Now that the pencils are down, did the Carolina Panthers ace their biggest offseason in recent memory? Well, not exactly—at least according to one league expert.
Pro Football Focus lead NFL analyst Sam Monson recently handed out offseason grades for all 32 teams. He gave the Panthers, who have flipped the face of their franchise with a new coaching staff and new quarterback, a solid ‘B+.’
Monson writes:
The Panthers deserve credit for aggressively attacking the quarterback position. After being patient the past couple of years, they had enough and traded the No. 9 overall pick to Chicago to control the draft with the first selection. The price was very steep, but it meant they came out of the draft with Bryce Young, the top quarterback available and a player who was often talked about as having generational talent if he just stood 6-foot-2 instead of 5-foot-10.
Replacing D.J. Moore with a collection of veterans and the draft was likely as good as the Panthers could do, while Andy Dalton is a solid mentor for Young even if the talk of him actually starting the season is likely just offseason coach speak. Chandler Zavala in the fourth round of the draft is a player who could easily wind up starting games for Carolina at guard, and a really nice pick in a draft that contained just five selections after their trade.
General manager Scott Fitterer and owner David Tepper spent much of this B+ offseason building a nest for their next choice under center. From hiring a former quarterback and offensive-minded head coach in Frank Reich to signing the likes of veterans in Dalton, Adam Thielen and DJ Chark and to drafting fellow rookies in Zavala and wideout Jonathan Mingo—Carolina made sure to accommodate the quarterback position.
And perhaps, with a little time and money left, the Panthers can earn a bit of extra credit if they decide to add an impactful pass rusher to the mix.
