Carolina Panthers
Projected Cap Space: $12 million
Draft Picks: 9
- 1st (No. 8)
- 2nd (No. 57)
- 3rd (No. 74)
- 4th (No. 110)
- 4th (No. 113, DAL)
- 5th (No. 141, NYG)
- 5th (No. 147)
- 5th (No. 164, BAL)
- 7th (No. 229, SF)
Notable Free Agents:
- LB Shaq Thompson
- G Austin Corbett
- G Brady Christensen
- QB Andy Dalton (re-signed, two years $8M)
- S Xavier Woods
- CB Michael Jackson Sr.
- G Cade Mays (RFA)
- TE Tommy Tremble
- TE Ian Thomas
- S Jordan Fuller
- S Nick Scott
- S Sam Franklin
- DT DeShawn Williams
- CB Caleb Farley
- WR David Moore
- P Johnny Hekker
- K Eddy Pineiro
- LS J.J. Jansen
Top Three Needs
1 – Defensive Line
This legitimately could have read “Top Need: Defense” but lumping too many position groups together kind of defeats the purpose of this exercise. Still, the Panthers set records on that side of the ball in 2024 and not in a good way. Carolina’s 534 points allowed were the most in NFL history. The 3,057 rushing yards allowed were over 650 yards more than the next closest team. Opponents had over a 50 percent success rate and the Panthers had negative 220 EPA on defense — or in other words, their defense was 220 points worse than average. They predictably finished last in the league in a variety of categories, including pressure rate at just 16.2 percent despite blitzing the eight-most of any team.
So yeah, the team needs help on defense and the rebuild should start up front. The Panthers traded away OLB Brian Burns last offseason and lost DT Derrick Brown to a season-ending injury in Week 1, leaving an already thin unit hopelessly overmatched from a talent perspective. Brown will be back and veteran DL A’Shawn Robinson is a solid player, particularly if there’s help around him. But DT Shy Tuttle could be a cap cut and overall an infusion depth and at least another starting caliber player is needed.
On the edge, the Panthers have Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum who were signed last year to replace Burns. Clowney was solid, starting 14 games and tying for the team lead with Robinson with 5.5 sacks. Wonnum had four in eight games after missing half the year with complications from his rehab for a torn quad that ended his 2023 season. Both players would be better served coming off the bench or at least playing in a heavy rotation rather than being primary starters like they were asked to be last season. Each player is only under contract for one more season as well. No one else on the depth chart registered as much of a factor.
Overall, it’s not a stretch to say the Panthers need to rebuild their entire front outside of Brown, with more help on the interior and potentially a brand-new edge rusher room by 2026.
2 – Pass Catcher
Defense certainly stands out as needing more attention than the offense in Carolina, especially after the team successfully overhauled the offensive line last year. The resurgence of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young also knocked quarterback way down the list of potential needs for now. Yet the Panthers are far from a finished product on that side of the ball.
Carolina established a physical identity behind a burly offensive line and a breakout year from RB Chuba Hubbard. Young started looking more like he did at Alabama, and veteran WR Adam Thielen was a steady presence once again, leading the team in receiving yards despite missing seven games with a hamstring injury. Rookies like first-round WR Xavier Legette, UDFA WR Jalen Coker and fourth-round TE Ja’Tavion Sanders all showed flashes.
But a starting skill position lineup of Thielen, Legette, Coker and Sanders is not going to scare opposing defenses. The Panthers need more juice on offense, whether it’s more speed to threaten deep, more threats to create yards after catch or just players who are true threats to win one-on-one matchups more often. Carolina should and likely will be opportunistic looking for those players in free agency, the draft or even the trade market, whether it’s adding another receiver, a tight end or even a speedy pass-catching back to complement Hubbard.
3 – Secondary
Getting back to the defense, Panthers CB Jaycee Horn was the best defensive player on the team, Carolina’s lone Pro Bowl selection and a strong candidate to sign a lucrative extension as he heads into a contract year in 2025. Outside of Horn, every other spot in the secondary should be up for grabs.
Four safeties are on expiring contracts for Carolina, so some change will come naturally as new faces are cycled in. Out of everyone, Woods is probably the most worth bringing back as long as he doesn’t break the bank, and Franklin is a good special teamer. Ideally though the Panthers would upgrade with two new starters here.
At corner, Jackson held his own after arriving at the end of the preseason in a trade from the Seahawks. He got plenty of action across from Horn and started all 17 games, knocking down that same number of passes plus two interceptions. At minimum, he wasn’t a liability. His market will be interesting to monitor but the Panthers will likely look to bring him back if he doesn’t cost too much, but add competition in either the draft or free agency. Competition for Chau Smith-Wade and Dane Jackson at nickel corner is needed as well, and Jackson could be a cut or pay-cut candidate.
One Big Question
Can Young and Canales take another step?
By the end of the year, the Panthers were about where they hoped to be after hiring HC Dave Canales. There were a couple main reasons Carolina pursued the first-year coach, and a not-insignificant one was that he wanted the job. But the Panthers were also impressed by Canales’ background with Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and Seahawks QB Geno Smith as both revived their careers from dead to thriving, and they wanted him to have a similar impact on Young.
They got there eventually but it was a far rockier journey than anyone probably expected. Young regressed so hard in the first two games this past year that Canales benched him for Dalton with no clear timetable of when or if Young would return to the lineup. Young came up in trade calls around the deadline, and it really seemed like the Panthers would be considering moving on after the season.
Then Dalton injured his thumb in a freak car accident and Young was pressed back into the lineup. And he wasn’t great but he was a lot better than the first two games so he got another start. He improved some more and more importantly, the Panthers beat the Saints, so Young got another start. Then the Panthers won two in a row, then they took the Chiefs and the Eagles to the wire in back-to-back games, then they won two of their final three in overtime against teams fighting for playoff spots, all the while Young looked more and more confident.
By the time Young scored five touchdowns in a season-ending win over the Falcons, the vibes were as high as they could be for a five-win football team.
Now it’s about what’s next. Can Young build off that momentum and continue to look like the player most of the NFL thought the Panthers were getting with the No. 1 pick? Can Canales keep improving, giving Young the support and tools he needs to be successful while guiding the rest of the roster back into hopeful relevance?
Both men showed a lot more reason for optimism than the numbers suggest but it won’t mean a thing if those numbers — wins and touchdowns — start going up in 2025.
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