CHARLOTTE — The Panthers never appeared in prime time this season, and only one of their players was ever in the top 10 in fan voting for the Pro Bowl.

So for them to get recognition means it's the kind that came from their peers, the players and coaches around the league.

Three Panthers players who had excellent seasons in their own right were named as alternates to the Pro Bowl Games.

Guard Robert Hunt was a second alternate, running back Chuba Hubbard was a fourth alternate, and punter Johnny Hekker was the fifth alternate. So even if they don't end up in Orlando, Fla., for the all-star event, it shows that people around the league noticed what they were doing this year. Cornerback Jaycee Horn was the only Panthers player named to this year's Pro Bowl.

As an offensive lineman, Hunt's stats are harder to quantify, but there are signs.

For one, he's played all 967 of the Panthers offensive snaps, the only player on the team to do so.

But he's also added the kind of personality and performance they were looking for when they signed him as a free agent from Miami last offseason.

The Panthers were last in the league in total offense last season and allowed 65 sacks, a function of playing seven different left guards and eight different right guards over the course of the year.

Now, they've proven they can run the ball, and they've cut that sack number nearly in half, allowing 36 in 16 games.

He's also made some of the kind of individual plays that get people's attention, with some disrespectful blocks that were examples of his kind of power and athleticism.

For Hubbard, the numbers are easier to see.

He set new career highs with 1,195 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season, and was recently named NFC offensive player of the week for his 152-yard day against the Cardinals, which featured a game-winning touchdown in overtime.

The stats are always good, but there's more to Hubbard, as he remains one of the hardest workers on the team. That's why the Panthers rewarded him with a contract extension in midseason, to keep him around as one of the leaders here. The former fourth-rounder ascended to this kind of position the hard way — by putting in the kind of extra time few players do, honing his craft.

For Hekker, it's a bit of a lifetime achievement award for being so consistently good for so long.

He was the All-Decade punter for the 2010s, and he's continued to play at a high level.

Last week, with three punts inside the 20, he passed Matt Turk for 11th place in that category on the league's all-time list (and he's three away from the top 10). He has punted 70 times this season for 3,183 yards (45.5 avg.), with 22 landing inside the 20 and only three touchbacks.