Carolina Panthers: Five Position Battles to Watch at Camp

Now the Panthers do have 21 of 22 starters returning, so don't expect to see too many battles going on, but here are a few you should keep an eye on going into camp.

1. DE

Everett Brown and Tyler Brayton for Left Defensive End. Fox has a tendency to start his first pick in the Draft, but he usually get's a pick in the first round.

Brown has good speed that will fit better in a Ron Meeks system, but Brayton is the better all around player and the Vet, so this one could get very interesting, especially if Brayton knees Brown in the groin.

2. KR

The unquestionably most wide open battle of the training camp this year has as many as seven battling for the coveted spot on the team. But the major players will be Jason Carter, who is playing his way onto the team after he tore his ACL in the last preseaon game last season, Mike Goodson from Texas A&M, and Ryan Robinson who was injured in training camp last season.

And last but not least is Larry Beavers who comes out of Wesley a Div. III school in the NCAA where he set the NCAA record for all-time combined kick return touchdowns.

3. WR

Steve Smith and Muhsin Mohammad are the only two locks. Now Dwayne Jarrett is expected to be a lock for the third spot, but that isn't a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination when you consider his first two seasons with the team. Jason Carter and Ryan Robinson are both expected to compete for the final starting spot, but IMO Carter is the only one that has a real shot at taking the third spot away from Jarrett.

Well that's it for starting spots, but there are a few going for Depth.

4. DT

Lewis and Kemo are the starters and that won't change baring injury, but depth is a different story.

There is a battle among Corvey Irvin, Nick Hayden, and Lorenzo Williams. Hayden didn't look too good in his limited play last season, and I'm very curious to see what happens with Irvin because I've been hearing a lot of good things about him.

5. O-Line

The Panthers O-line is one of the best in the NFL. Well they're starters are at least, the Panthers depth at O-line though was raided like a Spanish Gallion on it's way back from the New World. And now a lot of that Depth is gone, so what about those left behind?

Well I don't know, second-year man Geoff "the Dude" Schwartz is a fan favorite because of his impressive size, being 6'6" 331 pounds, and Duke Robinson who is 6'5" 330 was drafted out of Oklahoma in the 5th round has some potential but has yet to see the field in the pros. but outside of them not much is known about they're competition for this training camp. Jonathan Palmer is a pretty big dude himself coming in at 6'4" 336 pounds. And then there's Justin Geisinger coming in at 6'2" 315 pounds, he was drafted in 2005 by the Titans. And our last man is also our smallest is Mackenzy Bernadeau, he's 6'4" 308 pounds.

I will be going to training camp this year and will be giving updates throughout so stay tuned...