The Panthers stand at a crossroads heading towards the 2020 league year and this offseason has already seen some remarkable personnel changes.
Matt Rhule has replaced Ron Rivera’s old staff with a group of mostly untested college coaches. All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly suddenly retired, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the defense. Long-time tight end Greg Olsen was released and has signed with the Seahawks. More huge changes may be coming down the line, as well.
There will always be questions about quarterbacks going into the last year of their contracts, especially ones who have had three surgeries in as many years. Cam Newton’s future seems to be particularly up in the air, though after team owner David Tepper’s comments about his health and an unusual lack of public commitment from the front office for a franchise QB.
What comes next for Carolina depends on what they plan to do with Newton. If they want to keep him, it will affect how they retool the roster in profound ways.
If not, then it makes sense to embrace a total rebuild.
Should the Panthers decide to go that route, the first thing they’ll need to do is start accumulating draft capital. The team has massive gaps on its depth chart at several important positions and addressing them all will be impossible unless they add more picks.
Trading down from the No. 7 spot in the 2020 NFL draft (and perhaps trading down again later) is a good place to start.
It’s also worth considering dealing the team’s most valuable players in order to accumulate more capital. With that in mind, here are the top three guys with the most trade value on the roster.
CB James Bradberry // RB Christian McCaffrey // QB Cam Newton