Panthers Near Bottom of ESPN’s NFL Roster Rankings
The Carolina Panthers have the 25th-best roster in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. Although it seems extremely low, it's actually about right when you look at the other teams toward the bottom ten of the league.
The only two that are listed ahead of Carolina that should be lower, in my opinion, are the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders.
The Bears have a lot more questions than answers on defense and I would argue that from top to bottom, the Panthers have better weapons surrounding their young quarterback. Not to mention, Carolina's offensive line is certainly in a better place.
As for Washington, they're not even sure if Sam Howell is their guy at quarterback. To me, that's really the only difference between the two squads, so I would have given the edge to the team with the higher upside QB and that's Carolina with Bryce Young.
Here is some analysis from Mike Clay on the strengths and weaknesses of the Panthers.
Strongest unit: Off-ball linebacker. Good, consistent linebackers are hard to find, but Carolina has found one in extremely-underrated Shaq Thompson, who has registered 100-plus tackles in four straight seasons. He'll be joined by versatile LB/ED Frankie Luvu, who has bloomed since signing with Carolina in 2021. The depth is shaky, but a deep safety room will help in that department.
Weakest unit: Wide receiver. Carolina traded away DJ Moore in the deal for eventual No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young. That left a major hole at wide receiver, which was "filled" by DJ Chark (19 missed games over the last two seasons) and 32-year-old Adam Thielen. The team also spent a second-round pick on Jonathan Mingo and will hope youngsters Terrace Marshall Jr. and Laviska Shenault Jr. make a leap.
Over the course of the season, we'll all realize that the Panthers have at minimum, a top 20 roster. This is assuming that Bryce Young stays healthy and is as good as advertised.
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