The Panthers’ roster is not nearly as strong as it used to be. When the team almost went undefeated and made a trip to the Super Bowl during the 2015 season, they were stacked on defense at all three levels and led by a remarkable athlete in his prime at quarterback.
These days, this is a much different-looking team. In some ways, that script has been totally turned upside down. While that once-strong defensive unit has been decimated, the Panthers now have far better offensive weapons than they ever did at any point during Cam Newton’s peak years as the starter.
According to Bill Barnwell at ESPN, Carolina’s weapons are ranked No. 5 in the NFL heading into the 2020 season. That’s one spot higher than the Saints and a huge jump from last year when they were ranked No. 22. The big push up comes from the development of Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore.
“Everybody knows that McCaffrey is a star, but even given those numbers above, I’m not sure people are appropriately valuing Moore. The 2018 first-rounder finished with 1,175 receiving yards despite catching passes from Kyle Allen and a compromised Cam Newton. Moore could be a top-10 receiver with better quarterback play from Teddy Bridgewater this season.”
That he definitely could be.
Moore also has two very solid receivers behind him on the depth chart in Curtis Samuel and Robby Anderson, so Bridgewater won’t have the excuse that he doesn’t have firepower. If the new-look offensive line is even average in pass protection, he should be in for a career-best year.
As Barnwell mentioned, the big question mark is tight end Ian Thomas. The Panthers seem to have faith in him to step into Greg Olsen’s former role. If they’re interested in an upgrade, they should consider calling the Browns about David Njoku, who has requested a trade.
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