Coming off the 2023 campaign, the Carolina Panthers had a host of issue to address heading into the offseason, from head coach after the firing of Frank Reich, offensive coordinator after the destroyed relationship with Thomas Brown, and most notably, how can Carolina stop rookie QB Bryce Young from dying on the field? During that rookie campaign, Bryce Young was sacked the 7th most times in a single season with 62, while watching the #2 pick in QB CJ Stroud march towards a playoff win and Offensive Rookie of the Year.
What do we do first?
While we might try to put the 2023 season behind us and pretend like it doesn’t translate year to year, let me give you some stats to show you how bad the team around QB Bryce Young truly was:
Offense:
32nd in Passing Yards with 2,741
31st in Passing TDs with 13
32nd in NY/A or Net Yards gained per pass attempt at 4.2
31st in First Downs with 150
32nd in Yards Per Play with 4.1
30th ranked Completion% at 59.7%
All while running the 10th most plays with 1096
Defense:
4th in Points Allowed with 416
32nd in Sacks with 27
30th in QB Pressure% with 17.2%
32nd in QB Hurry% at 3.4%
1st in Missed Tackles with 131
10th worst Rushing Defense allowing 2,081 yards
1st in Rushing Touchdowns allowed with 25
Snap back to reality, 2025
Carolina is again coming off of a league-worst defense that also lost Pro-Bowl DT Derrick Brown on its way to getting more great draft position, yet in 2025, the offensive line has not only been improved but bolstered in a way that few thought Carolina could ever return too. After the signing of former Buccaneers OC Dave Canales, predicted by Roll Coverage in this video here, he immediately began a full rebuild of the offensive line, something he saw translate heavily at both his previous locations of Seattle and Tampa Bay.
March 13th, 2024, Dave Canales and GM Dan Morgan sign two dynamic guards in Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt, shoring up the concern that many had for this offensive line, the interior. OT Taylor Moton was continuing to produce at a high level, while allowing LT Ikem Ekwonu to continue to develop on the left side. Continuing to learn about Canales, his run style prefers running behind guards, as we saw in Tampa Bay in 2023, now getting a major boost in Carolina with arguably a top-5 offensive line. Pay wise, they may have lost a bit of grasp on the future building of the team by making this offensive line one of the highest paid as well.
As the team moves into the season, the offensive line resembles one from 2024 which dominated the line of scrimmage while helping RB Chuba Hubbard achieve a new height in his career and protecting Bryce Young more than 2023. Those improvements are the ones that are going to continue to push this team towards not only a winning team, but maybe a playoff team. While it may also be too early to predict a playoff appearance, I do believe that the long-term opportunity of this team can and will continue to move in a positive direction as long as HC Dave Canales is given the runway to do so. I believed in you before you even took the interview, and I won’t shy away from that, I believe in Canales.
#KeepPounding
