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The spring portion of the Carolina Panthers' 2026 offseason workouts came to a close a little over a week ago, when head coach Dave Canales cut mandatory minicamp a session short. After the reigning NFC South champs put in some commendable work through the sweltering conditions of Uptown Charlotte, the early arrival of the their summer break was well earned.
But whose work earned the most buzz thus far?
Here are our four biggest standouts from organized team activities and minicamp . . .
We have yet to see a full version of Brooks over his two years in Carolina. The ACL tears he sustained at the end of his collegiate tenure and at the beginning of his NFL career have limited the former second-round pick's participation in offseason workouts and regular-season play.
But Brooks may be as healthy as he's ever been as a pro, and that showed in late May—where he was able to fully participate in OTAs for the first time with the Panthers . . .
Brooks earned rave reviews from a number of coaches and teammates, including offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.
"He looked great out there," Idzik told reporters. "He's attacking and everything he does, and then there'll just be continued dialogue with him of saying, 'Hey, here's what we need out of you.' Let us know too if there are other ways to feature your skill set, because I love the two-way street from player to coach, from coach to player, to make sure that they're communicating with us. You guys have ownership in this offense, too. I want to make sure we're highlighting everything that you do."
The 22-year-old is expected to start the campaign as the No. 2 back behind Chuba Hubbard. But his stock is on the rise, and he could take over the backfield at some point in 2026.
Idzik also highlighted Brazzell, the team's third-round pick from this spring. The speed and smoothness of the 6-foot-4 pass catcher has turned some heads, and should open up the whole attack for Carolina.
"It's pretty obvious when you have a guy who's not only fast, but a longer athlete like Chris that really stretches the safeties," Idzik stated. "It makes them hesitate for one more second on driving anything intermediate and underneath."
Quarterback Bryce Young was also impressed.
"You would've thought he'd been in a pro-style system throughout his whole life," Young said of Brazzell during minicamp. "He's coming in understanding splits, understanding landmarks, understanding route timing, route tempo, where to be at the right time.
"So I've been super impressed with his professionalism, the ability to do stuff, the ability for everything to translate."
If Brazzell's game continues to translate, he may end up cutting into 2024 first-rounder Xavier Legette's time on the offense.
The slot, on the defensive side, is likely to be primarily covered by Smith-Wade and/or Corey Thornton. But the former was seen picking up some work as a safety in practices.
"Chau is such a cerebral player," head coach Dave Canales noted at minicamp. "He's a guy we really trust and someone we've trained with our first draft class, and he gives us versatility. He can play the nickel. He's played the safety for us in that position, and to be interchangeable with those positions, you can give different looks. He can also play outside, so he brings a lot to the table, and it's a really competitive DB room.
"And we love that we love that it's bringing out the best in these guys, and the more the guys can bring value and have versatility, it's going to help Chau as we get further and further into camp."
Canales and the staff are hoping to continue their uptick in game-altering plays, as they went from 17 takeaways in 2024 to 21 in 2025. Smith-Wade's ball skills may be useful at the backend of the unit.
At rookie minicamp, Canales implied that Thornton had become the team's starting nickel defender in 2025 before his season-ending fibula injury in Week 12. And based off his evaluation of the second-year defender from mandatory minicamp, he may be regaining that job.
"All the work that he's put in in his first year is paying off for him, being conscientious of the schemes, how to play different techniques, he's had exposure outside at the nickel, at the safety spot, a lot of trust with Corey, especially coming off the injury, he attacked the rehab, came back out here, and he's looked great, more and more comfortable, and I love seeing him make plays because he worked so hard at it," Canales said.
Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn was complimentary of Thornton as well.
"He's been the same player," Horn stated. "I think he's getting a little smarter, just getting — anytime you're in the defense, the second time around, you're going to understand it better and know where you're helping and know how to play certain downs differently... he's handling it all well, so I think he's just been the same guy he's always been, just getting better."
