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[tab_nav type=”three-up” float=”none”][tab_nav_item title=”SHAQ THOMPSON” active=”true”][tab_nav_item title=”DEVIN FUNCHESS”][tab_nav_item title=”DARYL WILLIAMS”][tab_nav_item title=”DAVID MAYO”][tab_nav_item title=”CAMERON ARTIS-PAYNE”][tab_nav_item title=”AFTERNOON OBSERVATIONS”][/tab_nav][tabs][tab active=”true”]At last year’s rookie minicamp, one Carolina Panther stood out from the rest. 6-foot-5 specimen Kelvin Benjamin was a man among boys, snagging nearly every pass thrown in his vicinity, including a leaping grab that made general manager Dave Gettleman playfully grab his heart.This year’s first-round pick didn’t elicit similar excitement in his debut, but that’s not necessarily Shaq Thompson’s fault.First, the 23-year-old Benjamin was truly a man among boys. Second, Thompson, who just turned 21 last month, has a steeper learning curve.Before a tweaked hamstring forced him out of Friday’s afternoon session, Thompson was taking a crash course at weakside linebacker. Yes, linebacker was one of the three positions he played in college, but NFL terminology is much different from what he learned at Washington.“I was up pretty late with (cornerback) Bené (Benwikere) last night going over the playbook, just trying to get everything in so I can play fast,” Thompson said after Friday’s morning session.Benwikere, who played at San Jose State with Thompson’s cousin, is the one Panther the rookie knew coming in. But he’ll have to build friendships from afar the next few weeks.Since Washington is on the quarter system, Thompson has to fly back to school after this weekend. That means he’ll miss three weeks of OTAs before jumping back in at next month’s mandatory minicamp.When rookie running back Tyler Gaffney had to follow a similar schedule at Stanford last year, he Skyped cross-country with his new Panthers coaches and teammates. Now Thompson will likely fire up his computer to do the same.”I’ve got to learn the defense as fast as I can, be a good teammate and compete,” he said. “I just have to keep asking questions and keep getting feedback.”[/tab][tab][container]

👉 @D_FUNCH 👈 with the catch. pic.twitter.com/DH7YUYUvIP

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) May 8, 2015

[/container]While there weren’t any OMG! Benjamin-esque moments, it’s not like this year’s wideout draftee had a disappointing debut. Second-round receiver Devin Funchess made a number of tough catches on a rough day for the tryout quarterbacks. Ever since he was drafted last Friday have compared Funchess to Benjamin, but that analogy doesn’t seem to fit. “Probably the only thing you can really compare is the size. I know he’s about an inch and a half shorter, probably about 20 pounds lighter, but other than that I think the comparisons are a little bit different,” coach Ron Rivera said. Judging by first impressions, Funchess is leaner and smoother in his routes than Benjamin. And the Panthers are putting a ton on the new guy’s plate, already lining him up at all three receiver positions. “It’s pretty simple. You learn it and then it’s easy,” Funchess said, matter-of-factly. The rookie limped off the field at the end of Friday’s afternoon session with a leg cramp, but that was a product of being the primary read on a number of vertical routes while getting used to practicing in the heat. He plans to be back out there Saturday where he could further dispel the myth that he and Benjamin are too similar. “I think Funchess is a little bit more exact in terms of underneath, inside routes. He does have a little more vertical speed than Kelvin. He doesn’t quite have Kelvin’s catch radius. They are a bit different as far as that’s concerned,” Rivera said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how those two when they get on the field together how they compliment one another.”[/tab][tab]Friday’s morning session wrapped up 15 minutes early, which was a good thing for most. For Daryl Williams, it meant extra work. Offensive line coach John Matsko kept the fourth-round tackle on the field where Williams took rep after rep on the blocking sled. And while Matsko has a unique way of encouraging, it was mostly tough love. “When everybody yells at you when you try to do your best, it hurts,” Williams said. “But that’s a part of being a man. You’ve got to move past it and go to the next play or the next rep and go your hardest.” At 6-foot-5, 327 pounds, Williams isn’t like many guys his size. Instead, he’s built like a brick house and looks the part. The Panthers told Mike Remmers, 2014’s season-ended starter, that he’ll begin the summer in that spot. But it won’t be surprising to see Williams in there come Week 1 if Matsko can work his magic.[/tab][tab][container]

That’s a wrap for Day 1 of rookie camp! pic.twitter.com/oix8AAMPxz — Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) May 8, 2015

[/container]It’s easy to spot fifth-round linebacker David Mayo. He’s the guy with the long, blonde ponytail sticking out of his helmet. But he’s also usually around the ball.Last year at Texas State, he finished with the second-most tackles in the country, averaging 13 stops per game. A “high motor” may be a draft day cliché, but if Mayo’s going to make it, that’s how he’s going to get there.“I think that’s the style of play all coaches are looking for. That’s how the game should be played. You need to play it 100 miles per hour,” Mayo said, excitedly, of course.”I was fortunate enough to rack up a good amount of tackles, but I never had a goal in my head of how many tackles I wanted to get last season. I just wanted to play as fast as I could and execute the defense.”[/tab][tab]The latest Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the NFLPA helps teams keep rookie contracts down and erases the possibility of holdouts. The last two springs, the Panthers locked in their entire draft class in a three-and-a-half-week period. They’re on turbo time this year.Less than a week after the draft ended, Funchess is the only pick without a completed contract, and that should change soon. Thompson, Williams, and Mayo signed theirs Thursday night while Cameron Artis-Payne took care of his business between Friday’s sessions.So in a span of just six days, the fifth-round running back was drafted and then moved to his new home before signing a contract during his lunch break on the first day of his new job.”After all the pre-draft stuff, it’s good to get back to this,” Artis-Payne said. “It just hit me coming out here that it’s time for the NFL. You dream about this as a kid, and now this is really it.”[/tab][tab]

• 6-foot-1, 310-pound free agent DT Darious Cummings left midway through the afternoon session after he appeared to be laboring through the heat.

• 5-foot-9, 173-pound free agent WR Damiere Byrd made the catch of the day, a leaping one-handed grab on the sideline over CB Corey Trim.

• Trim, a tryout player out of Louisana-Lafayette, later broke up a pass in the end zone intended for WR Marcus Lucas.

• Free agent CB Garry Peters, who spent both practices in bright yellow cleats, had a strong second session.

• New special teams coordinator Russ Purnell spent most of his day instructing K/P Matt Wile, LS Grant Donovan and East Carolina’s marketing LS Charlie Coggins.

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