CHARLOTTE — Over the last five years, the Class of 2021 has seen some things. And they've seen more than a few things change.

Not only with the football team, since they've played for five different coaches (including interims) since being drafted, but of the perceptions of themselves as players.

At different points, Jaycee Horn, Chuba Hubbard, Tommy Tremble, and Brady Christensen were all questioned and, at times, doubted.

But after each of them signed second contracts in the last six months with the team that chose them out of college, they're also part of the future here.

For each of them individually, it's been a journey. But as a group, there's also a solidarity because of what they've been through as players. Now as they look out on a new generation for the Panthers, having been identified as part of the team's future, they can appreciate the amount of ground they've covered.

"All the stuff we've been through, I think, at times it can push people away," Hubbard said. "But the people who really want to be here and who really want to buy into this culture that we're trying to build, this new era that we're trying to build here, the right guys did come together. And then everyone else kind of weeded themselves out organically. But it's crazy. I mean, we're not quite where we want to be yet, but just seeing the little bit of success that we have had shows how close we have become in those tough times.

"Because when we did start winning and seeing some success, it's like we just want to celebrate each other. And we're just proud of each other, so no, hard times definitely brought us together, and then the the better times even more so, and it was so neat to see."

Hubbard grinned and shook his head when he thought about it because the place they're standing now is so far from where they began.

There are a few things worth pointing out here. The average NFL career lasts 3.3 seasons. Also, these guys have been part of teams that have won 19 games in the last four seasons. Last year's five wins represent what they hope is the beginning of something new.

So, the spring of 2021 might as well have been a lifetime ago for the Carolina Panthers.

Those four players were part of an 11-man class at a time when the Panthers were building and needed numbers. But regardless of how many players joined them that April weekend, identifying and retaining four members of any class makes it a good one, particularly when they're four of your first five picks (the rounds the best players come from).

And Hubbard, the last of the four chosen, was the first to be signed to that elusive second contract. He was extended in the middle of his first 1,000-yard season, a signal to the rest of the roster that the people who work and the people who produce were going to be rewarded.

And when Horn agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal the morning free agency began, it was another sign.

For Hubbard, who worked to become part of a productive backfield tandem in his second year, only to see a free agent signed over the top of him the following year before regaining the lead role, seeing Horn overcome early injuries to prove himself was a special moment.

They met during pre-draft workouts during the winter of 2021, and Hubbard said he could tell Horn was special then, long before they were teammates.

"Just seeing people that I believe really deserve to get their flowers, it does something for my soul," Hubbard said. "Like with Jaycee, with all the things he's been through. I knew since Day 1, working with Jaycee, that he was like a special dude. I might not ever say this to his face, but like I knew, he was one of one.

"And he knows I got that respect for him, but I knew he was one of one, and just having a guy like that across from me is always going to keep me on my feet, and I do the same for him. He knows he can battle with me and make sure I'm going to be at my best. People like that are rare."

It's not common for four guys from the same class to be retained, and change is constant. The 2018 class saw DJ Moore, Donte Jackson, Ian Thomas, and Marquis Haynes come back, but they've since scattered through free agency and trades. Usually, if you can get two out of a class to stick (like Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman in 2012), that's solid. Three, like Jon Beason, Ryan Kalil, and Charles Johnson in 2007 or Dan Morgan, Kris Jenkins, and Steve Smith in 2001, would be exceptional.

So, to have four hang around requires a special set of circumstances and people who can persevere beyond the average length of an NFL career.

"We're just a resilient group," Horn said. "We're workers. Like the, the guys you see here, we're always workers, Chuba, everybody knows how much time he put in, how much work he put in, you know, Tommy, they're always together when they are working. Brady, also just being consistent. He went through a lot of injuries as well, but when the time came, he was ready.

"So all of us just stayed consistent, kept our head down, and it paid off for sure."

And as they look around, together, they can appreciate for a moment what they've accomplished.

Christensen noted that the 2020 draft class was a good one, even though Derrick Brown is the only one to sign a new contract here, getting his extension last spring to set the model for Horn. That class included productive players such as Yetur Gross-Matos and Jeremy Chinn, but they left as free agents as the team went through numerous transitions.

"I mean, now it's Derrick," Christensen said with a shake of his head, referencing the class before theirs. "No, it's like it's just crazy that the four of us all have made it to the fifth year, you know, the odds of you making it even into your fifth year of the league are very slim.

"So the fact that we're all going to the fifth year with the same team is incredible."

And while it's brought them all close, none are closer than Tremble and Hubbard.

They bonded through their own struggles, worked together, and practically adopted a Jugs machine into their families.

"We all just kind of formed a group, and we're like, look, we're going to work, and we're gonna get better, and we're going to be the best," Hubbard said. "So that's how we kind of attacked it, and through that, me and Tommy kind of organically just became close and started working together. We're like, OK, bro, we've both got the same goals, the same things we want. We want to win, we want to be great, take care of our families, and so forth.

"It's kind of crazy. Organically, if you put yourself in the right position every day, to work hard and to be great, other people are going to do that too, and you kind of just form together, simultaneously...But one thing that we're going to make sure is solid is our friendship, our brotherhood. A lot of things like it just, you don't really plan for them to happen; they just happen."

Now, they're their own kind of family, with Hubbard standing back and snapping pictures like a proud father when Tremble signed his new contract last month.

"I think it's hard when you have a bunch of ups and downs, either in your career or in life, to keep moving forward, and I think the thing that kind of helps with that is doing something every day, regardless of what's going on, trying to get better," Tremble said. "Whether it's in football or life and I think that's kind of the culture that we're building here in Carolina and that's why I'm excited to be back man."

Tremble recalled getting here shortly after their draft, meeting Hubbard and Christensen and Horn, and going to a Hornets game together, some of the usual meeting-new-friends-in-a-new-place rituals. But at the time, they were just happy to be here, not knowing what they'd see in those next four years, on and off the field. Their careers began with a 5-12 record, but they'd see a coaching change and a playoff push before the end of their sophomore years. Then another change, a 2-15 they'd all rather forget, then another change and the gradual building back to respectability that came last year.

That makes them appreciate it that much more now.

"If it was a smooth ride, no one really learned anything from it," Tremble said. "So having guys that know what adversity is and proving not only to the coaching staff here but to the whole team that hey, these guys can work through the hard stuff, and you can trust in them that they're going to continue to build.

"And I think that's an awesome kind of summary of what our draft class is, is guys who, no matter what's coming, they're still building every single day to be better no matter what happened."

With those new contracts and the same coaching staff and front office for a second year in a row, these guys are enjoying something resembling stability. They've not only beaten the odds for career longevity, they've done it together and have been identified as pieces a team wants to build with.

And that's a significant achievement in and of itself.

For Hubbard, not having to learn a new playbook this offseason is a unique feeling, which they hope translates to an improved offensive product.

"We haven't been able to learn the same offense two years in a row until now, and I have friends that have been in the same playbook for four years and they've mastered it," Hubbard said. "It's like they're perfecting the game almost, where for us, it's been constant turnover. I'm like, don't get me wrong, I might know every offensive scheme there is. You like to see them all like a jack of all trades but master of none. So it's like now to be able to master this offense and build chemistry off of it; it's like we could only get better.

"I feel like everything we had on the offense from last year was more than enough, and we can just build off of it, obviously. If they want to add guys do this or that, whatever, I believe that they're going to do what's best for us. But overall, I believe we've got everything we need."

With everything they've been through, they've developed that thick skin, that self-reliance which has gotten them to this point.

But by beating the odds together, they've also created something deeper, a bond that will last beyond their playing days.