More times than not in this thing we call the National Football League, you only go as far as your quarterback does. And for the Carolina Panthers, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be going much of anywhere in 2022.
Or at least that’s how Pro Football Focus lead analyst Sam Monson sees it—as he buried the Panthers near the bottom of his most recent set of power rankings.
“The Panthers may have done well to emerge from the draft with a rookie quarterback without spending the sixth overall pick on him, but that still leaves a starting battle between Sam Darnold and a player the rest of the NFL didn’t want for over 90 picks,” writes Monson, who places Carolina at No. 29. “Matt Corral ran a very RPO-heavy offense in college (over 40% of snaps), so his ability to translate to the NFL is a big unknown. Overall, Carolina made some nice moves this offseason, but its quarterback situation could be crippling.”
If the season were to begin today (and thankfully for the Panthers, it doesn’t), head coach Matt Rhule would be entrusting the fate of his team and his job security in Sam Darnold. That, obviously, isn’t exactly ideal given how the bottom fell out from the former third overall pick in 2021 following a solid 3-0 start.
Additionally, while Corral does bring a small ray of hope to the franchise, asking a third-round rookie to steer this shaky ship back in the right direction is, well, not quite fair. These situations, with very little immediate clarity, will continue to leave the door open for a possible acquisition of one Baker Mayfield, Jimmy Garoppolo or even Cam Newton as we inch closer to Week 1.
But, as for the “nice moves” Monson alludes to, Carolina is in a much better spot to help whoever is under center in the fall. Rather than throwing behind a patchwork bunch that resulted in 12 different offensive line configurations this past season, the Panthers’ starting quarterback-to-be will have first-round pick Ikem Ekwonu and free-agent additions Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman there to help.
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