CBS Picks Panthers to Finish Last in NFC South

Carolina predicted to be the division's worst yet again.

Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Very few are going to be jumping on the Carolina Panthers bandwagon in preseason or even the first month or so of the regular season. Until they prove they've taken a step forward, you'll continue to see national media outlets set a low bar for Dave Canales in his first year on the job.

Garrett Podell of CBS Sports becomes the latest to predict the Panthers to finish dead last in the NFC South.

"The Panthers were on a mission to upgrade the offensive environment surrounding Young over the last few months. They were big spenders in free agency when it came to the offensive line, inking longtime Seattle Seahawks starting guard Damien Lewis to a four-year, $53 million contract as well as signing former Miami Dolphins guard Robert Hunt to a five-year, $100 million deal with $63 million guaranteed. However, expecting him and Carolina to go from two wins to out of the basement in one year feels like asking for too much too soon." 

In a lot of ways, he's right. It's pretty unfair to expect they can climb out of the cellar, especially when the rest of the division got better. That being said, it's still a pretty weak division and if Carolina can catch fire during the lighter portion of the schedule - weeks 5-10 - then finishing third or higher isn't all that far-fetched.

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