Carolina Panthers' PFF rankings highlight their biggest offseason personnel needs

Examining where Carolina ranks in each part of the game according to PFF's grades going into Week 14.

Tim Weaver | 10 Hours Ago

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 24: Nazeeh Johnson #13 of the Kansas City Chiefs defends Xavier Legette #17 of the Carolina Panthers during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium on November 24, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are heading into Week 14 on a roll, at least as far as these Carolina Panthers are concerned. While they've lost their last two games they had a real chance to win both, and easily could have had a four-game winning streak going heading into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

While they have shown genuine promise and progress these last few weeks (especially Bryce Young at quarterback) there's still a ton of work for this franchise to do before they're ready to compete with teams like the one that's about to blow them out on Sunday.

The team's current rankings in different parts of the game according to Pro Fooball Focus highlight what their most-important personnel needs are. Here's where they rank in each department.

Panthers PFF grades, rankings - Week 14

Overall: 64.4 - ranks 31st

Offense: 70.1 - ranks 25th

Passing: 68.4 - ranks 22nd

Pass blocking: 72.6 - ranks 12th

Receiving: 62.3 - ranks 32nd

Running: 80.0 - ranks 13th

Run blocking: 70.4 - ranks 8th

Defense: 45.9 - ranks 32nd

Run defense: 45.9 - ranks 31st

Tackling: 56.0 - ranks 13th

Pass rush: 52.3 - ranks 32nd

Coverage: 61.1 - ranks 21st

Special teams: 59.3 - ranks 31st

Offensively the biggest need is clearly more help at wide receiver, where Adam Thielen is currently by far the best pass-catching weapon on the roster. They should not only re-sign Thielen, but they also need to draft another receiver no later than Round 3 - it wouldn't hurt to draft another capable pass-catching tight end to pair with Ja'Tavion Sanders, either.

Defensively they clearly need help at all three levels, with the possible exception of cornerback where they've hit on a solid trio of Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade. They need help at safety, they need depth at linebacker, and they need to radically upgrade both their edge rotation and their interior defensive line. Right now our favorite path is trading down from the fifth overall spot and then using the first two picks on the best iDL and edge prospects on the board.