4 Biggest Winners From Panthers Offseason Workouts

With OTAs and mandatory minicamp in the rearview mirror, the Carolina Panthers will take the rest of June off and prepare for the first training camp of the Dave Canales era next month. 

The Panthers are considered a longshot to win the NFC South (+1100 on FanDuel Sportsbook) this season, but that hasn’t stopped Carolina from putting its best foot forward in the spring and trying to build off of a horrible 2-15 2023 campaign.

Throughout OTAs and minicamp, we’ve heard about a few players who have stood out in the practices and increased their chances of having a prominent role on the team. Some players have been with the organization for a few years, while others are brand-new faces looking to make a good impression.

Below, we’ll highlight three/four players who helped out their cause during offseason workouts and how they could impact the Panthers this season.

1. Harrison Mevis

Instead of going with Bryce Young or a veteran player to lead off this list, we must talk about the emergence of Harrison Mevis aka ‘Thiccer Kicker.’

The former Mizzou kicker was brought in as an undrafted free agent to compete with veteran Eddy Pineiro. However, with Pineiro skipping out on OTAs, the door was left open for Mervis, who kicked it down and has a strong chance to win the starting job.

Mevis ended offseason workouts by hitting a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals for four straight weeks, which included a field goal from 57 yards. The 5-foot-11 kicker has exceeded expectations in offseason workouts for someone likely brought in as a training camp leg.

Mevis had a fantastic collegiate career at Missouri, making 89-of-106 field goal attempts. In his last year with the Tigers, the Lou Groza Award semifinalist made 97.8 percent of his extra points (45-of-46) and 80 percent of his field goals (24-of-30).

If Mevis can continue to make field goals at a high clip in training camp and into preseason, the Panthers might have a tough decision to make before the regular season.

In the scenario that both kickers do their job, does Carolina risk a practice squad spot on Mevis, which would allow other teams to claim him? That’s another question that Canales and the rest of the coaching staff must answer over the next couple of months.