Rookie safety Zakee Wheatley is in line for a bigger workload when the Carolina Panthers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. With the secondary thinned by injuries, the Panthers may need the fifth-round pick to play a high number of snaps again.
That possibility matters now because Carolina is trying to keep its strong start moving against a Tampa Bay team that likes to throw the ball down the field. The Panthers went 3-2 through the first five weeks of the NFL season, and Bryce Young has been playing at a very high level, but the defense is entering the game short-handed with Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson both on injured reserve.
Wheatley has already shown he can handle more than a small reserve role. So far this season, he has 18 total tackles, two pass deflections and one forced fumble, and last week against the Philadelphia Eagles he played 52 defensive snaps, the most of his career so far. That kind of workload suggests the Panthers trust him more than a typical rookie safety at this stage.
The problem for Carolina is that trust may not be optional on Sunday. Baker Mayfield is set to return as Tampa Bay's starting quarterback, and the Buccaneers are expected to challenge the Panthers' secondary early and often. If Wheatley is on the field for another heavy snap count, it will be less of a developmental opportunity than a necessity created by injuries around him.
The Panthers have spent the season trying to stabilize a defense that has been a work in progress at times, even with offseason investment, and Week 7 will test that depth again. For Wheatley, the next step is simple: match the rise in responsibility with another composed performance when the ball starts flying his way.
