3 Carolina Panthers who could lose their starting job to rookies in 2024
By Dean Jones
Dave Canales and Dan Morgan had two key objectives throughout their first offseasons in positions of power. They wanted to increase competition for places and surround quarterback Bryce Young with everything needed to thrive in Year 2 of his professional career. Something they managed to accomplish despite the limited resources at their disposal.
These new faces raised urgency across the board. The Panthers had very few cornerstone pieces and lost two of them - Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu - during the spring. Nobody aside from a select few is seemingly safe. Everyone is getting a fair shot.
As is typically the case around the league, a new season comes with an incoming batch of college recruits looking to make a name for themselves. Those already established will be looking to keep them at arm's length, but it doesn't always work out that way.
With this in mind, here are three Panthers players who could lose their starting job to a rookie in 2024.
Troy Hill - Carolina Panthers CB
The Carolina Panthers re-signed Troy Hill to a one-year deal. He performed well as the starting nickel cornerback last season after opting to reunite with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. His size and physicality should be an asset once again in 2024 if there's no drastic drop-off in production.
Hill isn't getting any younger. If performance levels start to dip, a situation could emerge where Chau Smith-Wade gets a shot.
The No. 157 overall selection impressed the coaching staff over early workouts with accomplished production and an exceptional work ethic. Smith-Wade is a little undersized for an outside coverage option, but his athleticism indicates a potential role on the interior as a STAR corner cannot be dismissed at some stage.
Smith-Wade harbors ambitions to play an integral role sooner rather than later. Hill's job will be to keep his consistency intact to ensure this doesn't happen on his watch during the upcoming campaign.