JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There have been signs throughout Carolina Panthers training camp that something was building. A catch-and-run here, a long reception there, a block to spring a big run. And always, an excited reaction that followed, demanding attention because looking away wasn't an option.

On Wednesday in Jacksonville, those signs coalesced into one blaring observation: Feleipe Franks, longtime core special teamer, is ready to make his case as a tight end option, in one of the more entertaining campaigns we've seen all training camp.

"Daily growth," bragged Panthers head coach Dave Canales on Wednesday, a huge smile overtaking his face as he talked about Franks' development. "Whether it's in the run game or the pass game, he's showing himself to be a really reliable target."

Franks first entered the league in 2021 as a quarterback. He spent a season backing up Matt Ryan and Josh Rosen for the Falcons before Atlanta began turning him into a tight end. Over the next four years, oscillating between the Falcons and the Panthers, Franks worked to learn a new position.

This marks the second (non-consecutive) season Franks has spent with Canales and staff in Charlotte. During that time, in addition to his time with the staff in Atlanta, coaches and coordinators have worked with the former passer to take on the nuances of the position change.

It's not uncommon for big-bodied quarterbacks to become tight ends, but it typically happens in the high-school to college transition. A college QB changing positions in the NFL means there are even more years of habits to retool.

"The hands really aren't the issue, because you've got to think quarterbacks, especially in college now, I mean they're taking shotgun snaps every play," Canales explained, back in early August. "So most quarterbacks I've been around have amazing hands, but it's all the other stuff. It's blocking in line. It's how you fit into the run game, play actions, the dropback pass game, and filling zones.

"Those are all lessons that Feleipe is still accumulating while he's had a chance to really make an impact as a special teams player. That's why we try to preach it to our guys. When you can contribute in special teams, you buy yourself time to develop in your position, whether it's offense or defense. But special teams is really critical, really important to us here, so that's where it starts. But I love seeing Feleipe just continue to grow in our scheme."

And Franks has gone above and beyond in contributing on special teams, playing on 68 percent of teams snaps during his last stint with Carolina in '24, with 10 tackles. He's a heat-seeking missile, shot out of a cannon on every return and coverage, willing and able to make the physical tackle on a unit that requires a little bit of wild man.

His background as a passer means he's always a trick play option as well.

"His development was really fast from quarterback to special teams player as he improved. He's incredibly spirited. He's big, fast, tough. Really, really cares about the whole thing. So he's always a pleasure to have out here," praised special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.

"Something has to drive you to get all the way to the ball. You have to want to tackle him because it's hard. So if the guy's the opposite, that is the problem really. And he's extreme in the positive way."

​

The extreme nature means there are times Franks has to be pulled back. As Canales has mentioned more than once, though, he'd rather pull someone back from the line than push them towards it. He's spent time with Franks this training camp, encouraging the spark but learning how to control the flame.

It was put to the test against the Jags on Wednesday, when Franks made a contested catch near the sideline, then got popped hard right in front of the Jacksonville defensive sideline, who reacted accordingly. When Franks jumped up, he said something to the defender, then turned and walked away. The rest of the defense came on the field, including some of his former college teammates, laying the bait for a reaction.

But Franks, heeding Canales' favorite motto, "returned to us." More than any play he made all day (and there were a couple), that was the moment his coach couldn't stop smiling about afterward.

"I was so proud of him today," expressed Canales, a huge reaction emphasizing his proud dad moment. "Got knocked on the ground, OK, kind of a little bit of a late hit. Popped up in front of the Jags sideline. Guys were walking toward him, and he backed away, came back to the huddle. It was a proud moment for me."

But it was another Franks catch earlier in practice that drew the biggest reaction from his own team and the Jags fans watching from the stands.

During an early team drill, Kyle Trask dropped back and unloaded a deep rainbow pass towards the end zone. Franks, with his long frame, had gotten a step on his defender and his head around to track the ball. He saw where it was dropping down to, and once he passed the goal line, turned to ensure he brought in the long pass with two hands for the secure catch.

It was a confusing moment for the assembled crowd. It was a touchdown by an opponent. But most Jaguars fans are also Florida Gators fans, and the play featured two guys who spent four years together in the Florida QB room, both of whom quarterbacked their own respective dream seasons for the Gators (Franks in 2018 and Trask in 2020).

In the fall to the ground, Jags safety Jalen Huskey pulled Franks' helmet off. With his signature panache, Franks took the opportunity to face the assembled crowd, arms extended with a clear message: Are you not entertained?

After that, fans decided how they felt about the play pretty quickly, if the boos raining down were any indication. It only fired up Franks more, as it often does.

The catch was also a clear example of how the former QB and special teamer has transformed himself into a reliable tight end option for the Panthers.

"He's huge. He's fast," listed Canales. "That's why he's so dynamic on special teams. For the guys who contribute on teams that don't play as much on offense, it takes time. It takes, sometimes years, to accumulate the amount of reps it takes to be really technical in your position, and that's what I'm seeing from Feleipe."

Added Smith, "The flashes I think we're seeing in this camp, he's really improved on offense. He catches the ball every day."

It also leaves Carolina with an interesting conundrum.

The tight end room is crowded, as most units are during the 90-man roster days. It got even more crowded this week with the addition of veteran Darren Waller. Every guy in the unit has flashed at least once in a practice or game this preseason, if not more.

When it comes time for cut-down day, something Canales has already started thinking of, Franks' development as a receiving tight end will factor in, but that special teams play will likely make the bigger impact. And it's there that Canales sees a huge plus in Franks' column.

"He's certainly one of the top special teams players in the league, in my opinion, just in terms of his physicality. How he gets off of blocks, how he blocks on the return, in the return game. So in that phase, I think he's an elite player," explained Canales. "As a tight end, he's continuing to grow and develop. This is a really competitive room.

"When you start to get an overloaded room but someone is a critical special teams player, then the competition kind of spreads out to other positions."

And that's when the roster-math begins.

"So it's the determination of, can we carry an extra back when we need this extra tight end? Can we carry an extra inside linebacker or safety when we have this guy that we're counting on? If there's a receiver that brings special (teams).

"So (general manager) Dan (Morgan) and I have to really look at that picture, and that's where it gets really hard and really tricky for us. But all these guys are trying; all these guys are putting great effort out here. We got another game coming up to evaluate how they can help us."

Cut-down day is 10 days away, meaning all these conversations will amp up significantly in the coming days.

Until then, Feleipe Franks will do what he's done all camp: catch the ball when it comes his way, proving he can be a productive tight end, play as fast as possible on special teams, and ask the question that has come to define his time in the league: Are you not entertained?