Christmas comes early for Panthers against Cardinals.
With a league worst two wins in 2023, the Carolina Panthers made some big moves in the offseason.
Even with some promising replacements, Panthers fans reserved the right to be pessimistic. After all, David Tepper has not overseen a successful Panthers team in his six-years as owner.
The attempt at a rebuild by firing and hiring coaches and general managers has been done before. And failed.
In the build-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said his season expectations for the Panthers were that of the 2023 Arizona Cardinals.
That meaning, the Cardinals only won four games but with first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon they were exciting and fun to watch.
Even with quarterback Kyler Murray injured until Week 10, they were able to show positive signs and cause upsets. In Week 3 they beat a 2-0 Dallas Cowboys while in Week 17 they beat an 11-4 Philadelphia Eagles.
With Gannon at the helm and a healthy Murray, a top running back in James Conner and a young star tight end in Trey McBride, the Cardinals went into the 2024 Draft with the fourth overall pick and selected one of the all-time great wide receiver prospects in Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Cardinals have seven wins this season and continuing to develop into future playoff contenders.
Ironically, it was the Cardinals that the Panthers beat this past week. Carolina claimed their fourth victory of the season, doubling last season’s efforts under Frank Reich.
I predicted a four-win season, or at least as a minimum acceptable benchmark. With two games left this season against beatable divisional opponents in Tampa Bay and Atlanta, 5-6 wins would serve as a great season – in my own humble opinion.
Time to focus on defense
Tepper seems to have taken a well-needed backseat role to allow new hires general manager Dan Morgan and executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tillis to work alongside head coach Dave Canales to get the organisation running.
With only one offseason under their belt, fans are already excited about the progression of the team. Particularly the resurgence of Bryce Young under Canales’ guidance.
With work started on offense, the attention must turn to defense. Three of the first four picks of the last year’s draft were used on offensive weapons with an undrafted receiver emerging as a top talent. Some $153million was then spent on two new free agent guards.
With four wins this season, Carolina are guaranteed a top 10 draft pick – maybe top five depending on results.
Run defense has been the weak point of the team this season. With improvements made to the defensive unit and the continuous development in the young offense and coaching staff, the Panthers are building something to work on for next season and the future going forward.
