The Panthers, who finished 7-10 in 2022, haven’t had much success since their run to the Super Bowl during the 2015 season. Since that team went 15-1 and lost to the Broncos in Super Bowl 50, the Panthers haven’t won a playoff game and have one postseason appearance.
The Matt Rhule era ended midway through his third season, and the team traded its best offensive weapon (Christian McCaffrey) shortly afterward. Carolina fans could be forgiven for not expecting much from the team in 2023, but there are reasons to believe the worst part of the post-Super Bowl storm is over.
1. New coaching staff
Steve Wilks did enough to have the interim head coach tag removed from his title, but Carolina hired Frank Reich as head coach. He was unceremoniously dumped from the Colts after the team failed to find consistency at QB.
Reich got off to a strong start with several coaching hires praised by people around the league, per Pro Football Talk)
He added two former head coaches — Jim Caldwell (Colts, Lions) and Dom Capers (Panthers, Texans) — as senior assistants and former Rams assistant head coach and tight ends coach Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator.
Perhaps most importantly, Reich landed former Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who was a Carolina head-coaching candidate, as DC.
2. Defensive talent
Evero will have plenty of talent to work with. Defensive end Brian Burns and tackle Derrick Brown give the Panthers two pillars along the line. Young defensive backs Jaycee Horn, 23, and safety Jeremy Chinn, 24 can be the backbone of a strong secondary.
Carolina’s strength is arguably its linebackers, with Cory Littleton, Frankie Luvu and Shaq Thompson forming one of the best starting linebacker groups in the NFL. Per Pro Football Focus grades, each finished the season in the top 25 out of 81 linebackers.
3. Strong running game
Carolina’s midseason trade of McCaffrey didn’t have a major negative impact. If anything, the Panthers were better without McCaffrey, which can be filed away in the “strange but true” folder for the 2022 season.
Carolina was 1-5 with McCaffrey and 6-5 without him, and a large reason why was the backfield, spearheaded by D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard.
Foreman finished with 914 yards rushing on 203 carries (4.5 per carry). Hubbard missed two games but had 95 carries for 466 yards and two touchdowns.
Foreman is a 2023 free agent, and with the Panthers a little more than $10 million over the cap, per Spotrac, the team may need to rely on Hubbard while exploring the draft for running back depth. The team should retain its core along the offensive line, which will benefit whoever ends up in Carolina’s backfield.
“I know we can run the football, and we’re going to run the football,” Reich told reporters at his introductory news conference.
The rushing attack gives the Panthers an offensive identity, something no other team in the division has as we approach the start of the league year.
