The Carolina Panthers were one of the best teams in the NFL last season. They had one if the best defenses in the league and Cam Newton became one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. The Panthers started off the year really slow but picked up steam throughout the rest of the season. Last year the Panther offense was decent but they definitely relied on the defense to carry them through the season. Even though the offense wasn’t the best unit on the team they still held their own and were able to move the ball and put enough points on the board for them to finish 12-4 and a first round bye in the playoffs.
Currently the unit sits in ruins after losing a couple key players in free agency this year. The biggest issue on the current depth chart is the wide receiver position. Last year the top four guys Ted Ginn, Brandon LaFell, Domenik Hixon, and long time face of the franchise Steve Smith will be moving on to different teams. To have this happen the year after Newton made great strides to becoming a balanced passer is tragic. He will now have to get used to a completely different group of receivers. With at least one of the new guys most likely being a rookie, Newton will also be tasked with grooming a young player as well.
On the other hand the good news is that the rest of the unit remains intact, including arguebly the most important part of the offense which is the line. With four of the starting line returning from last season Newton will already have trust in his guys. Newton was sacked a lot last year but that might be a price of his style of play. Newton likes to try to make plays with his legs as well as with his arm. He is one of the dual threat quarterbacks taking the league by storm. Last year to counter all the sacks he was able to run for 585 yards and six touchdowns.
He also has two running backs that will each probably start if they weren’t on the same team. Jonathan Stewart was injured last season but he is still considered to be a very talented back. His counterpart DeAngelo Williams is also a very talented runner, last year he ran for 800 plus yards while him and Newton held down the running game in Stewarts absence. A solid running game can make up for a poor passing offense even in this new NFL, ask the Kansas City Chiefs.
Finally I’m really excited to see the battle for that number two tight end spot. The tight end has proved to be a valuable weapon for teams that aren’t that deep at receiver. Just a couple years ago the Patriots moved the ball with ease running a two tight end set most of the time. The Panthers Greg Olsen has been one of the leagues top tight ends throughout the years. He’s a very consistent target and has surpassed 800 yards the last two seasons. This year the Panthers brought in Ed Dickson and Mike McNeil to compete for the number two spot behind Olsen. If they can get good production from the tight end spot the loss of the four top receivers can very well go unnoticed.