Jared Harrison-hunte

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

The Panthers secured solid depth at a bargain price with Jared Harrison-Hunte's two-year, $1.8M deal, earning a C+ CVI that reflects reasonable value for a rotational pass rusher. At just $0.9M annually, this represents the type of low-risk investment that contending teams make to shore up their defensive line rotation without breaking the bank. Harrison-Hunte profiles as a developmental edge defender who can contribute on passing downs while learning behind more established starters, making this salary range appropriate for his current skill level. The two-year structure gives Carolina flexibility to either extend him if he develops into a consistent contributor or move on without significant dead money if he plateaus. While this won't move the needle dramatically for Carolina's pass rush, it's the kind of smart roster building that allows teams to allocate bigger money to premium positions while maintaining adequate depth across the defensive front.

Performance Analysis

Jared Harrison-Hunte arrives in Carolina as an unproven commodity, a rookie defensive end who has yet to appear in a single NFL regular-season game and carries the kind of blank professional résumé that makes projections more art than science. At 25, he enters the league slightly older than the typical first-year pass rusher, which adds a layer of urgency to his development timeline with the Panthers. His durability and reliability simply cannot be assessed at this stage — zero games played means zero opportunities to demonstrate he can hold up against the physical demands of an NFL season, and that absence of a track record is reflected in a D+ grade that speaks to the uncertainty surrounding him. Defensive ends live and die by their availability, and the players who reach elite status in this league are the ones who log 128 or more games, proving they can be counted on week after week across multiple seasons — a bar Harrison-Hunte has not yet had the chance to approach. For a Panthers defense in the midst of a rebuild, he represents developmental depth rather than an immediate solution, a body the coaching staff hopes to mold into a rotational contributor as the roster takes shape. The critical thing to watch in 2024 is whether Harrison-Hunte can simply get on the field, stay healthy, and flash enough of the raw attributes that earned him a roster spot to justify further investment in his growth.

Current Sentiment

Jared Harrison-Hunte enters the 2026 season as one of the more intriguing developmental stories on the Carolina Panthers' defensive line, having earned a roster promotion from the practice squad after beginning his NFL journey as an undrafted free agent. His trajectory has drawn modest but genuine attention from the media, with training camp observers noting his surprising competitiveness in what is otherwise a depth-challenged defensive line room. The narrative surrounding Harrison-Hunte is largely positive in tone, framed around an underdog ascent rather than any established pedigree, which generates goodwill but also carries the inherent uncertainty of an unproven commodity. Panthers beat reporters have flagged the defensive line's overall depth as a legitimate concern heading into the season, a context that simultaneously elevates Harrison-Hunte's opportunity and underscores the roster volatility around him. At this stage of his career, perception is driven almost entirely by potential and process rather than production, meaning his standing could shift dramatically — in either direction — based on early-season performance.