Frank Reich and Bryce Young have already made a believer out of one of our friends.
Jarrett Bailey over at Touchdown Wire has just released his first set of power rankings for the 2023 campaign. And all the way at No. 15, in perhaps the highest spot you’ll see them in at this point, are your Carolina Panthers.
Bailey writes:
Carolina has welcomed back its wayward son, Frank Reich. After 2022 brought the Panthers nothing but noise and confusion, they are hoping 2023 gives them a glimpse behind any sort of illusion to have them soaring ever higher. Along with having the NFC South’s best head coach, they also have the best defensive coordinator in the division after Ejiro Evero. Evero’s arrival does bring a scheme switch to a 3-4 base, but the personnel they have is more than capable of making it work. All of this is capped off and centered around their No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, who is surrounded by a coaching staff with a lot of quarterback experience. I like what the Panthers are building, and spoiler alert, they are my pick to win the NFC South.
That flattering reasoning, obviously, has the Panthers sitting above the entire NFC South in the preseason ranks. They’re also positioned higher than a few playoff teams from last season—including the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants.
After coming up just one game short of the division crown in 2022, Carolina has seemingly found a happy medium between rebuilding and retooling this offseason. Hopefully for them, their new all-star coaching staff and new franchise quarterback are enough to push them over the top and keep them in the upper half of the league.
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