As I said yesterday, the Panthers are coming into training camp Saturday with some good competition in a number of positions. We’re going to follow these positions week by week and give updates and commentary on each battle.

Right Guard- This is probably the most wide open slot on the roster. During the offseason it seemed like the Panthers brought in about every guard they could find to compete for the starting job. Right now, veteran Keydrick Vincent has the edge, but I feel that the Panthers have a sleeper in Toniu Fonoti, who seems to have resurrected his career after having some serious weight issues. Toniu has the talent to start, he received rookie honors after being drafted by the Chargers, but will have to put in some serious work if he wants to start. Though I expect Fonoti and Vincent to be the main guys battling for the position, there are also some other guys who could surprise: FA addition Milford Brown and former starter Geoff Hangartner. This is going to be a heated battle, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Free Safety- With the Panthers signing Charles Godfrey to a multi year deal yesterday, Godfrey will be able to come to camp Saturday, and immediately start getting reps with the first team. Tough Godfrey is favored to start, he will face competition from Nate Salley and veteran Terrance Holt for the starting job. If Godfrey is slow out of the gate, either Salley or Holt could start for the Panthers on opening day.

Right Defensive End- The retirement of Mike Rucker earlier this offseason left open the starting job at right defensive end (though it is possible that Peppers will switch to the right side in which case the battle will be for left end). The Panthers brought in Tyler Brayton to possibly start, but Brayton will have to battle second year man Charles Johnson and third year man Stanley McClover, both of whom have seen action in past seasons. Personally I think Johnson will be able to beat out Brayton for the job, he appears to have a good mix of power and speed both necessary in order to put up a pass rush.

Number 2 and 3 Wide Receivers- The acquisition of D. J. Hackett and former Panther Mushin Muhammad should do worlds in helping relieve Steve Smith of some of the double teaming he has seen in past years, but even though Hackett is presumed to start along side Smith, the door is still open for Moose to take the job. Also, the development that Dwayne Jarrett has shown in the past few months indicates that Jarrett could put some pressure on Moose for more playing time, and could even win the number three role during training camp. While this position isn’t as wide open as some of the others, there is still going to be some good competion between the Panthers wideouts.

Running Back- First of all, I wouldn’t really consider this a true battle for the staring job. It really doesn’t matter which running back, Jonathan Stewart or DeAngelo Williams, wins the starting job, they’re going to get the same amount of playing time either way. Even if Williams gets the nod, Head Coach John Fox is still going to use the two in a two back system where Stewart pounds defenses with his downhill running style while Williams acts as the change of pace back later in the game. So their roles are really not going to change during training camp because of the type of running backs they are.

You can check out these positions a little more by looking at our position analysis posts. Also if you have any other positions that you feel are up for grabs come training camp, feel free to comment.

Tags: carolina panthers, training 2008, Training Camp