2 Panthers among NFL players on hot seat for 2026

To stay healthy and competitive, NFL rosters need to continually renew themselves—season after season, and sometimes, week to week. It doesn't matter if your team invested a first-round pick in a player or signed them to a significant contract just last year, as putting the best talent on the field always has to be priority No. 1 for a contender.

The Carolina Panthers are knocking on that door after winning eight games and a division championship in 2025. Now, they'll have to prove themselves against one of the league's toughest schedules in 2026.

That task may call for some big contributions from their rookie class, as it did last year. While first-round selection and offensive tackle Monroe Freeling may or may not crack the starting lineup, the Panthers will definitely need their next two picks (second-round defensive lineman Lee Hunter and third-round wideout Chris Brazzell II) to thrive—which is bad news for a couple of veterans.

According to an analysis by Ben Solak at ESPN, third-year receiver Xavier Legette is on one of the hottest seats in the NFL:

At first it looked like the Panthers' receivers room would have plenty of space for his development -- Legette was the Panthers' leading target-getter as a rookie. But the emergence of undrafted free agent Jalen Coker and subsequent drafting of 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year  pushed Legette down to No. 3 on the depth chart ... and now Chris Brazzell II has entered the building.