2026 Season Opener Countdown: 72 Days Remaining

Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.

#72. Blake Brockermeyer

Blake Brockermeyer is a football player that could have only existed in the 90s. You don’t get football players named Blake Brockermeyer anymore (except for his son James who signed as an UDFA with the Falcons a couple months ago).

Brockermeyer was one of three first round picks made by the Panthers in their first foray into the NFL Draft in 1995. They did some trading down and some trading up to end up with the fifth, 22nd, and 29th overall picks in that draft. With the 29th pick, they took Brockermeyer.

Brockermeyer immediately slid in as the team’s first ever starting left tackle and acquitted himself very well. He started all 16 games as a rookie and was voted to the NFL’s all rookie team by the Pro Football Writers of America. He continued as the team’s starting left tackle in his sophomore year but was limited by an injury late in the season. He eventually worked his way back into the starting lineup early in year three and held down the role until he departed the team via free agency after the following season.

It’s hard to really paint a picture of the contributions of an offensive lineman, especially one that played back in the 90s before there were detailed analytics and advanced stats that could provide some sort of metrics to measure offensive lineman abilities. Still, Brockermeyer’s status on the all rookie team and somewhat extended tenure as the team’s starting left tackle deserves notice. And he gets bonus points for being the team’s first ever left tackle. That makes him number 72 on the list of greatest Panthers of all time.