CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Dave Canales believes in rookie outside linebackers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen already.

But he's going to need to rely on them more than ever this week.

With veteran starters Patrick Jones II and D.J. Wonnum already ruled out of the Week 4 matchup, Scourton and Umanmielen are in line to start Sunday against the Patriots, four weeks into their NFL careers.

Scourton did start last week with Jones inactive, but now the second- and third-round picks will be on the field together, and a lot.

Both saw their workloads increase significantly in last week's win against the Falcons. Scourton played a combined 40 snaps in the first two games and 56 last week against Atlanta. Umanmielen had 21 snaps in the first two games combined and 34 last wee

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