5 Panthers players who’ve risen steadily at 2021 training camp
By Dean Jones
Which Carolina Panthers players have risen steadily during training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg ahead of the new season?
It’s been a training camp that you haven’t been able to take your eyes off where the Carolina Panthers are concerned. There is so much intrigue surrounding this group in 2021 after a strong offseason period of recruitment, which only added to the dynamic young talent already on the roster in the second year of Matt Rhule’s stint as head coach.
Expectations have risen considerably, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If problem areas on offense hold up their end of the bargain, then some encouraging progression won’t be far behind.
Some players made their presence felt at Wofford College right from the outset. However, others have been making their own impact on a gradual basis to potentially strengthen the Panthers further if this continues into the regular season.
With this in mind, here are five Panthers players who’ve grown in stature during training camp in 2021.
Player No. 1
Yetur Gross-Matos – Carolina Panthers DE
It took a while for Yetur Gross-Matos to find his feet this summer. The Panthers are keen to utilize Morgan Fox as a prominent member of the starting rotation at the defensive end position, forcing the 2020 second-round pick into a primary backup role over the first fortnight.
This might be changing ever so slightly.
Gross-Matos has been seeing a ton of first-team reps of late, which should be a massive confidence boost for the player as he hopes to make a bugger impression next time around.
There was a lot to like about the Penn State product’s production in flashes as a rookie. Injuries and a spell on the COVID-19 list were the two biggest stumbling blocks, so providing the necessary adjustments are made to his game, there could be much more to come from Gross-Matos.