Cowboys 2025 opponent preview: X-factors for the Carolina Panthers

We are getting closer to football season.

By the time the Dallas Cowboys face the Carolina Panthers in Week 6, we will have gotten an extended look at the team versus the NFC East and the NFC North, games that are important for conference seeding as it relates to the playoffs. While five games do not make a season, they will give us a barometer of what the team is capable of against good teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, and whether they can handle developing teams like the Chicago Bears and New York Jets.

Carolina is a team that is rebuilding, but there is a renewed energy around the team, thanks to how they finished the season under new head coach Dave Canales. Carolina lost seven of their first 8 games in 2024 and were outscored by their opponents 124-271 in those contests. Former first overall pick Bryce Young was benched after two games but managed to regain the starting job in Week 7 and looked like a new man. He had confidence, he had accuracy, and most of all, the team had belief. Carolina would lose three consecutive one-score games against the Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs, all playoff teams, at the tail end of the season. Carolina is a spunky, resilient group with a lot to prove. Here are three players who could come up big versus Dallas when the least expect it.

Mike Jackson

Here’s a name that Cowboys fans may vaguely recognize. Mike Jackson was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2019 out of the University of Miami. Although Jackson was released during final cuts of his rookie season, the team liked him enough to keep him on the practice squad until he was signed to the active roster by the Detroit Lions. For a time, Jackson bounced around the NFL until he found a home with the Seattle Seahawks. While Jackson did play well with his opportunities, he was buried too far on the depth chart behind players like Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon to see adequate playing time. Fast forward to 2024: Jackson is named the starting cornerback for the Carolina Panthers opposite of Jaycee Horn and has his best season as a pro.

Per PFF, he ranked tenth among qualified cornerbacks in solo tackles with 67 and ranked seventh in receptions allowed. Furthermore, Jackson had 17 passes defended, which was tied for third in the league last season. He looks every bit the part of somebody who has had to claw his way to stay in the NFL, let alone be in a starting lineup, and it shows in how he plays. He aggressively plays the ball through the hands of wide receivers to dislodge the ball at the catch point. He’s chippy and he fits exactly what Panthers defensive coordinator Eviro Evero wants from his cornerbacks. While in terms of talent, the Cowboys still have the advantage at wide receiver, Jackson has the mentality to spoil the reunion with the Cowboys.

Ja’Tavion Sanders

Collectively, the Panthers’ offense last year was largely disappointing. Although Chuba Hubbard saw success and rushed for nearly 1,200 yards, the passing game was mostly non-existent in the early part of the season as Young and Andy Dalton alternated starts up until the halfway point of the season. Much of that falls on the arm of Bryce Young, who, again, to his credit, made strides towards the end of the season. The Panthers are searching for any type of consistency in the passing game its and its wide open as to who could step up to warrant more targets. One option that stands out is tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Though his production was modest last year, he was still sixth on the team in receiving yards and fourth in receptions.

Sanders has great vision with the ball in his hands and is simply too fast for most linebackers to keep up with. He makes very difficult catches thanks to his premier athleticism. If given the chance, he can run away from a defense down the seams. He can be flexed in the slot or lineup as an in-line tight end and is better than advertised as a blocker. Sanders could make a back-breaking play if the Cowboys aren’t careful.

Xavier Legette

Similar to Sanders, Xavier Legette is a wild card that could elevate the Panthers’ passing game. Despite his size at 6’3”and 227 lbs., Legette can play outside as the X receiver or in the slot. He’s got very good change of direction at the top of his routes and can easily separate from a defensive back across the field. To no one’s surprise, with his height, he’s got a big catch radius and can haul in difficult throws away from his body. He’s also very fast and can stretch the field vertically. On the negative side, he does need more refinement on his routes and doesn’t have the same gear coming out if his breaks throughout his route tree. Plus, there are lapses with concentration that lead to drops, and he had five last season. He has the talent to be a difference-maker in the game; it’s just whether he’s got it in him to consistently get the better of the Cowboys’ secondary.