Training camp offers Panthers DT's a massive opportunity
Injuries to Wharton and Brown will give the DT's a shot to make their mark.
The first practice of Carolina Panthers training camp kicks off on Thursday.
Plenty of eyes will be on Jonathon Brooks, Monroe Freeling and the other offensive skill positions. However, more eyes should be watching the defensive tackles.
There are eight defensive tackles listed on the Panthers official roster as of Wednesday evening, but two veterans will not be available to start camp.
It was announced in May that Tershawn Wharton had neck surgery. He is starting camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and there is no timetable on his return.
At his annual pre-training camp press conference on Wednesday, President of Football Operations and General Manager Dan Morgan announced that veteran defensive tackle Bobby Brown III will begin camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list with a hamstring injury.
“I don’t really have a timeline on it but hopefully he’s back sooner than later,” said Morgan.
That leaves the Panthers with six active defensive tackles on the roster. The group is led by seventh year stud Derrick Brown.
After Brown, the remaining depth doesn’t have a ton of experience as there are four rookies - three undrafted - and one player entering his second season. Given the lack of experience, it’s understandable why Morgan hopes that Brown is able to return “sooner than later.”
That second year player is 2025 fifth round pick Cam Jackson. Jackson played in nine games as a rookie, registering two solo tackles and seven assists.
The only drafted rookie of the bunch is Lee Hunter, a player the Panthers traded up two spots to get in the second round of April’s draft.
Although no padded practices have taken place yet, Hunter has already drawn praise from Panthers right guard Robert Hunt.
“He’s very stout,” Hunt said of Hunter. “He doesn’t look like a rookie to me. OTAs - obviously we didn’t have pads on. I think he plays the run really really well, better than I probably seen a rookie in a long time.”
“Definitely got a lot of good feedback on how strong he is [and] how physical he is,” Morgan said of Hunter. “He’s quick off the ball. He’s quicker than you think. He’s more mobile than you think. So a lot of good feedback and another young rookie that we’re excited about, looking forward to seeing him compete out there.”
The rest of the Panthers defensive tackle room is made up of three undrafted free agents. They are Aaron Hall of Duke, Tywone Malone of Ohio State and Parker Petersen of Wisconsin.
When asked by Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer back in May about rookies that stood out, Jackson mentioned Hall. “I did not know he was that twitchy,” Jackson said of Hall.
Malone was part of Ole Miss’ baseball team that won the College World Series in 2022 and then he was part of the Ohio State Buckeyes team that won the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote the following on Malone in his annual draft guide called The Beast:
“Though his pass-rush moves are underdeveloped, he has functional long arms that can put guards on skates (see the 2025 Indiana tape). Despite playing next to a block-eater in Kayden McDonald, he struggled to win quickly and make stops in the backfield. Overall, Malone didn’t put a ton of impact plays on film, but he was an underrated and important component of the Buckeyes’ stout run defense in 2025.”
In Brugler’s pre-draft defensive tackle positional rankings, Hall was 34th, Malone 39th and Petersen 100th.
The Hall of Fame Game is exactly two weeks away. It’s very possible the Panthers add some depth to the room if Brown isn’t able to come back as soon as the team hopes.
Jackson and the undrafted defensive tackles should get a ton of playing time in Canton.
All undrafted players have a major uphill battle to climb to make an active roster in the NFL. They typically don’t get many opportunities and have to make their impact in limited reps.
However, this group of undrafted defensive tackles will get plenty of chances and it all starts on Thursday.