{"id":949491,"date":"2026-07-19T05:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/949491\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T05:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:21:14","slug":"panthers-2026-rookie-class-named-amongst-most-potent-in-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/949491\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers’ 2026 rookie class named amongst most potent in NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 18, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

NFL teams can make splashy trades and sharp free-agent signings, but the draft is where true contenders are built and maintained.<\/p>\n

The Carolina Panthers<\/a> still have a lot of work to do before they join that conversation. But thanks to two strong drafts in a row by general manager Dan Morgan, the ship is headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n

In fact, some analysts believe the Panthers came away with one of the best draft classes in the league this past spring. Justin Melo at NFL Draft on SI has ranked Carolina’s class fifth on a list of the 10 classes with the highest ceiling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Melo gives some love to their first-round pick, Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling. He also praises the additions of second-round defensive tackle Lee Hunter, third-round wide receiver Chris Brazzell II and fifth-round center Sam Hecht:<\/p>\n

Second-round defensive tackle Lee Hunter will immediately thrive playing next to Derrick Brown. Wide receiver Chris Brazzell II has take-the-top-off speed. Brazzell led the SEC in touchdowns (9) last season and finished second in receiving yards (1,017). Finally, fifth-round center Sam Hecht\u00a0could be a starter by 2027. We love this Panthers draft class.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

For now, Freeling is still competing<\/a> for a starting job against veteran Rasheed Walke\u2014and may not even see the field as a starter in 2026. That means that Hunter would likely make the biggest impact in the group.<\/p>\n

While Hunter’s athletic testing numbers are nothing to write home about, his size and power should make a significant difference against the run. The Panthers improved a great deal in that department last season, but still only finished 20th.<\/p>\n

Brazzell should also have a chance to earn a big role as a rookie, provided he can beat out 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette for the third spot in the pecking order beneath Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. Brazzell’s length and athleticism give him a great ceiling as a vertical threat.<\/p>\n

As for Hecht, he may also wind up starting. He’ll have to get by Luke Fortner, who joined the Panthers on a one-year pact this offseason.<\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0@ThePanthersWire<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter\/X for more Panthers content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 18, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET NFL teams can make splashy trades and sharp free-agent signings, but the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":949492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[95878,235,260,2567,7,6,236,119367,97114,97115,95882,96059,100371,97061,95896,95888,95895,95906,95883,97059,95881],"class_list":["post-949491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-accessfree","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-panthers","tag-sourcepanthers-wire","tag-sstssportsnflpanthers","tag-sstsnpanthers","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagcarolina-panthers","tag-tagderrick-brown","tag-tagjalen-coker","tag-tagnational-sports","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagxavier-legette","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116944967019087087","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}