5 undrafted free agents with best chance to make the Panthers 53-man roster

Drew Hartlaub – Carolina Panthers S

Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow outlined his desire for the team to acquire another safety before the season. While they didn’t do this with any of their six draft selections, Drew Hartlaub could be a solid addition to the ranks despite being a relative unknown for most of his time at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions were blessed to have some exceptional performers on defense throughout Hartlaub’s time on the team. This meant opportunities were limited for the prospect, who appeared just 14 times over four seasons.

Hartlaub does have tremendous awareness and is a willing contributor against the run. It’s hard to gauge just what expectations could be for the player, so the Panthers are right to bring him in and get a better indication of what his ceiling might be in the pros.

Carolina signed Xavier Woods to partner Jeremy Chinn. The likes of Juston Burris, Myles Hartsfield, Sean Chandler, Kenny Robinson, and Sam Franklin will also be fighting for depth positions throughout the preparation period.

There is no doubt Hartlaub needs to hit the ground running and demonstrate the same qualities we saw ever so briefly in college. It’s more of a long shot than others on this list, but having no pressure on his shoulders could be all the prospect needs to relax and provide additional competition, at the very least.