’t tell whether Kalil jumped or Addison flinched.
- Vernon Butler and Trai Turner’s rep turned a bit chippy, as these physical drills tend to do.
- DJ Moore absolutely roasted Donte Jackson with a stutter step move, but a slightly underthrown pass and Jackson’s ridiculous closing speed allowed Jackson to catch back up and break up the attempt down the sideline – this will be a FUN matchup to watch as these two develop.
- Rashaan Gaulden had great coverage on a pass breakup of an attempt down the seam to Greg Olsen – Gaulden and Jackson both got reps with the first team, alternating with Da’Norris Searcy and Donte Jackson.
“Taylor is going to have to step up and take advantage of this opportunity to get better; he was brought here to be a backup and eventually work into an opportunity to be a starter, and he’s going to have a chance now to show us what he’s capable of – He’ll take advantage of it, I believe.”
-Ron Rivera
- James Bradberry had an excellent day at practice, breaking up two pass attempts to Devin Funchess and generally draping all over him – Ron Rivera also compliment Bradberry after practice, saying that he had worked extremely hard this offseason and it was showing on the field. Bradberry wasn’t the only one to shut down Funchess, as Donte Jackson had a nice breakup and coverage against the Panthers #1 wide receiver – of course, Jackson celebrated accordingly.
Coming To Training Camp? Here’s Your Guide:
