Marty Hurney Ranks Higher in GM Rankings Than Expected

The Panthers GM is getting a little love from the folks at Rotoworld

Over the years, the Carolina Panthers have been a fairly decent football team, but haven't been great under general manager Marty Hurney. Aside from the 2003 Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, he has put together teams that are really just average.

Recently, NBC Rotoworld, put together an article ranking every NFL GM from 1-30 (two teams have new GM's). Patrick Daugherty placed Hurney 20th on his list, ahead of Duke Tobin/Mike Brown (Bengals), Mike Mayock/Jon Gruden (Raiders), Steve Keim (Cardinals), Bill O'Brien (Texans), Jason Licht (Buccaneers), Dave Gettleman (Giants), Joe Douglas (Jets), Ryan Pace (Bears), Dave Caldwell (Jaguars) and Bob Quinn (Lions).

Despite not having a ton of success in terms of the win-loss column, Hurney has done a terrific job of hitting on his early round draft picks such as Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson, Christian McCaffrey, and D.J. Moore. With that said, you would think that with the amount of star power the team has had, that it would be a reflection of their record - it does not.

One thing Hurney is notorious for is giving player big contracts when they are past their prime or maybe just spending a little too much on a player than what they are really worth. This is why the Panthers dead cap is the worst in the league sitting at $41 million. Guys like Matt Khalil, Trai Turner, Eric Reid, Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, Dontari Poe, Cam Newton, Mario Addison, and others are where the team's dead cap is coming from. Being in this tight of constraints cap wise makes it extremely difficult to build your roster and improve it by getting quality guys in free agency. 

I would've expected Hurney to be somewhere in the 23-26 range on this list, so Daugherty is not off by much. The folks he's ranked ahead of are guys that are in similar situations or are teams that seem to be stuck in neutral. Hurney's hiring of Matt Rhule and decision to take Teddy Bridgewater over Cam Newton will play a huge role in whether his ranking should increase or decrease. If it pays off, he'll look like a genius. If not, well, you know.

What do you think about Marty Hurney being ranked as the 20th best GM in the NFL? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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