Some people, including general manager Scott Fitterer, may argue that the Carolina Panthers have the sexiest head coaching vacancy in the game. But Pro Football Focus lead NFL analyst Sam Monson is not one of those people.
This past week, Monson power-ranked the league’s five current openings. Coming in at No. 4 is the Panthers—who, as he writes, have a big problem at the sport’s biggest position.
“[Sam] Darnold showed just enough potential to suck some back into the idea that he could finally become the player he was supposed to be, but relying on it going forward feels like madness given the number of previous false dawns in his career,” Monson notes.
“The issue the Panthers have is available alternatives. Matt Corral, a rookie third-round pick in 2022, missed all season with an injury and can’t be expected to contribute anything, and the team picks only at No. 9 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“Maybe that will be enough to get them a rookie they are comfortable with, or maybe they will have to be the team that rolls the dice on the likes of Derek Carr as a reclamation project via trade.”
2023 will very likely mark the fourth consecutive season in which the Panthers go into Week 1 with a new starting quarterback. So, yeah, that’s not exactly ideal.
They do, however, have a lot of other pieces set up. Carolina may not have their situation settled under center, but they do roster talented young pillars such as left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, wide receiver DJ Moore, defensive end Brian Burns and cornerback Jaycee Horn.
Assets aren’t an issue either. Along with having the draft’s ninth overall selection and a nice set of picks from the San Francisco 49ers to support it, the Panthers will be rolling over the second-most unused cap space into 2023.
Nonetheless, they sit as the second-least appealing job in Monson’s rankings—with the Denver Broncos at No. 1, the Indianapolis Colts at No. 2, the Houston Texans at No. 3 and the Arizona Cardinals at No. 5.
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