CHARLOTTE — When Matthew Stafford entered the league, Lathan Ransom was 6 years old. Most weeks, that would just be a fun anecdote, an interesting fact to show the duality of the NFL.

This week, as the Panthers prepare to face the top-seeded Rams, it's a testament to the matchup Carolina is facing on Sunday.

Starting cornerback Jaycee Horn remains in the concussion protocol, with his status unknown for Sunday. And starting safety Tre'von Moehrig will be serving a one-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of the 49ers game on Monday night.

So Lathan Ransom, Demani Richardson, Chau Smith-Wade, and Akayleb Evans—all first or second-year guys—are likely to all see their snap counts increase this week. The first three on that list have all started games either last season or this season, due to other injuries or, in the case of the nickel Smith-Wade, depending on which defense the Panthers opened with in the game.

"We got guys who are on this roster for a reason who put in a lot of work at those same positions that Tre has played," safety Nick Scott noted Wednesday. "We're going to have some young guys fill in. It's an opportunity for Lathan to step up and show what he can do, and we saw glimpses of it. He's a guy that we trust, and we're really looking forward to seeing more football out of him.

"Everybody knows Lathan. Demani is a guy who I expect no drop-off from. We saw what he could do last year. AK (Evans) obviously will step up. Chau is a guy that's been playing well for us for the past couple of weeks. So yeah, there's plenty of guys. We got some new guys on the roster here, but plenty of guys that have been in this defense, and been playing well for us for a long time, and their reps will obviously go up, and we're excited about that."

Ransom has played 33 percent of the defensive snaps this season, accumulating 34 tackles with one for loss, lining up often when the Panthers drop into big nickel and Moehrig moves into the box. Against the Rams this week, the Ohio State rookie will be asked to cover a lot more ground and even more responsibility.

"Same mentality I have every week," promised Ransom of his approach. "I think that through the older guys, helped me build, I get great preparation for every game. You never know what can happen."

Regardless of who is on the field, though, this week, and how they might line up—should Smith-Wade move to the outside, for example, as he did when Horn then Corey Thornton both had to leave Monday's game—the challenge was always going to be tough.

"This is a great offense," said defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero of scouting the Rams with an uncertain secondary.

"Regardless of who we have out there, this is going to be a hard team to defend. I just always look at the opportunity that it creates for other players if Jaycee can't go, and some of these other things. But at the end of the day, it's like there's no excuses. We got to go out there with who we have, and we'll be more than capable and ready."

Stafford has a 30-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season. He's thrown 25 straight touchdowns, going back to Week 4, without a pick. He's fifth in the league with 2,830 passing yards and has a 66.5 completion percentage.

There is very little that can shake the Super Bowl-winning quarterback at this point. But, "You could, you should, we should try to in different ways," challenged coach Dave Canales.

"First part of it is just formation recognition, looking at the route stems and how they're trying to protect each angle of the cut. They go in, out, and up from a bunch of different spots, and they have a good variety and throw it to all the tight ends, they throw it to the receivers to the back. So, we got to be aware of all that."

It's still somewhat easier said than done. The key, noted many guys in the locker room, is to focus more on fundamentals than cutting-edge scheme this week.

"He's obviously seen everything," said Scott of his former teammate. "I think, given his tenure and just where we are at this point in the season, it's just about what you do well and doing your job the best you can.

"He's a guy that's extremely smart and, like you said, has probably seen every little curveball and every coverage, but he's still got to make the throws, and we still got to be in the correct windows and things like that so we're just going to play our brand of football, make sure we're not making mistakes."

"It's just football," added corner Mike Jackson, who wanted to note he was 11 years old himself when Stafford was drafted back in 2009. "It ain't nothing I can do to try to shock him.

"It's mainly just focusing on the things you've been seeing on film and understanding that he likes to look off, so he knows all the tricks of the trade. So at that point it's kind of just—focus in on your keys and let that tell you where the ball is going."

Having this quarterback come in while the secondary is in so much flux and is likely trotting out a lot of younger guys creates an interesting conundrum. Because for as much as Stafford has seen, well, everything, there can sometimes be an advantage to a young guy not knowing what he doesn't know, i.e., to be intimidated by this wily vet.

"There's a lot of stuff that you learn, and you think you have until you get into a game and you get a better understanding about it," shared Ransom. "So I think that's what I became better at throughout the year."

It's the kind of on-the-job training that can't be taught on a practice field. Scott knows that better than anyone.

"Weeks like this, it's unfortunate for some guys, but it's a great opportunity for guys who haven't been getting a lot of reps, and that's what this league is all about," said Scott. "I was a guy that never saw the field until guys got injured, and then I never came off of it, so I'm really excited about these guys' opportunity that they have. I'm expecting a good ball out of them."

There's no other option, frankly. With a secondary in flux against such a stalwart offense, each guy will have to be ready.

"It's just the next man up," said Jackson. "There's guys that you guys might not know. They got a chance to go out there and play. So it's kind of like just focus in on what they got to do, and I have all the faith in them that they're going to go out there and show the world who they are."