7 Carolina Panthers rookies who can help themselves most at 2024 camp

Jalen Coker - Carolina Panthers WR

The Carolina Panthers gave Jalen Coker a decent contract to secure his services. He was one of the more highly-coveted undrafted free agents and those in power had to stump up the readies accordingly. This also looks like a good landing spot for the wide receiver given the questions surrounding this critical position group.

Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Diontae Johnson, and Jonathan Mingo will make the team. Ihmir Smith-Marsette's versatility and ability in the return game might be enough to secure his spot. That leaves a couple of places remaining for the rest, so Coker has a battle on his hands to make an impression.

The former Holy Cross star's lack of elite-level speed hurt his stock enormously. However, there's a lot to like about Coker's body control and route manipulation at the top of his stems. This allows him to create separation enough to make tough catches look routine.

Margins are slimmer in the pros, so it'll be a big step up for Coker compared to what he was used to in college. Nothing but a strong camp will do in his quest to make Dave Canales' coaching staff sit up and take notice.

Jaden Crumedy - Carolina Panthers DL

Being a Day 3 selection doesn't guarantee much. They are almost always starting from the bottom up and face a fight to establish themselves. Some relish the challenge and surge into consideration quickly. Others fall by the wayside and don't last long.

Jaden Crumedy is striving to ensure he doesn't become the latest in a long line of late-round picks by the Panthers who couldn't reach the required standard. The sixth-round selection has some intriguing athleticism to call upon for a man his size. There's also a chance to impact the defensive line rotation if everything goes well over camp.

Derrick Brown, A'Shawn Robinson, and Shy Tuttle look locked in as the team's starting 3-4 defensive front under Ejiro Evero. The backup spots look up for grabs and everyone will get their fair shot during drills. Crumedy has more upside than most looking at his career trajectory at Mississippi State.

The incoming hopeful is far from the finished product. Developing quickly and taking on coaching could see him beat out the likes of LaBryan Ray and Nick Thurman for depth chart standing.