CHARLOTTE — Brad Idzik has the full spectrum of experience in his room. From 14-year vets to rookies, the Panthers offensive coordinator is pulling together a lot of different strings, with different lengths and make-ups, hoping to create a piece of art.

To do so, he leans on what each individual has done well before.

"We'll pull clips from the guys doing it successfully, whether it's in the spring, whether it's in training camp or the previous years. And you're always trying to apply like, you know, make that connection for them," Idzik explained Thursday. "Like this is what we're trying to accomplish. This is how we think the technique will apply in this certain play call and here's an example of you or somebody else doing it correctly.

"For us, that helps, it speeds up some process of those conversations."

When you have a quarterback like Andy Dalton, who has been in the league since 2011 and played for five teams in four different divisions, he's seen a lot of ball, a lot of defenses and a lot of what works when. As such, Idzik has expanded his already entrenched philosophy of implementing player's past into current plays, to include years and years worth of Dalton tape.

"Here's the play we're presenting, here's our why, but tell us how you would go through this," Idzik said of his practice. "Tell us what defense you'd like to attack with this or, whatever the specifics are with a game, a certain play that we're presenting to him.

"And yeah, when he's got a myriad of experience against a bunch of different coordinators, a bunch of different schemes defensively, he's quick to click into some of those memories because, you know, they're solidified with reps."

Facing the best

Ejiro Evero knows what he's up against. It's not even histrionic for him to say it; "arguably the best receiver of his generation." the Panthers defensive coordinator praised on Thursday of his upcoming challenge.

That's what a defense has to deal with though when faced with Davante Adams. The Las Vegas Raiders receiver hasn't slowed up despite being paired with his sixth starting quarterback in only his third season with the Raiders. He and Gardner Minshew have begun to find a groove though, with the two connecting nine times for 110 yards and a touchdown in last week's win over Baltimore.

"I mean, it's the most important thing that quarterback and receiver can work on is their camaraderie together," Adams said this week of he and Minshew, ahead of facing the Panthers. "And (Gardner's) driven to keep working, and he's made a lot of progress, and we've made a lot of progress together. So, far from where we want to be, but it's kind of a never-ending cycle of just trying to get better and working on our craft."

Adams is averaging 12.1 yards per touch through the first two weeks this season. Widely lauded for his textbook technique off the line, Adams presents a unique challenge for corners Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson this week.

"We have to do different things," Evero said of the coverage. "I don't think there's any one way you stop him, or you can't give him the same look because if you decide to double him every play, then obviously you're outnumbered in other areas.

"So, we got to just continue to roll the game plan around and, you know, give them different looks and attack them in different ways and hope for the best."

Jackson has faced Adams only once before, in 2022 when the Seattle Seahawks (and Jackson) faced Adams and the Raiders.

"Like you get to go against like argue is the best receiver in the league," Jackson said recalling the game. "So like it was one of them, like, this is what the NFL about.

Jackson, who was in his fourth season at the time, learned a valuable lesson that day: Davante Adams is going to get his catches. Make it as hard as possible.

"I say you got to like, truly stay level headed. He's going to make his catches. But at the same time, you got to know like, ok, he caught a crazy one handed and it was like, all right, if you're going to catch a ball, it got to be up there.

"So it's kind of like, always believe and believe in yourself, even when it's kind of like, dang, he caught that for real. Make them catch it like that again."

A transferable talent

Tracy Smith didn't have to think long to pluck a name. Asked if there was someone a part of his special teams unit whose skills from offense or defense translated better than expected, the Panthers special teams coordinator answered quickly.

" Feleipe Franks would be one," he replied.

The tight end has been with the Panthers since the end of July. His size – he's 6-6 and 228 pounds – stood out to coaches early on, even as he continues to make the transition from quarterback to pass catcher. While he continues to learn the nuances of the new spot (which he's only been playing for two years) the athleticism allowing him to make the change is also what has made him so valuable to Smith's special teams.

"The things that were taking him from being a, just a quarterback, to maybe he can do something else, that stuff showed up first on special teams while he was learning the intricacies of all the positions," Smith explained Thursday.

Nick Scott calls special teams a six-second war. And through the first two weeks, he's realized as quickly as Smith, that Franks is someone he wants to go to war with.

"Feleipe is a dog in every sense of the word," Scott said. "So that being the case, he's built for special teams. Like special teams is like a six second war all throughout the game. And strongest man wins, fastest man wins, whoever wants it more wins.

"And other than myself, when Feleipe is on the field, I don't think anybody wants to make an impact more."

Franks has two tackles on special teams thus far, and a fumble recovery on a return as well. He saw his impact on the unit increase from Week 1, when he played 57 percent of the snaps, to Week 2, when he played 75 percent. Versus the Chargers, he made a tackle on the opening kickoff return. A flag for a facemask overshadowed the big play, but the initial tackle was one that stood out on tape.

"That kind of stuff that fires you up, man," Scott said of the play. "If you watch that play, like he made that play purely because he wanted to. That's what I'm talking about. If you have that mindset every time you go out there, like people are gonna feel you and Feleipe has that."

— The Panthers also added linebacker outside linebacker Tarron Jackson on Thursday, signing him from the practice squad. Jackson saw his most game action in 2021, when he played 253 defensive snaps for the Philadelphia Eagles. During his two seasons in Philly, he also played 99 snaps on special teams.

"He has some experience from his play at the Eagles on special teams," Smith noted. "He's an outside linebacker who plays physical, plays with some speed and has some NFL experience. So, we're looking to see how it can impact the group."