Observations from Thursday’s Offseason Practice Session

Bill Voth
2 years ago
Categories: News
Tags: A.J. Klein, Amini Silatolu, Andrew Norwell, Brenton Bersin, Cam Newton, Cameron Artis-Payne, Carolina Panthers, Charles Johnson, Charles Tillman, Colin Cole, Colin Jones, Corey Brown, Damiere Byrd, Daryl Williams, David Foucault, David Mayo, Dean Marlowe, Derek Anderson, Devin Funchess, Dwan Edwards, Fozzy Whittaker, Frank Alexander, Garry Peters, Greg Olsen, Jerricho Cotchery, Jonathan Martin, Jonathan Stewart, Jordan Todman, Josh Norman, Kawann Short, Kelvin Benjamin, Kony Ealy, Kurt Coleman, Lee Ward, Luke Kuechly, Mario Addison, Melvin White, Michael Oher, Mike Remmers, Mike Tolbert, Nate Chandler, Robert Lester, Roman Harper, Ron Rivera, Ryan Kalil, Shaq Thompson, Star Lotulelei, Stephen Hill, Ted Ginn, Teddy Williams, Thomas Davis, Trai Turner, Tre Boston, Wes Horton

The Carolina Panthers on Thursday went through their third and final offseason practice session of the week, and the first one open to the media.Before we get into observations, it’s important to remember these disclaimers:

• OTA practices are pad-free, so it’s tough to get a good read on things such as who’s winning what battles on the line.
• Training camp is still two months away, so where a guy is right now on the depth chart doesn’t mean that’s where he’ll be come Week 1.
• “Sweeping conclusions will be reached — players will be elevated, demoted, cut and traded, at least on Twitter, based on what can be gleaned from 50 yards away on one afternoon.” – This is from Philadelphia, but it speaks for most NFL markets these days.

With all that said, there were a number of notable notes Thursday:

DIDN’T PARTICIPATE 

• WR Kelvin Benjamin: Sitting out with a hamstring he strained when he slipped on wet turf coming out of a cut a couple weeks ago. He caught some light tosses early in practice, but it won’t be surprising to see the Panthers hold their top receiver out until training camp.
• WR Devin Funchess: The second-round pick is in Los Angeles for the NFLPA’s Rookie Premiere.
• CB Bené Benwikere: According to coach Ron Rivera, Benwikere’s hamstring was “real tight” Thursday morning, so he spent the day watching from the sideline.
• CB Charles Tillman: Had an excused absence to take care of a family matter in Chicago. Rivera assured “it was nothing serious.”
• CB Garry Peters: The undrafted rookie is missing valuable time as he deals with a lingering hamstring issue.
• LB Shaq Thompson: Finishing up the quarter at Washington.
• FB Lee Ward: Finishing up the quarter at Stanford.
• OL Nate Chandler: Will be limited after undergoing offseason surgeries.

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB — Cam Newton, RB — Jonathan Stewart, FB — Mike Tolbert, WR — Jerricho Cotchery, WR — Corey Brown, TE — Greg Olsen, LT — Michael Oher, LG — Andrew Norwell, C — Ryan Kalil, RG — Trai Turner, RT — Mike Remmers

• Notable: Benjamin and Funchess were out; WRs Brenton Bersin, Ted Ginn and Stephen Hill saw plenty of snaps with the first team.

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE 

DE — Wes Horton, DT — Star Lotulelei, DT — Kawann Short, DE — Frank Alexander, OLB — Thomas Davis, MLB — Luke Kuechly, OLB — A.J. Klein, CB — Josh Norman, CB — Melvin White, SS — Roman Harper, FS — Tre Boston

• Notable: White replaced Tillman; Colin Jones was in for Benwikere at No. 1 nickel corner; DE Charles Johnson had a semi-vet day, only participating in individual drills; DEs Kony Ealy and Mario Addison and DTs Colin Cole and Dwan Edwards saw plenty of snaps with the first team; Kurt Coleman rotated in a bit with Harper at SS.

NOTABLE ROTATIONS

• RBs: Stewart, Fozzy Whittaker, Jordan Todman, Cameron Artis-Payne
• LT: Oher, Jonathan Martin, David Foucault
• LG: Andrew Norwell, Amini Silatolu
• RG: Turner, Chris Scott
• RT: Remmers, Daryl Williams
• MLB: Kuechly, Klein, David Mayo

OTHER NUGGETS

• Newton had a great day throwing the ball, and he flew past the defense on a designed run to the left side. His health compared to last year at this time is the most underrated story of the Panthers offseason.
• Norman batted away a pass intended for Bersin on the first play of 11-on-11’s, but that was one of the few highlights of the day for the defense.
• The offense spent the day installing deep routes, and it was rough timing for a secondary missing two starters (Tillman, Benwikere). Hill and Corey Brown each hauled in multiple long completions in seven-on-seven’s and 11-on-11’s. After Hill’s first catch — against Norman on a perfect pass from QB Derek Anderson — Newton ran down the field to congratulate the 6-foot-4 wideout. Afterward, Rivera twice said Hill “had a real big day.”
• It almost wasn’t fair to see Newton toss a long completion to Olsen, who beat undrafted S Dean Marlowe down the left sideline.
• Corey Brown said he’s faster this summer, even though he’s gained some weight. He backed that up by beating speedster Teddy Williams and Lou Young for a pair of deep receptions.
• It was amusing to see 5-foot-9 undrafted WR Damiere Byrd standing next to the 6-foot-5 Benjamin on the sideline. Byrd backed up his standout rookie minicamp early on in individual drills, but he was quiet later in practice.
• CB Teddy Williams had a nice pass breakup on a ball intended for WR Mike Brown, but Williams was later beaten deep by Hill and Corey Brown.
• S Robert Lester appeared to tweak his right foot midway through practice.
• Undrafted DE Arthur Miley got a handful of snaps with the second team.
• Rivera said this is a “make-or-break” season for Alexander, who spent the day at the top of the depth chart. But the buzz after practice was Addison really stood out among the DEs.
• Lotulelei, who suffered a fracture in his foot before January’s playoff loss in Seattle, appeared to be feeling fine.
• Oher, who was bothered by a toe injury the last couple seasons, said the toe is now “excellent” and “it hasn’t felt this good since I entered the NFL.”