Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan may have hit a couple of 11th-hour home runs just before the 2026 NFL season began. He signed veteran tight end Darren Waller and inside linebacker Bobby Okereke late in free agency, filling two of the team's biggest roster holes.
Waller and Okereke aren't just proving to be replacement-level starters, either. Both are already producing big dividends in their respective roles.
Okereke was a standout in Sunday's 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons—and through two games, he's totaled 15 tackles and an interception. Meanwhile, Waller has become a serious red-zone threat for the Panthers offense, as Bleacher Report details, here:
In his age-34 season, Darren Waller isn't going to rack up a ton of receiving
yards, but he can be a key asset in the red zone . . . In Sunday's blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons, he scored twice on passes within 12 yards of the end zone. With Waller involved in the passing game, Bryce Young doesn't have to solely rely on wideout Tetairoa McMillan when he throws inside the 20-yard line.
Waller also scored a touchdown in Carolina's Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears, but it was called back by a very questionable offensive pass interference penalty. Otherwise, he'd already have three scores.
Other new additions such as edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and inside linebacker Devin Lloyd are also producing positive results early in the season on defense. Phillips is up to 2.0 sacks and Lloyd just dropped the first stat line of its kind (nine tackles, two interceptions, a touchdown and a sack) in Week 2.
There are still some big questions about this team—and the fact that they're allowing more rushing yards than anyone else by a wide margin again is one of them. But right now, it seems like Morgan has managed to bring this roster up another notch.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' last-minute addition of veteran TE already paying off
