4 Newcomers Who Will Play Biggest Roles for the Carolina Panthers

After a 6-10 season, it would be easy to assume that the Carolina Panthers have a lot of room for new players to come in and help the team get better. But a quick once-over of the depth charts shows that only three newcomers look to be slated in as starters.

A lot of that has to do with players coming back from injury to reclaim starting jobs and some has to do with recently drafted players who look to rebound after less-than-stellar starts to their careers.

These three players—we’ll share more information about them later—along with another new addition to the Panthers roster could play big roles for Carolina in 2012.

Here’s how:

FB Mike Tolbert

With the Panthers’ running back depth chart boasting names like DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and the best running quarterback in the league in Cam Newton, adding a new name to the mix took some off guard.

Now that Carolina has signed fullback Mike Tolbert in free agency, the thing the team has to do is find the best way to utilize his skills.

Tolbert carried the ball 121 times last year in San Diego and scored eight touchdowns. He also caught 54 passes and scored two more touchdowns through the air. He’ll likely carry the ball less in Carolina, but might make more of an impact in the passing game.

His biggest impact will be as a bruising lead blocker that opens up a lot of lanes for Williams and Stewart. But he can also line up in many different formations and at many different positions.

Opposing defenses already have to think about the many different ways Newton can hurt them. Now they have to account for Tolbert’s versatility, which means Carolina’s offense will hugely benefit from Tolbert being around.

OG Amini Silatolu

After watching offensive tackle Amini Silatolu manhandle a linebacker clear off the television screen, Panthers general manager Marty Hurney and head coach Ron Rivera started planning to make the Midwestern State lineman a fixture in Carolina.

Silatolu is tough and nasty and has already made the transition to guard in OTAs. He’s been working with the first-team offense already and brings a flair for overpowering opponents that could mean a stronger run game for Carolina in 2012.

The Panthers ranked third in the NFL last season with 150.5 yards per game.

LB Luke Kuechly

The word on the street when teams were mulling over just how good Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly could be was that the standout could instantly walk onto an NFL field and start at linebacker. He could also notch 100 tackles or more in his rookie season and help in coverage.

All of those were good reasons for Carolina to take Kuechly at No. 9, but Jon Beason said, “I thought he was the safest pick in the first round, more so than (Andrew) Luck or RGIII (Robert Griffin III) just because those guys … are going to need pieces around them.”

Kuechly has been placed at weak-side linebacker and middle linebacker in OTAs, but will play the Will position and learn from Beason during his first year. If Kuechly lives up to his potential and Beason stays healthy, they could make up one of the better linebacking duos in the league.

WR Joe Adams

The Carolina Panthers are in dire need of a receiver to take over the role of No. 2 opposite Steve Smith. Not only would a quality option free up Smith to abuse single coverage, it would give sophomore signal-caller Cam Newton more options to explore in the passing game.

University of Arkansas receiver Joe Adams won’t provide the punch Carolina is looking for—at least not this year—but he will make a difference on special teams in the return game.

The last time a Carolina Panther returned a punt for a touchdown was Dec. 28, 2003, when Steve Smith took a punt back 53 yards to hit pay dirt. Adams will instantly pay dividends for Carolina on special teams, and he also hopes his career might mirror Smith's.