Carolina Panthers

Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo continues to impress for the Carolina Panthers during practice at training camp. Mingo's first year in the league was a flop with the Panthers, seeing him collect just 41 of his 85 passes for 418 scoreless yards despite playing plenty of snaps in 15 games, but the second-year man out of Ole Miss is looking to bounce back in his sophomore season. The 23-year-old wideout was a second-round pick in the NFL draft in 2023, and he's currently battling with Terrace Marshall Jr. for No. 4 receiver duties behind rookie first-round Xavier Legette in Carolina's offense. Barring a trade involving Diontae Johnson's expiring contract later this year or Adam Thielen being phased out of the offense, Mingo still looks hard-pressed for a consistent role in three-receiver sets as a WR6/7 in fantasy leagues to begin the campaign.

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble (hamstring) is being held out of training camp practices due to hamstring tightness. It doesn't appear to be a serious injury for Tremble, but the Panthers are being cautious early in camp. As long as the 24-year-old tight end doesn't suffer a setback with his hamstring when he returns to the field, he should be fine for the start of the 2024 regular season. The former third-round pick in 2021 out of Notre Dame set a new career-high in receptions (23) and receiving yards (194) on 32 targets while scoring three touchdowns in 16 games (eight starts) for the second straight year. Carolina's offense was dreadful in 2023 under rookie quarterback Bryce Young, but even if they show improvement in 2024, Tremble is unlikely to be very attractive in fantasy as he competes for targets with rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders and Ian Thomas.

The Carolina Panthers placed running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) on the Active/NFI list on Friday night. The rookie, who suffered a torn ACL in November while with his collegiate squad, can be activated at any time. However, he will be forced to miss the first four contests if he isn't cleared to play before the 2024-25 campaign starts. Brooks, the No. 46 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, began his career behind Bijan Robinson at Texas. But after taking over as the lead option in 2023, he ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns off 187 touches, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. At any rate, Brooks will likely be brought along slowly once he's healthy enough to return to the field. Although he could work his way to the top of the depth chart at some point, he may not make an immediate impact for fantasy managers.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen feels he has more to prove to himself despite being in the NFL for over a decade. "I talk to the young guys about this all the time, is no matter who you are, no matter how old you are, no matter how many years you've been in the league, you have something to prove," Thielen said in an interview. "You have to have that mindset every single day." The 33-year-old is coming off a productive season, amassing his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign since 2018 while finding the end zone four times. Although the Panthers have a lot of question marks regarding the offense, it appears Thielen is not ready to stop being a reliable fantasy asset anytime soon.

The Carolina Panthers made no move to extend wide receiver Diontae Johnson after trading for the former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout in March, as they prefer to see whether he emerges as the explosive, coverage-separating pass-catcher that quarterback Bryce Young and the offense lacked in 2023. If Johnson proves he's a difference-maker in his first year in Carolina and if he doesn't become a distraction when the ball doesn't come his way, he could be set to cash in next offseason in a receiver market that has exploded in recent years. The 27-year-old disappointed as Pittsburgh's top receiver last year, catching a career-low 51 passes for 717 yards and five touchdowns. Johnson will now be competing with veteran Adam Thielen for targets in what was the worst offense in the league last year. Most of Johnson's fantasy value will be tied to how much Young improves in Year 2. Consider Johnson a low-end WR3/high-WR4 target in fantasy drafts.