CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers’ rookies report for training camp Tuesday. Veterans join them Wednesday and the team will hold its first practice Thursday.Seemed like the perfect time to take the pulse of a fan base that celebrated the end of a seven-year playoff drought last season when the Panthers won the NFC South with an 8-9 record and pushed the Los Angeles Rams to the limit in a 34-31 loss in a wild-card matchup at Bank of America Stadium.A little more than 1,000 readers participated in our annual summer survey, a 17-question exercise that included questions ranging from the tenure of owner David Tepper to the prospects of undrafted rookie Haynes King — and everything in between.Let’s get to the results.Jonathan Brooks is at the center of the Panthers' lingering questionsJoseph PersonNearly half of respondents believe the Panthers should extend Young with a contract that puts him among the top 15 highest-paid quarterbacks in the league. That’s an interesting inflection point on the QB salaries list. According to Over the Cap, Daniel Jones is the 14th highest-paid QB with an AAV of $44 million, while former Panthers and Super Bowl-winner Sam Darnold is 15th at $33.5 million. A pair of NFL talent evaluators in January said they thought the Panthers should offer Young an extension averaging about $33 million, putting him on pace with Darnold and Baker Mayfield, another ex-Panther who is currently 16th on the QB money list behind Darnold.Fans liked the team’s offseason moves (as we’ll see in a bit). But it’s a homegrown player who collected more than half the votes as the defensive player likely to make the biggest impact. Brown bagged a career-high five sacks in 2025 after missing all but one game the previous season. He added 73 tackles and seven batted passes, and was miffed that his strong return from knee surgery didn’t earn him a second Pro-Bowl berth. He’ll get another shot this year on a defense that should benefit from the additions of Phillips and Lloyd.This was a tight one between Brooks and Scourton, the second-year outside linebacker who tied Brown as the team sack leader as a rookie. Scourton is slated to start opposite Phillips, whose history of getting in the backfield could force a lot of action Scourton’s way. I thought Coker would get a bigger share of the vote, although Coker isn’t sneaking up on anyone after passing Xavier Legette as WR2 late last season.Another fairly tight race with Hunter, the second-round defensive lineman, besting Freeling, the first-round offensive tackle from Georgia. A couple of factors likely contributed, including the uncertain status of veteran DL Turk Wharton following a neck procedure in the spring. Meanwhile, the Panthers could bring Freeling along slowly at left tackle, where free-agent acquisition Rasheed Walker is expected to enter camp as the starter.The Panthers made Jaycee Horn the league’s highest-paid corner in 2025 with a four-year, $100 million deal, which has since been eclipsed by Derek Stingley, Sauce Gardner and Trent McDuffie. Jackson won’t be in that stratosphere, but he is looking for a bump after outplaying the two-year, $10.5 million extension he signed last year. GM Dan Morgan was noncommittal after the season on Jackson, who had four interceptions and a league-high 19 PBUs in his age-28 season.Readers don’t see T-Mac suffering through a sophomore slump, with 95 percent of respondents expecting the Offensive Rookie of the Year to finish with 1,000 receiving yards or better.Like McMillan, fans are bullish that Young will build on his career passing year from 2025. About 93 percent believe Young will throw for at least 3,000 yards, with 3.1 percent predicting a 4,000-yard passing season.Freeling might not begin the year as the starter, but a majority of readers expect him to end the season atop the depth chart. Freeling only started 17 games at Georgia, so most experts thought he would need some time to develop. The wild card is Ekwonu, who underwent surgery in January after rupturing his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Rams. Dave Canales said in June that Ekwonu was “crushing” his rehab and would play this season at some point.Brooks was the overwhelming pick here, with the most lopsided result from any of the questions. Brooks’ returning at a high level following two ACL surgeries not only would be a great comeback story; it would be a much needed development for a running back room that looks a little light following the free-agent departure of Dowdle.Respondents think Young should get paid and will have a good season passing-wise. But he’s also fans’ chief concern, ahead of the pass rush and the tight end room, which has been a source of worry for many fans since the team moved on from Greg Olsen after the 2019 season. There were a bunch of write-in responses, including the difficulty of the schedule, which is a valid concern.Playoffs?!? Survey says … maybe?Out of 1,003 responses, only three graded the offseason moves as a D. There were no Fs. Hang this report card on the fridge or take it to Krispy Kreme for some glazed goodness.Most fans are taking a wait-and-see approach with Idzik, the 34-year-old who’s never called plays on a full-time basis. But a third of respondents feel good about what the offense will look like under the first-time play-caller.Nearly 83 percent of fans believe the Panthers will improve on their 8-win season from a year ago.Tepper has stayed mostly in the shadows the past couple of years, which likely contributes to his improved approval rating. In this year’s NFLPA survey, Panthers players gave Tepper a B-minus overall, but an F for the artificial surface at Bank of America Stadium.Back-to-back playoff berths — who says no? Less than 30 percent of respondents.Panthers fans will enter the season riding the high of a team that looks to be on the upswing.