CHARLOTTE — The Panthers don't have a lot of tape to judge Jimmy Horn Jr. on as a returner.

But they've seen the willingness, and in that job, that matters a lot.

With running back Trevor Etienne starting the year on injured reserve, Horn is likely inheriting the return roles for both kickoffs and punts (at least that's what it says on the depth chart). At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, he's giving up about 25 pounds to Etienne, but he's shown some ability there.

"The goals are the same, but the methods can be a little different when you have different styles of returners," Panthers special teams coordinator Tracy Smith said on Thursday when asked about Horn there. "You also don't know if he's the one catching the ball on kickoff, so you have to be ready for both of those things. All opportunities, you want to, whoever your primary returner is, you want to use his skill set the best you can.

"So whether that's more sideline returns, more middle returns, different style returns, he has practiced everything we have just like all the guys did in the preseason, so we still kind of have the full menu on the table, and we'll just see what we lean to for this particular game."

Horn's a different athlete than Etienne beyond the physical stature, and they can mix it up by putting someone like Xavier Legette or a running back back there with him on kickoffs. But his speed is unique, and to Smith's point, finding a way to use it is an intriguing proposition. (That 39-yard end-around in the preseason was an eye-opener for a lot of people.)

But the fact that Horn approached the duties with such eagerness also helps.

Horn didn't participate in returns last year as a rookie, and he only brought back 33 kickoffs and 14 punts in college. Again, he's 5-8 and 180; it's not natural for people his size. But as he's settled in here, he's learning the eternal NFL truth of "the more you can do" and began to volunteer to catch punts during training camp.

"He's not necessarily unique in that way," Smith said. "He's a player that's going from his first year to his second year. So those guys, they grow up a little bit, they know more, they understand how the NFL works and what they can do to help, and he had a renewed commitment to improving in every way.

"So, to me, that came to my front door as, 'Hey, what can we do on punt return? Let's go, I'm ready to dive into this.' He presented exactly the same way to the offense, and how can I help there? He's just an improving, maturing young player right now. So it's exciting to see him get these opportunities."

Stable of running backs provides flexibility

The Panthers under Dave Canales have always wanted to be a run-first team. It's been their identity, and the nucleus around which everything else is developed. Now, heading into 2026, Carolina has a stable of running backs that is arguably the most versatile in Canales' time here.

That versatility provides flexibility, and it starts with the Panthers' top two backs, Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks. While the latter hasn't played in a game since December 2024 while recovering from an ACL injury, the Panthers know his innate talent can complement Hubbard.

"(Brooks), he's got a different element than Chuba," said Canales earlier this week. "His versatility showed up; the film that I remember is a guy who just makes plays in space down the field in the pass game, the screen game, the home run speed.

"Once he sets an angle, all of a sudden you see people start turning and realize he's moving a lot faster than you think he is because he's such a smooth long strider you don't realize that. So, it's a factor; it's a pretty special dynamic in that regard."

Canales has said, in general, the two backs will split reps much the way Hubbard and Rico Dowdle did at times last year, with one back taking a series and the other coming in for third down.

But they are not beholden to that cadence, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik explained Thursday.

"What I really commend all of our backs for this offseason is for understanding what's the intent of our play calls, what's the intent of the core of our run game, and they're all hitting that with consistency," said Idzik.

"While they're different body types and they have different things that they can accentuate, the style of runner that we want when we're calling a wide zone, mid-zone, tight zone, gap, no pole, toss crack — they capture that. They understand what we're asking for and what we want, the flavor.

"So I feel comfortable with all three of those guys having a little bit of a varied role, and they've earned that. They've gone out, and they've earned that respect. So while their body types, and their speed, or their strength, and the things they've put on tape in the past vary a little bit, they all understand the whys behind what we're trying to present to the defense. So I really look forward to mixing and matching those three guys."

There is also the AJ Dillon element, the third guy in this scenario. Quadzilla is a noted power back who flourishes in third-and-short. This was an area of trouble for the Panthers last season, who finished 25th league-wide, converting 36.41 percent of third-downs.

"I think our third-and-short situation is just making sure that we're complementing our schemes by attacking the edge versus getting downhill, having our O-line group create that synergy. Having the same group out there is going to help us," explained Idzik.

"But those guys have been phenomenal. I think you watch AJ Dillon and you see the way he runs downhill; he captured our play style right away. Obviously, when you're a bigger back like him, he can drag some bodies too along the way, which is fun to watch."

Evero balancing pass-rush uncertainty

Ejiro Evero's pass-rush unit got an influx of talent this offseason with the addition of Jaelan Phillips. But it has also dealt with injuries before the regular season even arrives. Nic Scourton tore his ACL on the first day of training camp, and Patrick Jones II will be out at least Week 1 with a back injury.

It means the defensive coordinator is doing a lot of juggling as he prepares for an extremely athletic and mobile quarterback.

"Pat is a really, really, really good football player," Evero said of Jones. "He's instrumental in terms of what we want to do against the run game. He gives us a pass rush from the inside and the outside. He displays the play style that we want, right? The toughness, the physicality, the effort. So he's going to be missed, but, I mean, that's the nature of what we do.

"Every week you're going to have to deal with these types of issues at some point on the team, and so it's the next man up, and we're not going to make any excuses. We feel confident about whoever we put on the field, whether it's Jaelan or whether it's Princely Umanmielen, TI (Thomas Incoom) , Trevis Gipson, all of these guys, whoever's out there, we feel confident they could get out there and get the job done."

Regardless of who's on the field, Sunday was always going to be a tough test. In addition to Caleb Williams' propensity to move the pocket, escape to the edge, and scramble to buy time to throw, he's tough for outside linebackers to pin down. Furthermore, Williams is playing in a Ben Johnson scheme that Evero knows can test every type of defense.

"Ben Johnson's scheme," began Evero before pausing: "Very, very good. It's top, top notch. It starts with running the ball; people are going to make a big thing about the big plays and some of the gadgets and things of that nature, which is tough and really adds to the complexity of what they do.

"But they really do an excellent job first and foremost with the run game. Everything comes off of that, and then you watch how that manifests into the play action game, the boots and the keepers."

In Johnson's first year as head coach, the Bears' offense utilized play action on 32.7 percent of their dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the NFL.

"They have a really good way, a blend of the scheme and a blend of the execution and a blend of the toughness that they bring," continued Evero.

"And so I just think when you play offenses like that, that not only operate at a high level, they execute at a high level, but they play with physicality and toughness, and they have challenging concepts. Those are the hardest ones to defend."