CU football wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. signals for a first down after making an acrobatic catch that would later get overturned due to a holding penalty against CSU in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. Cris Tiller / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two Carolina Panthers rookies expected to compete for return specialist jobs

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Russell Baxter | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Dave Canales’s debut season as the Carolina Panthers’ head coach in 2024 resulted in a 5-12 record. The team won four of its final nine games. The club scored 40 touchdowns, all on offense. In other words, no defensive or special teams’ TDs.

When it comes to the latter, this was yet another area of the club that had some shortcomings. All told, Carolina’s kick coverage units were solid. Meanwhile, only two teams in the league averaged fewer yards per kickoff return. The Panthers ranked a mere 29th in the NFL in punt return average. While Ihmir Smith-Marsette produced the last Carolina punt return touchdown (vs. the Bears) in 2023, the last Panthers’ player to take back a kickoff for a score was Damiere Byrd in 2017. His 103-yard TD came vs. the Buccaneers.

In April, Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan addressed both sides of the ball in the draft with four offensive selections and four defensive choices. Two of those offensive picks could also make a big impact in another department.

Panthers’ special teams’ woes could be solved by a pair of rookies

Michael Baca of NFL.com had this to say about a pair of Day 3 selections that could provide help for the club’s shortcomings on special teams. “Kickoff and punt returns might bring some added excitement along Carolina’s preseason. Both primary roles are up for grabs this summer and a pair of rookies—WR Jimmy Horn Jr. and running back Trevor Etienne—are expected to compete for both jobs. The pairing is small in size but brings plenty of speed and shiftiness to a club that has produced just one touchdown return since 2018.”

Baca also spoke about other aspects of coordinator Tracy Smith’s units. “The Panthers’ oncoming work on special teams doesn’t stop with figuring out the returners either, with new kickers Matthew Wright and Ryan Fitzgerald battling for the starting role and new punter Sam Martin holding for longtime long snapper J.J. Jansen.”

The Panthers bolstered their offense this season with additions such as veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, four-year running back Rico Dowdle, and 2025 first-round wideout Tetairoa McMillan. Consistently better field position for quarterback Bryce Young and company certainly wouldn’t hurt.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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