The 2017 season was mostly wasted for every Panthers rookie, except for Christian McCaffrey.

Limited opportunities and a rash of injuries resulted in Carolina getting almost zero production and development from their first-year players, CMC excluded. Here is a look back on the frustratingly invisible Year One results. All snap counts per Football Outsiders.

Christian McCaffrey, Running Back, 1st Round

Key Stats: 16 games, 1,086 yards from scrimmage, 7 touchdowns

No complaints here. It was a very good year overall for CMC.

Curtis Samuel, Wide Receiver, 2nd Round

Key Stats: 9 games, 15 receptions, 115 yards, placed on IR after Week 10

Through Week 8 Samuel had caught just seven passes for 47 yards, and then the Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin. With more opportunity in front of him, Samuel caught three passes for 23 yards in week 9 followed by five receptions for 45 yards in Week 10. But Samuel was injured in the Week 10 games against the Dolphins and then placed on injured reserve, ending his season just as he started to find his groove.

Taylor Moton, Offensive Lineman, 2nd Round

Key Stats: 16 games, 64 offensive snaps, 75 special teams snaps

So how did Taylor Moton play 64 offensive snaps while Amini Silatolu played 256? Moton was healthy all season and appeared in all 16 games, but it seems like the Panthers largely wasted Moton’s rookie season by rarely having him on the field.

Daeshon Hall, Defensive End, 3rd Round

Key Stats: 1 game, suffered season-ending injury in Week 1

Hall’s rookie season ended nine snaps into his NFL career after suffering an injury in Week 1 that ultimately landed him on the injured reserve. Such an unfortunate waste of Year One.

Corn Elder, Cornerback, 5th Round

Key Stats: Placed on injured reserve before season began

Though Elder was a late-round pick, it was likely he would’ve made the 53-man roster. But as with fellow rookies Curtis Samuel and Daeshon Hall, injury derailed Elder’s first NFL season before it began. He was placed on the IR on September 3, 2017.

Alex Armah, Fullback, 6th Round

Key Stats: 9 games, 47 offensive snaps, 148 special teams snaps, 2 tackles

Armah was drafted, released, signed to the practice squad, then promoted to the 53-man roster after Week 2. He played just 47 offensive snaps, primarily as a lead blocker, but he was a regular special teams contributor.

Harrison Butker, Kicker, 7th Round

Key Stats: Placed on practice squad, signed by Kansas City Chiefs, made 38 of 42 field goals

Let’s not talk about Harrison, okay? Just drop it already! Shut up! I said SHUT UP!

Bryan Cox, Defensive end, UDFA

Key Stats: 7 games, 130 defensive snaps, 43 special teams snaps, 6 tackles

Cox was signed to the practice squad after going undrafted and was promoted to the 53-man roster after Week 3. He played sparingly and recorded six tackles over seven games. It is promising, however, that an undrafted rookie was able to average nearly 20 snaps per game (over seven games) on a defensive line that was loaded with veterans.

Demetrious Cox, Cornerback, UDFA

Key Stats: 4 games, 38 defensive snaps, 40 special teams snaps, 4 tackles, placed on injured reserve after Week 7

Cox went undrafted and was then signed by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals released Cox and the Panthers swooped in and claimed him off waivers. But as with other Panthers rookies, Cox played sparingly, got hurt, and was placed on injured reserve after Week 7.

The Summary

Yeesh! That’s a pretty depressing Year One for the 2017 draft class outside of Christian McCaffrey.

To summarize, four rookies had their seasons derailed by injuries: Curtis Samuel, Daeshon Hall, Corn Elder, and Demetrious Cox.

While second round pick Taylor Moton was healthy all season, he somehow played just 64 offensive snaps while Amini Silatolu played 256. Pro Football Focus gave Moton a grade of 63.6 while Silatolu received a worse grade of 40.5. Investing these snaps in an ineffective vet like Silatolu instead of giving them to a promising rookie like Moton seems like a wasted opportunity to develop a high draft pick.

Alex Armah did what is hoped from a sixth rounder – make the roster and contribute on special teams – but nothing more. Bryan Cox played a fair amount for an undrafted rookie, which is promising.

It’s hard to complain about getting such minimal production from the rookies when the Panthers went 11-5 and made the playoffs, but it still does feel like a lost season in terms of developing the next wave of players who hopefully become future starters. The goal for next season is that each of these guys can step up and help fill some of the Panthers very visible roster gaps at wide receiver, offensive line, defensive end and cornerback.

Maybe next year…