Checking in on the Carolina Panthers' Biggest Project Players

With OTAs in full swing and mandatory minicamp just two weeks away, the Carolina Panthers are preparing for the 2015 season. While most of the attention in recent days has been on Cam Newton’s new contract, top free-agent acquisitions like Michael Oher adjusting to their new team and rookies like Daryl Williams trying to earn starting spots, it’s just as important to focus on the bottom of the roster.

Every team has project players, relatively unlauded players who went undrafted or were cut loose by other teams but who have something in them that teams hope to coax out.

Maybe they have blinding athleticism but lack in-game skills. Maybe they produced at a high level in college but need time to bulk up in the weight room before they can contribute in the NFL. Maybe they play a position that the team is already set at but need players for future seasons.

Sometimes, undrafted free agents come right in and make a splash from Day 1. In 2014, that was the case for Philly Brown, who made the roster right out of training camp but didn't become a regular contributor until about halfway through last season.

Other times, they can spend years on the practice squad before getting a chance to shine. Mike Remmers spent most of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons bouncing from practice squad to practice squad before getting his chance with the Panthers late last season.

In this article, we’re looking for players like Remmers. Which project players could see their number called this year and make an impact in 2015?

In this case, we’re defining “project players” as players who spent some time on Carolina’s practice squad last season. They don’t necessarily need to have been there all year long—they could have been called up for a cup of coffee toward the end of the year, as long as they didn't become a significant contributor last season.

That excludes players like Darrin Reaves, who had 31 carries last season. The player could have spent time on NFL rosters before, even in Carolina, but last year had to be mostly a practice squad season.

With that caveat in mind, here’s how five of Carolina’s potential project players are doing so far this offseason.

S Robert Lester

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

Robert Lester, an undrafted free agent in 2013, ended up starting four games in his rookie season at safety, and he acquitted himself quite well. He hauled in three interceptions and finished the season as Pro Football Focus’ 16th-ranked cornerback, with the fifth-best opposing quarterback rating among qualified safeties. Not bad for someone who went undrafted thanks to poor change-of-direction skills.

However, Lester had a poor offseason and training camp last year, flashing poor mechanics in preseason.  In the Panthers' preseason game against Kansas City, Lester was matched up with Travis Kelce and let him catch two balls for 53 yards and a touchdown. He allowed the Patriots to throw on him again the week after.

He took bad angles, bit on play fakes and generally appeared to have regressed. He was released and then immediately added to the practice squad. He did bounce back up to the main roster in October, but only received 16 snaps all season, according to Football Outsiders.

Lester is back again this year, and hopefully with a renewed purpose. Last year’s starter at strong safety, Roman Harper, didn’t light up the field last season. I would argue that Lester’s limited work in 2013 was more impressive than Harper’s full season last year, so if Lester can regain that form, there’s no reason he couldn’t wrench the starting job back.

During OTAs, Harper has been rotating with free-agent acquisition Kurt Coleman at the starting strong safety spot, according to Black and Blue Review. Lester, on the other hand, hasn’t blown up yet, tweaking his right foot last week and not overly impressing to this point. This is all pre-pads work, so it remains to be seen if Lester can regain the role on the team he lost between the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

WR Stephen Hill

Tony Tribble/Associated Press

Of all of last year’s practice squad guys, Stephen Hill perhaps had the largest fall. Hill was a second-round pick for the Jets out of Georgia Tech back in 2012, but he was released after putting up only 45 receptions for 594 yards in two seasons.

The Panthers, realizing that an offense led by Geno Smith may not have been the ideal learning environment for a receiver coming out of a triple-option system, signed him to the practice squad in September and let him rest for the entire season there.

There’s no doubting Hill’s physical positives. He’s 6’4” and 215 pounds and runs a sub-4.4 40-yard dash.  In New York, however, Hill had trouble both staying healthy and holding on to the ball when he was.

Pro Football Focus has charted Hill with nine drops in his NFL career so far, or a drop on 21.4 percent of his catchable passes. To put that in perspective, the most stone-handed regular receiver in the NFL last season was Mohamed Sanu, who dropped 20 percent of his catchable passes. That’s not good.

However, the year away from the spotlight has apparently helped Hill’s game. In the first open practice during OTAs, Hill impressed. According to the Charlotte Observer, Hill hauled in three deep passes during that session and beat starting cornerback Josh Norman for one ball.

He did have a drop in individual drills, and he’s never going to be the most sure-handed player out there, but for one day in shorts, he looked like the player he was drafted to be.

The Panthers need a speedy threat. Their top two receivers, Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess, are big guys without elite top speed, and there are a bunch of question marks around them. They brought in Ted Ginn this offseason to fill that role, but I’d put money on the 24-year-old Hill being faster than the 30-year old Ginn at this point in their careers.

