The Carolina Panthers fell to the New York Jets 2-0 in the second week of preseason play. Carolina rested its core players for the second week in a row, giving the players fighting for their place on the team plenty of time to prove their worth. In a sloppy, defensive-focused game, some Panthers stood out while others faltered. Let’s take a look at players whose value both rose and fell.

TJ Smith – Defensive Line

Smith’s reputation has skyrocketed in the preseason. The third-year defensive lineman from Arkansas impressed in the season opener last week and repeated that performance against the Jets. In the first half of the game, Smith contributed a sack (for a loss of 15 yards), a tackle for loss and a deflected pass that nearly led to a Panthers interception against the Jets’ second offense. Ejiro Evero is looking for contributors to his newly formed front, and Smith’s solid play in the preseason puts him on track to join A’Shawn Robinson and Derrick Brown in the defensive line rotation.

Trevin Wallace – Linebacker

The rookie can play. Wallace spent the first half wreaking havoc on the Jets’ offense, collecting four tackles in an impressive display of speed, play recognition and sure tackling. Dan Morgan preached the need for “Dawgs” early in his tenure, and it appears his franchise has found one in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Terrace Marshall Jr. – Wide Receiver

Marshall continued his stellar performance with a solid first-half performance against the Jets. Dave Canales showed his faith in Marshall when he took him out of the game after three drives and let Ihmir Smith-Marsette and David Moore compete with the other players on the roster for the leftovers. Marshall caught two balls in the first half, but he did the bulk of the work on Thursday. With Diontae Johnson out for the Panthers’ joint practice against the Jets, Marshall took on the role of X-receiver and annihilated Gang Green all over the practice field. The LSU product was unsure of his position on the roster coming into training camp, but after his strong preseason, he is now firmly entrenched in the Panthers’ receiver rotation.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette and David Moore – Wide Receivers

In my opinion, the final spot in the Panthers’ receiver core will go to one of these two veterans. After his solid week of practice, Terrace Marshall appears to have overtaken Moore and Smith-Marsette in the rankings. Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo, Adam Thielen and Xavier Legette are all safe on the roster. At the start of the third quarter, Terrace Marshall Jr. stood on the sideline in a hoodie and shorts, while Smith-Marsette and Moore kept their protective gear on and played well into the second half.

Both Smith-Marsette and Moore had chances to return punts and kicks with limited success. Notably, Smith-Marsette was more involved in the offense, catching three passes from quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Jake Luton.

Michael Barrett – Linebacker

The Panthers’ seventh-round pick was ineligible for the first half and spent most of his time on the bench. The below-average linebacker entered the NFL as the winningest player in University of Michigan history, but he’ll likely have to earn his first NFL win elsewhere. Barrett played 10 snaps in the first week’s preseason loss at New England and barely saw any playing time tonight either.

Jack Plummer – Quarterback

The Panthers’ third quarterback started the game hot. Plummer (no relation to Jake) finished the first quarter 7 of 8 passing for 42 yards. It was all downhill from there.

By the end of the third quarter, Plummer had completed 11 of 18 passes… still for 42 yards. An efficient start fizzled out and largely resembled the first week of the preseason. The undrafted rookie failed to deliver accurate throws to his young receivers, making it difficult to evaluate the receiver options.

Jets coach Robert Saleh sees a bright future for Panthers QB Bryce Young in the NFL