My personal favourite team in the NFL, but trust me, there is no bias here. My team has been bad and will continue to be bad.
Strength
The Panthers were not a very good football team last season, but they did excel on the defensive side of the ball. They ranked second overall in the NFL for yards conceded and showed flashes of greatness.
Considering their first-round pick in the 2021 draft, Jaycee Horn, tore his Achilles in the third game of the season, adding him back into the mix could make this defence a reason for Panthers fans to be excited.
Weakness
While the offensive line was bad last season, management did a fantastic job upgrading throughout the off-season, so the glaring weakness is quarterback. Sam Darnold has been bad and despite being hyped, rookie Matt Corral isn’t ready to be an NFL starter.
Darnold had nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season and struggled immensely passing the ball. Reports are that Darnold looks good, but I want to see it before buying in.
Player to watch
I mentioned earlier that the Panthers defence was the shining light and a big reason for this has been Brian Burns. He has been a big-time edge rusher but in his three NFL seasons so far hasn’t had double digit sacks in a season.
In year 4, I feel like this is the year that Burns can have 10 or more sacks and announce himself as one of the best edge rushers in the NFL.
Who’s under pressure?
There are two men under pressure, and considering I have already spoken about Sam Darnold, Matt Rhule is under my microscope.
His speciality as a college coach at Baylor and Temple was the third-year jump and his job relies on doing that this year. With an overall record of 10-23 in the NFL, I can’t see anything less than a winning season saving his job.
Projection
While I think this Panthers team isn’t actually as bad as some people in the mainstream NFL media are saying, I am not sure it’s enough to save Matt Rhule his job.
I am excited to watch this young defence and the excitement around Matt Corral is real for the future, but with Darnold as the current starter, it is hard to have any sort of confidence in this team.
Win/loss: 6-11.
Sheikh
Roar Rookie
The news today is that the Panthers have traded a conditional draft pick in either '24 or '25 to Cleveland for 2018's #1 draft pick Baker Mayfield. Interesting that they have done this considering they have Sam Darnold (2018's #3 pick) and Matt Corral (highly rated, but 3rd round in this year's weird draft). Do you think this means that they've had a look at Corral and think he's not an immediate starter, but they don't trust Darnold either? Or are they just hoping that one of the three QBs works out?
Jake Smith
Roar Rookie
First of all I just wanna say Thankyou for the support on the series so far, it’s awesome to find passionate NFL fans on this platform! I think your point is valid and our run defence was bad, but I don’t think interceptions are the barometer for good pass defence. When looking at the Panthers season it was either this or field goal kicking for the strength :laughing: Overall I am cautiously optimistic about the O-Line and the team as a whole but I guess we will wait and find out!
Sheikh
Roar Rookie
I know what you mean about Darnold; he was a great college QB but he seems to have found the step up to the pros a little too hard. Although playing for the Jets and Panthers last year hasn't made his transition easier. I'm always a little wary when a team has a stat like being the 2nd best team against the pass. The Panthers were the 18th best team against the run, plus were 30th in total offense, so I suspect that opponents thought: "Why not just run against these guys?" With the exception of the last game against the Buccaneers, no team put more than 36 points on the Panthers last year. With no-one getting more than 2 interceptions and only one player with double-digit sacks (who's now left) the Panthers don't seem like a scary prospect to throw against, but keeping the ball on the ground offers fewer opportunities for turnovers (and Darnold fumbled as often as he threw TDs!) Losing Reddick will hurt, and I hope Burns can pick up the slack. The O-line upgrades are interesting: Bozeman is a brawler and could be an absolute steal on his 1-year contract; Corbert has signed a huge 3-year deal, and played well last season, but in the two years before had started just 8 games; I hope he's worth the money, but I suspect he may be expensive because of his most recent game, and it's not like his play won the Superbowl. And Ekwonu was the first offensive player taken in the draft. If these guys can open up holes, and McCaffrey can stay fit, the Panthers will look a completely different side, regardless of Darnold or Corral's play.