Newton leads NFL, Panthers' rookies

Cam Newton may be the highest profile rookie in the NFL with the season getting underway this weekend, but he’s got some company regarding the green factor on his own team.

The Carolina Panthers made Newton the top pick in last April’s NFL draft after he won the Heisman Trophy and led Auburn to the national championship. The Panthers saw the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Newton’s physical attributes and their mouths watered. They also regarded his winning nature and felt taking him with the top pick was a no-brainer.

Joining Newton in their first true NFL experiences when the Carolina Panthers visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday (4 p.m. EST) are six other rookies. Newton is excited, and he knows everything will be amped up much higher than in preseason games.

“Going from the preseason to the regular season, every game counts now,” Newton said this week. “Everybody’s going to have a different swagger about themselves.”

Newton is rare in that he’s a rookie starting his pro debut, and even rarer that he’s doing so as a quarterback. With the franchise tag already essentially emblazoned on his shoulders, that’s a lot of pressure for someone who started only 13 games in major college football.

But Newton won’t allow himself to get psyched out.

“I imagined nothing,” he said, when asked what he thought his first game week would be like. “I’m just happy that I have the ability that I am playing and that I’m starting in this league.”

Familiarity will accompany Newton on his first road trip, as a former Auburn teammate, Lee Ziemba, is also making his professional debut. Ziemba, an offensive tackle selected in the seventh round, helped protect Newton during last season’s magical run for the War Eagles.

The other rookies making the trip are third-round picks Sione Fua, a defensive tackle from Stanford, and Terrell McClain, a defensive tackle from South Florida, offensive guard Byron Bell (New Mexico), cornerback Josh Thomas (Buffalo), and wide receiver Kealoha Pilares (Hawaii).

Bell and Thomas were signed as undrafted free agents, while Pilares was a fifth-round selection.

Carolina will rely heavily on Fua and McClain along the defensive interior. It’s a rough place for rookies to acclimate themselves to the next level, and the Panthers will suffer as the pair go through growing pains.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera doesn’t want excuses, he wants his guys to perform, regardless of their experience level.

“Well, they’re professionals,” he said about the young bigs who will start up front. “That’s just the way it is. I am concerned, obviously, because they lack experience. But, they’re professional football players, and I expect them to perform and maintain and do their jobs.”

Pilares’ speed and ability to run through and by would-be tacklers helped earn him a spot on the roster. He’s listed third on the depth chart, which makes him the team’s fifth receiver, but he has the potential to move up to the fourth or even third spot before long. He will also return some punts.

Darvin Adams, WR (Auburn), Bryant Browning, G (Ohio State), Kendric Burney, CB (North Carolina), Thomas Keiser, DE (Stanford), Greg Smith, TE (Texas), and Lawrence Wilson, LB (Connecticut), are all rookies on the 8-man practice squad. Zach Williams, an offensive lineman from Washington State, is on the injured reserve list.

The football universe knows the Carolina Panthers will rely on rookie Cam Newton, but he isn’t the only newbie being counted on to produce if the team is going to exceed expectations.