Five takeaways from rookie minicamp, including Chris Brazzell's range, and more from Day 2

May 09, 2026 at 02:48 PM

Darin Gantt

Chris Brazzell II is seen as The Carolina Panthers hold Rookie Mini Camp on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE — Because of his long, thin frame, seeing Chris Brazzell II running in open space only accentuates what shows up on tape.

He can go get it.

So seeing Brazzell pluck one out of the air from quarterback Haynes King in the end zone on Saturday brought the visual home.

"Just get in his area," King said simply, with a nod of respect. "He's got a huge catch radius and, and just give him a chance on the ball, he's going to come down with it for sure."

That's been one of the most visible takeaways from the two-day minicamp, which wrapped up on Saturday, as rookies and a small group of tryout players and holdovers worked out for about an hour each day.

Trying to tease out too much meaning from these kinds of unpadded, introductory practices would be a mistake, but Brazzell's ability to move and his speed were evident.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales has been enthusiastic about Brazzell since they got him in the third round, calling him one of his favorite players in the draft, and at every interaction (combine interview, 30 visit, zoom calls), he stood out.

"This is a guy that we would love to work with," Canales said Saturday. "Because the football skills and the speed, the ability to track the ball down the field at his height to be able to drop his weight, get in and out of breaks, it's rare. And we were just really, really excited that we were able to just stay put where we were at, and he came to us in the third round, and we were so excited to see what happens when he gets with the rest of the guys."

As someone who grew up a Panthers fan and watched a number of games last year while he was playing at Tennessee, he also knows he's in a deep room of targets for quarterback Bryce Young, including 2025 rookie of the year Tetairoa McMillan, along with Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette.

"Bryce is a baller," Brazzell said. "TMac, clearly a baller. Jalen Coker, he's a baller. Legette's a baller. All them guys are some ballers."

And now it's a deeper room, and more competitive.

Monroe Freeling is seen as The Carolina Panthers hold Rookie Mini Camp on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

Monroe Freeling looking bigger already

Canales said one of the things he noticed about first-round pick Monroe Freeling was his size, as he came to minicamp around 325 pounds, after playing last year at Georgia in the 310-315 range.

"I mean, first of all, he looks great," Canales said. "He's been working really hard, just trying to continue to increase his strength. He showed up about 325, and looked great, moved well, showed the length, and all the things.

"That was just kind of an emphasis of his, and I mean, if you think the guy's 21 years old, so he's still growing into whatever his frame is. But as we know, seasons get long, and guys have a chance to kind of settle in and focus on some things, and the work showed up. But he looks great, he's moving well, so I'm really pleased with that."

Canales said they try to be mindful that the guys working this weekend haven't been doing much football since the end of last season, as pre-draft training is very different than even these low-impact workouts.

"Absolutely, the guys are working out, they're practicing drills that they go through at pro days or the combine. And those drills are pretty set, but once you're starting to react to movement and you get back to playing a little bit of football, that does work different parts of your body. So post draft, they really have two weeks to hopefully give those guys a chance to, you know, get their cleats on and just kind of settle into their normal type of football training."

Haynes King and Sam Hecht are seen as The Carolina Panthers hold Rookie Mini Camp on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

Center Sam Hecht making a good first impression

The Panthers added some competition at center in the fifth round by taking center Sam Hecht, and Canales said he looked good this weekend.

Once the full group convenes next week, he'll be in the mix with veteran Luke Fortner and the returning Nick Samac.

"He's done a great job in these last couple of days; excited to throw more on his plate as we get back together with the full group," Canales said of Hecht. "What showed up for Sam is on film, you see a guy that's under control, a guy that plays the center position really well. At a professional level, even from his film last year, and that's what showed up in these last two days, his ability to stay calm, make the point, work his combos with the guys, and just kind of bring that type of balance and cohesiveness that you need to have with the inside three."

Jackson Kuwatch is seen as The Carolina Panthers hold Rookie Mini Camp on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

Having a little fun on the way out

The Panthers closed each of the day's practices with a little competition, having players try to hit the crossbar with passes on Friday, before bringing out the Jugs machine to let them try to catch punts.

It went better for some than others, and forced the defense vs. offense competition into sudden death overtime.

After consecutive catches by cornerback Cam Miller Brazzell, tryout safety JaCorey Thomas, tight end Bryce Pierre, linebacker Jackson Kuwatch and running back Montrell Johnson Jr., there were seven straight drops as they moved into the big men who generally do not catch flying things for a living.

Tryout tackle Derrell Bailey brought home the win for his side by cleanly catching a punt, or else that might have gone on for a minute.

A day off to celebrate Mother's Day

Canales opened his press conference Saturday with a Mother's Day wish for everyone, after their sixth straight day on the field (including offseason workouts during the week). But Sunday is about the moms.

"Early happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, grateful," Canales said. "A group of men doing what we get to do, it's a great time for us to be able to celebrate that and be so thankful and grateful for all the hard work, the love, support, the Gatorade, the cleats, all the things that come with it."

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Albert Reese IV is seen as The Carolina Panthers hold Rookie Mini Camp on Friday, May 8, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.