Carolina Panthers
2019 Record: (5-11) 4th NFC South
2019 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 21.2 (20th)
Yards: 341.8 (19th)
Pass Yards: 228.1 (20th)
Rush Yards: 113.7 (14th)
Defense
Points: 29.4 (31st)
Yards: 374.5 (23rd)
Pass Yards: 231.0 (13th)
Rush Yards: 143.5 (29th)
When we take a look back at what the
Carolina Panthers were and subsequently what they should’ve been in 2019, the
outlook is vastly different. Long gone is the fabulous 2017 campaign which saw
the Panthers strike fire to finish 11-5, making it clear this club is in
transition.
After yet another sub-par finish while
missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons, Carolina parted ways with their
long time bench boss Ron Rivera. While it’s easy to place the blame on the head
coach, many obstacles lead to their demise in 2019. First and foremost, the
recurring injuries to Cam Newton placed this unit in dire straits as they were
forced to roll with a revolving door at the quarterback position. Leaning on
Kyle Allen as the primary replacement, Carolina was forced to play rookie Will
Grier when Allen’s play leveled off. While it’s difficult to give a proper
evaluation for this team without all their pieces on the field at the same time
- questions have risen to if Cam Newton will return to the fold.
In terms of positives, Christian
McCaffrey once again established himself as one of the best players in the NFL
with his ability to run and catch everything to come his way. Securing that
coveted 1000 yard receiving and 1000 yard rushing mark in the same season was
truly a sight to see. McCaffrey was the clubs number one option each and every
week. Adding to that, the emergence of DJ Moore also provided some level of
relief, as he too earned his first 1000 yard receiving season in his young
career.
All-in-all, over the past number
seasons, this roster inadequacy was covered up with the play of Newton and
McCaffrey. Seeing a new head coach (Matt Rhule) enter as the new boss in hopes
to turn the entire organization around – more growing pains will be felt before
it all gets better.
2020 Offseason WorkBook:
The Offense
Starting at the quarterback position, as
we mention, the future of Cam Newton in Carolina is justly in doubt. At this
point of his career, it’s apparent that his throwing shoulder and mechanics
have been altered so much that it’s nearly unrecognizable. Even when Newton was
on the field, he was seen to be missing fairly routine passes. Perhaps Newton
was playing hurt for longer than we all know and hopefully for his sake all the
issues have been corrected this off-season. If the Panthers do move in another
direction, we are very curious to witness the path taken.
In terms of the running back position,
Christian McCaffrey should again be the standard in which this offense
operates. While Coach Rivera continuously overused his star back, could we see
his workload lightened under this new regime? That question will be answered
this off-season if the Panthers sign or draft another runner to the mix. With
that, there will be growing concern to overusing McCaffrey and exposing him to
injury if the amount of touches remains consistent. Either way, the Panthers
are set at running back barring unforeseen issues to their star.
Coming into this off-season, we would
absolutely love to see the Panthers add play-making receivers to help DJ Moore.
While we do like and appreciate the body of work from Curtis Samuel, he tends
to disappear without notice struggling to find open room on the opposing secondary.
For our appetite, securing a big bodied pass catcher to play opposite Moore,
while keeping Samuel in the slot and duel threat from the back field, would
create massive mismatches. Utilizing the talent which they do employ should be
the first item on the agenda for Coach Rhule. Mismanagement of talent is
something Ron Rivera did and we’ll see if that’s corrected.
In terms of the tight end position, the
Panthers have removed their long time staple (Greg Olsen), as injuries and
growing concern that his ability is on the decline, they removed his contract
from the books. Looking to Ian Thomas and possibly another to upgrade the
position, it will be a changing of the guard so to speak. And while the jury is
still out on Thomas, we do like his skill set.
The Defense
Heading back to review the defensive
side of things, more shocking then the lack of splendid play on the field – the
Panthers felt shock-waves when their super star linebacker Luke Kuechly
announced his retirement after the season. While this was a surprise, not one
of us can argue the choice made as his brain health was the most important.
After suffering many concussions throughout his career, the one which stands
out the most was his uncontrollable tears and body language after a big hit
back from 2016. And while this defense had a number of sound pieces to help
move a roster re-tinkering in the right direction, losing Kuechly is a massive
blow.
Even as we suggest this defense had
potential, there are many concerns which rest on this unit overall. The
defensive front was a positive in how they were able to attack the quarterback.
Between Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, Brian Burns, Kawann Short, Mario Addison and
company – the Panthers excelled in the sack department dropping opposing
passers 53 times in 2019. With this fortitude, Carolina was able to play better
pass defense for majority of the season.
And while we see positives that was the
defense front, many changes will be coming with team free agents stacked
against them this off-season. In some respect, we wouldn’t be surprised to
witness a full tear down in hopes to recoup funds while rebuilding the
team.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
As we highlight the number of team free
agents the Panthers have to consider this off-season, some big names sit on the
list which totals 23 overall. And while some will be thought to be shoe-in’s to
be brought back, Carolina sits with a mere 32 million in free cap space.
Going back as we spoke so highly of this
defensive line and the 53 team sacks they helped to get, Dontari Poe, Gerald
McCoy, Mario Addison are all vying for new deals. In Poe’s case, the Panthers
hold the club option on his current contract which would pay him a mammoth 13.4
million in 2020. At that price tag, it could be difficult to witness him return
to the fold. Removing that contract would only place 3.3 million to dead cap,
which is a great positive to the books. With that, choices will have to be made
on whether to bring back McCoy - where Addison should be a lock to return.
Other notable names that should be in
the conversation to return would include – Daryl Williams, Tre Boston, James
Bradberry and of course restricted free agent Kyle Allen. However, if McCoy
also finds his way into their long term plans, extra money will have to be
added somewhere in cap cuts.
Again we jump back into the debate on
what to do with Cam Newton? Currently he rests atop the money earners this club
pays and could get out from under his deal with a meek 2 million placed in dead
funds. Successively, Carolina would save 19 million if Newton was removed from
the roster. With those added funds, teamed with not exercising Poe’s club
option, the Panthers could add an additional 29 million to the books giving
them a healthy 61 million to play with.
These moves will have to be made if the
Panthers want to keep the defense intact and re-tinker the roster, rather than
fully rebuild.
The NFL Draft
A major step in reloading a roster
always begins with solid drafting. The Panthers currently hold all their draft
picks heading into the NFL Draft and will have the opportunity to secure high
end talent selecting seventh overall in the first round.
Coach Rhule can literally move in any
direction and should have the upper hand coming from the college ranks knowing
these players intimately. Selecting the best offensive or defensive linemen
would be safe picks, as they look to improve on both sides, while getting
younger and filling holes which could be left to team free agents. The
interesting aspect could rest if the Panthers choose to jump into the
quarterback frenzy and pilfer one of the drafts top prospects.
While we speculate for the sake of this evaluation,
we could see Carolina be the largest wildcard in the top 10 of this year’s
draft. Everything will look much clearer after the roster shakedown before and
right after the free agent period opens. Either way, Panther fans should get
ready for more pain before pleasure.
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