Panthers OTAs Top Offensive Storylines: Competition begins at two OL positions, while Bryce Young enters pivotal year
The Carolina Panthers are set to open organized team activities on Tuesday and all eyes will be on the offensive line with two battles for starting positions set to begin.
The Carolina Panthers are set to open organized team activities on Tuesday following another stellar offseason by general manager Dan Morgan as the team looks to start building off the 2025 success.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers aimed to create a more competitive roster all across the board after letting go of various players and bringing in exciting new faces.
Ahead of practice and press conferences, let’s break down some of the top offensive storylines going into OTAs.
Carolina Panthers top offensive storylines to watch at OTAs
Bryce Young enters into a pivotal year and needs to prove he can be the leader for this franchise
Quarterback Bryce Young is heading into his fourth season with the team and 2026 will be a pivotal year for the former first overall pick. Even though the Panthers already exercised Young’s fifth-year option for the 2027 season, a long-term extension hangs in the balance this upcoming season.
Young showed more promise last season after leading the team to an NFC South title and big wins over top NFC threats. However, it’s time for Young to prove he can be a consistent leader for this franchise. And I don’t mean being a Top-10 quarterback. With the way this offense is designed, the Panthers don’t need Young to be elite, but they need Young to show he has what it takes to lead the team when it matters most.
Part of that process included trading away veteran Andy Dalton and replacing him with former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and UDFA Haynes King. Young is now the unquestioned leader of the position with no one to lean on. It’s sink or swim time.
Left tackle battle set to begin between veteran addition and rookie first-round pick
After losing Ickey Ekwonu to a torn patellar tendon, the Panthers had to go back to the drawing board to find a starting-caliber left tackle. Not only for the 2026 season, but long-term as well with Ekwonu approaching the end of his rookie contract.
Step one of that process involved landing the top free agent left tackle in Rasheed Walker, at a bargain of a contract. Walker started 48 games during his first four seasons with the Green Bay Packers and is a capable option to protect Young’s blindside.
Even still, the team needed some long-term insurance at the position, which led to the selection of Monroe Freeling in the first-round. Freeling was viewed as an inexperienced prospect with tons of athletic upside. The question now becomes, can Freeling show enough over the next few months to justify being the opening day starter?
“The guy’s 21 years old. So he’s still growing into whatever his frame is,” head coach Dave Canales said. “But as we know, seasons get long and guys have a chance to kind of settle in and focus on some things. And the work showed up. He looks great, he’s moving well. So really pleased with that.”
Upcoming competition at center shouldn’t be overlooked by the battle at left tackle
Another position up for grabs on the starting offensive front is at center after letting Cade Mays and Austin Corbett walk in free agency. Similar to left tackle, the Panthers added an experienced starter in Luke Fortner while also drafting a long-term option in Samuel Hecht.
Fortner started 44 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints during his first four seasons in the league. Hecht had some starting experience of his own at Kansas State and, like Freeling, is a more athletic option for the Panthers to really consider getting out there as soon as possible.
“He’s done a great job in these last couple of days,” Canales said of Hecht during rookie minicamp. “Excited to throw more on his plate as we get back together with the full group. What showed up for Sam is on film, you see a guy that’s under control, a guy that plays the center position really well. At a professional level, even from his film last year, and that’s what showed up, his ability to stay calm, make the point, work his combos with the guys, and just kind of bring that type of balance and cohesiveness that you need to have with the inside three.”
The long-awaited return of Jonathon Brooks
The days of watching Jonathon Brooks watch by on the sidelines is coming to an end, an encouraging time for the former second-round selection. After entering the NFL coming off an ACL tear, Brooks was forced to miss the entire offseason and first 10 games of his rookie season. Brooks made just three appearances in 2024 before suffering another brutal knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season.
After a difficult recovery process, Brooks is finally getting set for his long-awaited return and the Panthers have continued to back the former 46th overall pick. This offseason, the Panthers allowed Rico Dowdle to walk out of the door despite having a 1,000-yard season playing alongside Chuba Hubbard and made no major additions to replace that role.
It’s Brooks’ role for the taking and OTAs will be his first real opportunity to get back on the field and prove the wait has been worth it.
“I’m open to whatever he wants to bring, and I know what he looked like prior to the injury,” Canales said. “I know what that player looks like, so I have that in the back of my mind. And that’s a vision that I hope he has too. And so that we can go and attack that. How do we get to a point where you can play your best, where you can be ready? And that’ll be our goal.
“We’ll make sure we do the right thing for Jonathon for sure. But I see the excitement. He’s been in the building. He’s been working out, he’s been training with our guys. And I know that he’s excited about this opportunity to compete.”
How will Chris Brazzell II fit into the team’s WR room alongside the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year?
The Panthers got immediate high-level production out of 2025 first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan, who turned in a 1,000-yard season in route to winning the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The team expected this kind of impact from a first-round wide receiver when it selected Xavier Legette the season before.
Late in the 2025 season, former UDFA Jalen Coker started coming into his own as well as a consistent weapon after returning from injury. Already the Panthers had a young trio at the position with a solid depth of role players.
And yet, the Panthers added another deep threat in the third-round after drafting Chris Brazzell II to add a vertical element to the offense. Brazzell was already making highlight plays during rookie minicamp and now we get to see how he looks lining up with the rest of the team’s top pass catchers with Young throwing him the ball.
“We’ve seen how we’ve been able to use Xavier, TMac, Jalen, with all the intermediate stuff and have gone down the field a little bit and taken some opportunities, but I think about the space created when they know this is a real burner, and what that does to safety is what that does to corners and just creating space for the whole group,” Canales said of what Brazzell brings to the offense.