The Carolina Panthers wrapped up a highly competitive joint practice with the Houston Texans on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s preseason finale, and the results painted a vivid picture of where this roster stands heading into the regular season.

This was the last look at Bryce Young and the starting offense before Week 1, and it wasn’t a pretty one. Head coach Dave Canales confirmed starters will not play in Friday’s preseason finale, with all signs pointing toward this joint practice serving as the final tune-up before the regular season for that unit.

Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. overwhelmed Carolina’s offensive tackles

Last week’s joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars featured some encouraging back and forth between Monroe Freeling and Rasheed Walker against the Jaguars’ edge rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. There was no such back and forth on Wednesday.

Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. are arguably the most fearsome edge rushing duo in the NFL, and they made their presence felt today. Hunter racked up five “sacks” throughout the day and Anderson added a “sack” of his own late in team drills.

“Those guys are fantastic players,” Canales said of Hunter and Anderson. “That’s exactly what we need to see. Monroe needs it, Rasheed needs it. When we dropped back today, we couldn’t do much.”

As tough of a day as it was for Freeling, the experience against Hunter remains valuable. Hunter is a top-5 edge rusher based on production alone, and these are the kinds of matchups the rookie tackle needs to prepare for ahead of Week 1.

“This is what he needs,” Canales said of Freeling. “This is what Monroe needs as he works his fundamentals, his technique, all of the little different things. It just gets magnified when you play two edge rushers like this… There’s a lot of good tape to coach off of.”

Houston’s defense flexed its muscles beyond the pass rush

The Texans’ dominance wasn’t limited to the edge. Safety Caden Bullock turned in a standout day as well with two interceptions off quarterback Bryce Young.

One came on an underthrow intended for wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. The other was tipped off the hands of Jalen Coker. Bullock is looking like a breakout star after this practice, another reminder that Houston has talent all over the field on defense and will be one of the top defensive units in football.

“It sucks to have a day where you don’t feel like you produced very well,” Young told reporters. “But, it’s a great learning opportunity. That’s what these training camp practices are for… We’re only going to be better from a day like this. It stings in the moment, we’re all competitors, but again it’s training camp. It’s all about not being too high, not being too low. Great days in practice, you can’t overreact. Bad days, you can’t overreact. You have to be steady and willing to grow from everything.”

Panthers’ defense had its moments before C.J. Stroud closed the door

Carolina’s defense actually had a decent start to practice, particularly in the red zone. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown was stuffed one run, and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips generated back-to-back pressures on Texans quarterback CJ Stroud that led to a throwaway and a pass breakup by cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Both Horn and cornerback Mike Jackson looked solid early, and even defensive back Akayleb Evans flashed on one play after jumping a slate route for a PBU. Evans was one of the last roster additions I had on my recent 53-man projection, so it was good to see him show something outside of special teams value. It’s worth noting that rookie CB Will Lee III did not practice today.

The situational work to end practice told a different story for the defense, though. Horn subbed out for the two-minute drill, and Stroud carved up Carolina’s defense in that session, capping it off with a 25-yard touchdown to wide receiver Lewis Bond.

“We had an average day,” Brown said after practice. “For us, we want to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage. C.J.’s a good quarterback, right? He’s going to find his dinks and dunks of getting the ball out quick today. For us, it’s about going in here, watching the tape, and being honest with ourselves and get back to work.”

Ja’seem Reed and Jimmy Horn Jr. clinch final roster spots at the WR position

With Xavier Legette out of the lineup, Ja’seem Reed and Jimmy Horn Jr. both took some first-team reps at WR3 early in practice. Reed had a couple of solid grabs throughout the day and also worked with the second-team offense, hauling in a catch from quarterback Kenny Pickett during the final two-minute drill.

Horn’s speed showed up exactly how the Panthers need it to. He cleared out space on a vertical route that allowed Young to hit McMillan on an intermediate throw. That’s the kind of impact Horn can have even when the ball isn’t coming his way. And then he capped off the day with a leaping touchdown from Pickett to end the two-minute drill.

“His growth, just the natural progression of time on task,” Canales said of Horn’s growth. “Picking up the little nuances of the concepts. Throughout that whole entire process, he’s still fast and he’s still making plays for us.”

After Wednesday’s showing, Reed and Horn look like they’ve locked down the final two spots in the wide receiver room, giving the Panthers a clear answer at the bottom of their depth chart before the regular season begins.