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The Carolina Panthers had arguably the worst roster in the NFL last season. It led to the dismissals of general manager Scott Fitterer, head coach Frank Reich, and most of the rest of the offensive staff. Assistant general manager Dan Morgan has taken the lead role in the front office while Brandt Tilis was hired away from the Chiefs to try to help make the pieces fit together.
The new regime has been very aggressive in their attempts to reshape the Panthers roster. They’ve made some sacrifices on the defensive end to stock the offensive cupboards seemingly to get a definitive answer on the Bryce Young question. A lot of parts have moved and a lot are still to move. With that in mind, we’ll look at a rough draft of the Panthers current roster. This might not necessarily be 53 players or roster compliant, but we’re also not going to put every futures contract and likely roster cut on here. It’s just an outline. Projected starters are in bold.
Offense
Quarterback
Bryce Young, Andy Dalton
The Panthers will definitely bring in another quarterback or two around the draft. They may even draft one in the later rounds if someone catches their eye. Either way, Young is going into the season as a definitive starter with a chance to prove that last season was not predictive of the rest of his career.
Running back
Chuba Hubbard, Miles Sanders, Raheem Blackshear, Tarik Cohen, Spencer Brown
Hubbard outplayed free agent acquisition Miles Sanders last year and earned the starting nod. He’ll keep that for now since the Panthers haven’t made any significant moves at his position. That said, this is a prime spot for the Panthers to look for a little more juice if they feel like the opportunity is there.
Wide receiver
Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo, Terrace Marshall Jr., Ihmir Smith-Marsette, David Moore
The Panthers are seemingly a lock to draft another wide receiver near the top of the draft to hopefully fill into one of those starting spots. Jonathan Mingo had a disappointing rookie season and Adam Thielen is another year older. The acquisition of Diontae Johnson is a great starting point, but there’s still a desperate need for more firepower.
Tight End
Tommy Tremble, Ian Thomas, Stephen Sullivan
The Panthers have somewhat surprisingly kept Ian Thomas around to serve as depth at the tight end position. Tremble is the presumptive starter and has shown brief flashes, but it’s not a position of strength right now.
Offensive line
Ikem Ekwonu, Robert Hunt, Austin Corbett, Damien Lewis, Taylor Moton, Brady Christensen, Yosh Nijman, Cade Mays, Nash Jensen, Chandler Zavala, Ricky Lee
The Panthers spent boatloads of money to shore up the interior of their offensive line, which was an unequivocable dumpster fire last season. Center Bradley Bozeman was released and the two most coveted free agent guards were signed. Austin Corbett will presumably be tried out at center while oft started Brady Christensen becomes an all to important depth piece across almost the entire line. On paper, this unit looks like a strength now.
Defense
Interior defensive line
Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, Shy Tuttle, Raequan Williams, Nick Thurman, LaBryan Ray
A’Shawn Robinson was brought in to be an upgrade on Shy Tuttle as a run stuffer and to soak up blockers for Derrick Brown. The depth guys played respectably when needed last season, so there’s not a pressing immediate need to alter this group right now.
Edge
DJ Wonnum, K’Lavon Chaisson, Amare Barno, DJ Johnson
Hopefully one of Barno or Johnson break out this season. Otherwise, the Panthers aren’t looking great here. DJ Wonnum is the only one that’s produced at even a mediocre level in the NFL out of this group. Brian Burns’ departure is going to be felt next season.
Linebacker
Shaq Thompson, Josey Jewell, Chandler Wooten
Again, the Panthers don’t have much going on here. The starters should be passable, but there is quite literally no depth at the position at this point of the offseason. We’ll probably see some late round draft picks or UDFAs filling out the depth here.
Safety
Xavier Woods, Jordan Fuller, Jammie Robinson, Alex Cook
The Panthers replaced the departing Vonn Bell with Jordan Fuller, which should at least be a lateral move. Xavier Woods is good. It’s not the best group, but the Panthers are probably reasonably happy with it aside from needing some camp depth.
Cornerback
Jaycee Horn, Troy Hill, Dane Jackson, Dicaprio Bootle, D’Shawn Jamison
Donte Jackson was traded away to bring in Diontae Johnson and was replaced by Dane Jackson. If Horn can stay healthy, it’s not a terrible group, especially given Bootle’s decent showings when pressed into duty late last season.
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