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The Carolina Panthers have, well, kinda stunk the past few years—but at least they have something to show for it. And what they have, as a result of five straight losing seasons, is a pretty solid core.
ESPN Sports Analytics writer Seth Walder recently ranked the league’s 32 cores, which are groups of players who are considered the cornerstones for each franchise. For Carolina, Walder earmarked quarterback Bryce Young, outside linebacker Brian Burns, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, cornerback Jaycee Horn and offensive tackle Taylor Moton—who combined for the 23rd position on the list:
The four names after Young are good-to-very-good players either entering or in their prime. But none are truly elite at their respective positions, so it’s hard to see Carolina being any higher here with a totally unproven quarterback, even if he was the No. 1 overall pick in April.
Despite the rave reviews Young has received to this point in offseason workouts, Walder isn’t wrong. We’ll get a better picture of how worthy he was of that first selection when he actually takes an NFL snap.
Luckily, since he’s already (unofficially) captured the top spot on the depth chart, we won’t have to wait long when those snaps begin to go down.
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