The Carolina Panthers may be just one piece away from becoming contenders in the NFC. But that piece is an awfully important one.
This past weekend, Pro Football Focus lead NFL analyst Sam Monson named five teams that he believes are the most likely to improve in 2023. The second team on Monson’s list is the Panthers, who are still looking for that answer under center.
He writes:
It’s hard to imagine a quarterback situation going much worse than Carolina’s has over the last couple of years. The Panthers took a chance on rebuilding Sam Darnold’s career and then took another swing with Baker Mayfield the following year. Both attempts ended in disaster, but the pieces are there for this team to have success if it can finally find an answer at that position. The Panthers’ offensive line rebuild propelled their unit from 31st in the league in PFF’s rankings in Week 3 to a unit that ranked in the top half of the league by the end of the season. They have receivers who are capable of making noise and a defense with plenty of talent. In a weak division, the Panthers could take a big jump in a hurry.
They nearly jumped right atop that weak division this past season, finishing just one game behind the eventual NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In fact, had the Panthers won their Week 17 matchup with those Bucs—one in which they held an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter—they only would’ve needed to top the New Orleans Saints in Week 18 to take the crown.
Nonetheless, Carolina has started 2023 with a bang—assembling an all-star coaching staff headed by Frank Reich. Reich and his crew will be stepping into a building with a relatively rounded roster that features—as Monson noted—a solid offensive line, a legit No. 1 wideout and a strong defense.
All they seemingly need is that darn quarterback.
