ESPN Ranks Panthers' Core Near Bottom of NFL

Where's the love at for Carolina's young group of stars?

There's been a lot of excitement surrounding the Carolina Panthers this offseason as they've finally found their franchise quarterback, we believe, in Bryce Young. 

The Panthers have built a solid core of players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball over the last few years. This offseason, GM Scott Fitterer made several moves in free agency for the offensive side bringing in guys like RB Miles Sanders, WR Adam Thielen, WR DJ Chark, and TE Hayden Hurst to help out the rookie quarterback and with how the roster is currently constructed, they're in a position to compete in the NFC South immediately in the Bryce Young/Frank Reich era.

However, not everyone is on board with what the Panthers are building. At least not yet. In a recent article by Seth Walder of ESPN, Carolina's core of QB Bryce Young, RT Taylor Moton, DT Derrick Brown, OLB Brian Burns, and CB Jaycee Horn rank 24th in the NFL.

"The four names after Young are good-to-very-good players either entering or in their prime. But none are truly elite at their respective positions, so it's hard to see Carolina being any higher here with a totally unproven quarterback, even if he was the No. 1 overall pick in April."

Maybe it's because I'm around the team 24/7 but I don't see how Brian Burns isn't considered an "elite" player at his position. Is he a top five pass rusher? Maybe not yet, but he's at least in the conversation. And you could also argue that when healthy, Jaycee Horn is one of the top corners in the league. 

There are certainly a few teams in Walder's rankings that I would move below Carolina, such as the Vikings, Steelers, Broncos, and Titans. But at the end of the day, a lot of this comes down to the unknown of Bryce Young. If he lives up to the hype of the No. 1 pick, I'm sure Carolina's core is valued much differently.

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