news-engine

After a lackluster play-calling debut for Carolina in week one of the 2026 preseason, Brad Idzik showed he could adapt and elevate his roster in week two against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brad Idzik Rebounds in a Big Way for Carolina Idzik has coached alongside Dave Canales for seven years, first with the Seattle Seahawks (2019-22), then with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2023). Two common threads run through those organizations: elite receiver play. In week two, Idzik began to show why he was integral to those locker rooms. Play-callers are often hamstrung by unbalanced rosters. If the team is weak in one area, it’s easy for a coach to overreact and pour a lot of effort into filling that hole. This is true for specific position groups, too. A Receiver Whisperer? At wide receiver, for example, there’s a consensus that outside (X and Z) receivers are more valuable than slot-centric players. The theory behind this is that slot players are closer to the line of scrimmage and the quarterback, and therefore easier to get the ball to (ie, you don’t have to be a talented slot receiver to command a high target share). Apply this theory to the Panthers’ receiver room. Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina’s second-year stud, is 6’5″, 212 lbs. This is a prototypical build for an X receiver, and indeed, McMillan spent the majority of his rookie year on the outside. But advanced analytics show that McMillan is more dangerous when lined up in the slot; he was the ninth-best receiver in the league in 2025 when aligned there. Jalen Coker is the team’s primary slot receiver, running nearly 60% of his routes from the slot. But Coker is 6’3″, 213, and 264 of his 390 yards came from the outside in 2025. Now the Panthers are faced with an interesting question: do they force Coker into a full-time outside role to maximize McMillan—the team’s best weapon? In preseason week two, Idzik seemed to answer that question. The offensive starters only played two drives, but Idzik made those reps count. McMillan took four of his seven snaps from the slot, catching two passes for 25 yards (a 17-yard catch-and-run and an 8-yard hitch that took the Panthers to the Jaguars one yard line). McMillan’s frame is too large for any slot corner to handle, and he is too fluid for the majority of pass coverage linebackers. This makes him an even easier target than most from the slot, which is perfect for Bryce Young, who has proven to need easy answers from the players around him. Idzik, Balanced Playcalling It wasn’t only the receivers who benefited from Idzik’s scheme. Monroe Freeling, Carolina’s first-round tackle, struggled in his preseason debut against the Buffalo Bills. He felt flat-footed in pass protection and overwhelmed as a run blocker. But Idzik played to his rookie strength in week two. He was able to get Freeling downhill early, attacking second-level defenders and utilizing his elite movement skills. Additionally, Freeling played more pass protection snaps than in week one and allowed zero hurries on his QB. Running behind Freeling was Jonathon Brooks, who was able to showcase his explosion for the first time in nearly two calendar years. Though Brooks still has to wait to see the volume he was drafted for, it was encouraging to see him rush for two first downs and a one-yard touchdown. Idzik also found ways to weaponize auxiliary pieces like Jimmy Horn Jr. The second-year receiver is not likely to become a household name—as his frame is too thin to support a large NFL workload—but Horn Jr. is becoming a fan favorite nonetheless. Idzik schemed up a 39-yard end-around for Horn Jr., which would have been a house call had it not been for a shoestring tackle by Jacksonville safety Rayuan Lane III. The Grain of Salt It’s important to note that Jacksonville did not play its starters in week two. While it’s promising to see Carolina’s young players have preseason success, it’s important to ask whether Freeling and Rasheed Walker would have protected Young against Jacksonville’s star edge rushers. Additionally, big-ticket guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis were active in week two after sitting out against the Bills starters in week one. Would Brooks have been able to replicate his success if he were not running behind those marquee interior protectors? Idzik has proven that he can tweak his scheme from week to week and that when he establishes balance, he can integrate creativity well. But he has not proven that he can sustain success against starting defensive lineups. That test won’t come for another three weeks, and that one won’t be graded on the preseason bell curve. More NFL News Do the Bears Have the Blueprint for Caleb Williams to Capture the NFL MVP Award? J.J. McCarthy Rumors Suggest Low Chance of Trade Ahmed Hassanein: Lions 2026 Training Camp Standout