According to a pair of NFL Network analysts, the Carolina Panthers are absolutely primed to pounce on a vulnerable NFC South.
The first of the two, former Super Bowl-winning executive Marc Ross, was drinking the process blue Kool-Aid right at training camp in Spartanburg, S.C. on Monday. He told reporter Sara Walsh that this year’s No. 1 overall pick is the division’s No. 1 quarterback, and that should go a long way.
“Well, No. 1, Bryce Young’s the best quarterback in the division right now,” Ross stated on NFL Total Access. “I’m takin’ him. Sorry to Derek Carr and all them and [Desmond] Ridder, but I’m takin’ him.
“But also, the foundation that he has. This is a talented team. This isn’t your typical ‘No. 1 pick in the draft’ team that has no talent. They have talent all up and along the board. Young talent, veterans that we’ve talked to. And also, an unbelievable coaching staff led by Frank Reich. Really, an all-star cast in the coaching staff. So he’s got the foundation on field with the talent and an unbelievable coaching staff with the foundation off the field.”
Reich, general manager Scott Fitterer and owner David Tepper did indeed bring in quite the staff. The group features two former head coaches in senior assistants Jim Caldwell and Dom Capers and three men who have garnered interest for head-coaching positions in offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
Walsh and Ross then sent their segment into the studio for host Patrick Claybon and former NFLer Bucky Brooks, who compared Young’s Panthers to Russell Wilson’s Seahawks.
“When I look at this team, really, it reminds me a lot of when Russell Wilson came into the Seattle Seahawks in the early 2010s,” Brooks said. “They’re a little underrated in terms of what his immediate impact would be. But with Bryce Young, you know what the impact is going to be because we’ve seen him do it—every stretch of the way.”
Hmmm. Fitterer, who was a key member of the Seahawks front office during that successful run, would probably like to hear that.
Brooks continued.
“Defensively, they’re good enough,” he added. “They have enough weapons on offense to get it done. And what Marc Ross talked about—the coaching staff. This is a coaching staff with a ton of experience and expertise. They know how to win. They will win with Bryce Young at quarterback. Yes, the Carolina Panthers are going to the playoffs and they should go with a banner saying that they won the NFC South.”
And if they do, it’ll be their first such banner since 2015.