If Hill really has become more sure-handed, then he could be a major contributor for this team in 2015.

WR Marcus Lucas

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Hill isn’t the only receiver who could take advantage of a depleted receiving corps and make the roster.  Marcus Lucas, picked up as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri last season, is also battling for a slot.

It would be hard to come up with two receivers more different than Hill and Lucas. While both have the same basic body type, Hill is a burner with hands of stone. When he gets the ball in his hands, he can turn it upfield and get great production after the catch.

Lucas has much better hands, but doesn’t have anything resembling Hill’s separation ability. He’s more likely to catch the ball in traffic and be tackled immediately, rather than turn the ball upfield.

In truth, Lucas might be more of an H-back type player than a true receiver, but that’s not a bad thing in and of itself. It actually gives him a potential role that none of the other receivers on the 90-man roster really offer, which might be a positive for him going forward.

We have a few videos comparing Lucas and Devin Funchess from the rookie minicamp, and you can actually see where he’s doing alright and where he needs to improve when compared to a more polished player.

In this video, Lucas and Funchess run quick, 10-yard stop-and-go patterns. You can see that Funchess’ movement seems more natural, but Lucas was more efficient—he took fewer steps to get to the spot, and was going at nearly his top speed off the line, which is an improvement from what we saw last season.

By comparison, Funchess looks lethargic. On the other hand, Lucas entirely tips off the stop by dipping his shoulder down, while Funchess’ turn is less telegraphed. That might just buy a Funchess a split second, but that could be the difference between an interception and a tipped pass.

In this video, Lucas and Funchess are running quick comeback routes, and here you can see Lucas’ flaws. Funchess’ cut is smooth and fluid and right at the marker, while Lucas essentially has to stop, change direction and start again. That’s pretty bad.

I liked Lucas coming out of college, and I still think he can develop into a solid H-back type, which the Panthers could utilize. They’re one of the few teams that still use a fullback, so having a blocking player in the backfield with decent hands is something they could consider. With the receiver position so wide open, it’s not entirely out of the question that Lucas could take the next step forward this season.

CB Carrington Byndom

Uncredited/Associated Press

Carrington Byndom received a handful of snaps late in the season last year, primarily on special teams.  An undrafted free agent out of Texas, Byndom is known for his sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash and solid hands, though his slight frame and poor tackling ability kicked him out of draftable range.

He’s essentially a track star who happens to play cornerback, so you can see why the Panthers are intrigued by him and why they stuck him on the practice squad to develop for a year.

Byndom was able to make the main roster by the end of last season, and at the time, he said that he had become a “smarter, more fundamentally sound player” then he had been at training camp. We didn’t see enough of him in his one game to really confirm or deny that, but it’s a good soundbite, at the very least.

The fact that they chose to promote him says a lot. The cornerback position is an interesting one, and Byndom should be right in the competition for the dime role with Melvin White, Teddy Williams and Lou Young.

He’s not going to crack the nickel set with Bene Benwikere, Josh Norman and Charles Tillman around, but there’s always room for a speedy guy with a decent vertical. If he has improved his physicality with a year on the practice squad, he could at least be a gunner on special teams. Keep an eye on him this preseason.

DT Micanor Regis

CHRIS KEANE/Associated Press

Here’s your long shot for the day.

Micanor Regis, an undrafted free agent out of Miami back in 2012, spent 2012 on the Falcons practice squad before being cut and spending 2013 out of football. He came back to the Panthers last year as a tryout player, got placed on the practice squad and was actually called up late in the season for a few games after Star Lotulelei’s knee injury, though he never actually got on the field.

The Panthers do rotate a lot at the defensive tackle position, so they need bodies there. Regis is likely behind Lotulelei, Kawann Short, Dwan Edwards and Colin Cole, but he should be right there competing with Kyle Love for the fifth slot.

One thing Regis definitely has is a work ethic. Regis was out of football for a year and wasn’t immediately signed after his tryout with the Panthers last season. It would have been easy for someone to give up at that point and go in another direction, but Regis stayed in shape and got the call on the first day of training camp.

"They liked me, but they couldn't bring me in at first because the roster was full," Regis said in an interview with Panthers.com. "I still stayed in shape, kept working out, and eventually they called me. I was already in shape and was familiar with the defense, so I was able to plug right in.

"I saw it as an opportunity, and you've got to make the best of it. Some guys get big opportunities. I got a small opportunity, but I made the best of it."

Regis should once again have an opportunity, and maybe this time he can parlay it into a more solid role on the 2015 roster.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers. Follow @BryKno on Twitter.