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers offseason workouts: 4 biggest standouts from OTAs, minicamp
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But whose work earned the most buzz thus far?
Here are our four biggest standouts from organized team activities and minicamp . . .
RB Jonathon Brooks
We have yet to see a full version of Brooks over his two years in Carolina. The ACL tears he sustained at the end of his collegiate tenure and at the beginning of his NFL career have limited the former second-round pick's participation in offseason workouts and regular-season play.
But Brooks may be as healthy as he's ever been as a pro, and that showed in late May—where he was able to fully participate in OTAs for the first time with the Panthers . . .
Brooks earned rave reviews from a number of coaches and teammates, including offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.
"He looked great out there," Idzik told reporters. "He's attacking and everything he does, and then there'll just be continued dialogue with him of saying, 'Hey, here's what we need out of you.' Let us know too if there are other ways to feature your skill set, because I love the two-way street from player to coach, from coach to player, to make sure that they're communicating with us. You guys have ownership in this offense, too. I want to make sure we're highlighting everything that you do."
The 22-year-old is expected to start the campaign as the No. 2 back behind Chuba Hubbard. But his stock is on the rise, and he could take over the backfield at some point in 2026.
WR Chris Brazzell II
Idzik also highlighted Brazzell, the team's third-round pick from this spring. The speed and smoothness of the 6-foot-4 pass catcher has turned some heads, and should open up the whole attack for Carolina.
"It's pretty obvious when you have a guy who's not only fast, but a longer athlete like Chris that really stretches the safeties," Idzik stated. "It makes them hesitate for one more second on driving anything intermediate and underneath."
Quarterback Bryce Young was also impressed.
"You would've thought he'd been in a pro-style system throughout his whole life," Young said of Brazzell during minicamp. "He's coming in understanding splits, understanding landmarks, understanding route timing, route tempo, where to be at the right time.
"So I've been super impressed with his professionalism, the ability to do stuff, the ability for everything to translate."
If Brazzell's game continues to translate, he may end up cutting into 2024 first-rounder Xavier Legette's time on the offense.
CB Chau Smith-Wade
The slot, on the defensive side, is likely to be primarily covered by Smith-Wade and/or Corey Thornton. But the former was seen picking up some work as a safety in practices.
"Chau is such a cerebral player," head coach Dave Canales noted at minicamp. "He's a guy we really trust and someone we've trained with our first draft class, and he gives us versatility. He can play the nickel. He's played the safety for us in that position, and to be interchangeable with those positions, you can give different looks. He can also play outside, so he brings a lot to the table, and it's a really competitive DB room.
"And we love that we love that it's bringing out the best in these guys, and the more the guys can bring value and have versatility, it's going to help Chau as we get further and further into camp."
Canales and the staff are hoping to continue their uptick in game-altering plays, as they went from 17 takeaways in 2024 to 21 in 2025. Smith-Wade's ball skills may be useful at the backend of the unit.
CB Corey Thornton
At rookie minicamp, Canales implied that Thornton had become the team's starting nickel defender in 2025 before his season-ending fibula injury in Week 12. And based off his evaluation of the second-year defender from mandatory minicamp, he may be regaining that job.
"All the work that he's put in in his first year is paying off for him, being conscientious of the schemes, how to play different techniques, he's had exposure outside at the nickel, at the safety spot, a lot of trust with Corey, especially coming off the injury, he attacked the rehab, came back out here, and he's looked great, more and more comfortable, and I love seeing him make plays because he worked so hard at it," Canales said.
Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn was complimentary of Thornton as well.
"He's been the same player," Horn stated. "I think he's getting a little smarter, just getting — anytime you're in the defense, the second time around, you're going to understand it better and know where you're helping and know how to play certain downs differently... he's handling it all well, so I think he's just been the same guy he's always been, just getting better."
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers offseason workouts: 4 biggest standouts from OTAs, minicamp
Continue reading...
