Offense 

The Panthers largely kept this roster the same on the offensive side of the ball but for good reason in my opinion. While I’ll admit it was rough throughout points of last year and you want to limit your chances of getting back to that point I think this coaching staff will have more stability and peace of mind knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are compared to last year where it felt like they were searching for those game to game. You know you can lean on the run game with Chuba Hubbard as your lead runner and some solid depth pieces (Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne (Georgia)) behind him along with this awesome OL that they’ve built here. Along with the running game I personally feel that this passing game will take a big step next season because of the growth we saw from Bryce Young down the stretch of last season and the much more complete passing catching room that suddenly has depth now with the additions of Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) and Jimmy Horn Jr (Colorado) through the draft. 

I think a group on this offense that deserves to be talked about more is this OL room. They were put in some tough positions early last season due to the lack of rhythm and timing in the passing game which led to them “giving up sacks” and in turn making their offense predictable as far as running the ball goes. Now that this passing offense looks to be more stable and capable this upcoming season this OL group should have a much easier time and I think by the end of this year they’ll be looked at as one of the better groups in the league. This starting group of Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt, and Taylor Moton may not have All Pros or Pro Bowlers across the board but they also don’t have a weak spot that DCs can target and attack either which in my opinion is better than having 3-4 guys that are great and a true weak spot or two paired with them. Along with this starting group you have awesome depth as well with guys like Yosh Nijman and Brady Christensen that have started and could start for other teams and some promising younger guys like Chandler Zavala and Cade Mays that have a shot at being long term depth pieces for someone moving forward. Overall I think this line could be floating around the top ten by the end of this year and should be one of the key strengths for this team moving forward.

Another key piece for this offense is what they get out of the WR room. While I wasn’t the highest on McMillan coming out of the draft and viewed him more as a late 1st/early 2nd Rounder he fits perfectly in the offense and even more importantly with Bryce Young. Young has had so much success with Adam Thielen because of his ability to find and sit in the soft spots in zone and his consistent hands and McMillan does everything that late career Thielen does but better plus more. McMillan thrives over the middle of the field and will act as a QBs best friend when he’s at his best and the only reason I didn’t love him coming out of the draft was his lack of urgency off the line and the on and off motor throughout his routes. If the coaching staff can keep him engaged on a play to play basis he’ll have a ton of success and will pair perfectly with Young. Along with McMillan and Theilen you Xavier Legette who had a up and down rookie year but with more stability at the QB position and NFL season under his belt I expect him to have a bigger impact, Jalen Coker who shined as a UDFA for them last season, and one of my favorite WRs in this past draft in Jimmy Horn Jr who should be a nice change of pace out of the slot for them compared to Thielen. It’s not a perfect room by any means and there’s some projection involved when talking about it but I believe in the talent and I think they’ll have a average room at worst by the end of the year.  

Defense 

Defensively it really starts up front for this team and all the additions they made there.  Adding players like Bobby Brown III, Tershawn Warton, and Patrick Jones II through FA along with Nick Scourton (Texas A&M), Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss), and Cam Jackson (Florida) through the draft shows just how much this group struggled last season for them, especially once they lost Derrick Brown (Torn Meniscus) last season.  Getting all of these guys on the field should have a huge impact on this defense from both a run and pass perspective. Scourton is a high effort big body run defender off the due that gives you some pop as a pass rusher in flashes, Umanmielen has more speed off the edge and while he needs add some strength should give them a nice rotational pass rusher early on with upside to be much more moving forward, and Patrick Jones II really came into his own last season for the Vikings and should give them a nice pop of power and consistency on the edge as well. Brown III and Cam Jackson should add some much needed size and physicality along side Derrick Brown and Warton will give them a high effort pass rusher that can slide inside and out for them along their DL. Overall this group is much improved from last season and while it may not be at its best until some of these guys develop a bit more they should have a solid and at least serviceable group between all of the bodies they have here now.

The secondary I have a few more questions about and worry they may struggle throughout the season if this pass rush doesn’t develop/come along like they’d hoped. Jaycee Horn is awesome on the outside and when he’s healthy is one of the better CBs in the league but aside from him I don’t love the pairing of Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade. Jackson is fine on the outside and will hold down that spot for serviceably for them but counting on Smith-Wade to be your only option nickel is a bit concerning to me,even if he has been impressive in camp. They also don’t have much depth and with injury concern you have with Horn I worry that could create a real weakness on your team down the stretch. At S they added Tre’von Moehrig in FA who’s a solid starter and Lathan Ransom (OSU) who will fly around the field and be a solid pairing along side Moehrig if he beats out Nick Scott/Demani Richardson, which I expect him to do. Overall the secondary is fine but could use more options at slot CB in my opinion and certainly needs more depth in case of injury.

Overview 

• In my opinion this Panthers team has a solid shot at competing for this division and has become a team I trust more than the Falcons or Saints to do so. Will they put it all together and knock off Tampa Bay this year? I wouldn’t bet on it but I do expect them to be more consistently competitive than they were throughout last season. While a lot of that projection hinges on Bryce Young I feel confident that he’s headed in the right direction and while he may not fully live up to being a 1st overall pick I believe he’ll be a plus starter in this league moving forward. This team has some real strengths across their roster including at some really important position groups and I think so long as they find their identity and embrace it they have a real shot at fighting for a wild card spot this year. They’re probably a year/offseason away from being where they really want to be as a roster but in my opinion they’re headed in the right direction for the first time in quite a while which should excite Panthers fans. It may not be perfect this year but they should be far more competitive on a week to week basis and overall should be an enjoyable and entertaining team to watch moving forward.