Now that the Carolina Panthers have secured an actual quarterback—and with the No. 1 overall pick, no less—they should be moving up in the football world, right? Well . . .
Pro Football Focus recently released their post-2023 NFL draft power rankings, highlighting each team’s gains and losses from the entire offseason. And the Panthers, who sat at No. 25 in the prior set, trip down to No. 28.
The blurb, courtesy of Amelia Probst and Arjun Menon, reads:
The Panthers used free agency to add solid players in tight end Hayden Hurst and running back Miles Sanders. They also improved upon a safety unit that ranked 30th last season in PFF grade by signing Vonn Bell.
The last time Carolina had a quarterback with a passing grade of at least 70.0 was in 2018 with Cam Newton and Kyle Allen. Bryce Young, who the Panthers drafted No. 1 overall, may be a game-changer after he earned a 91.3 passing grade at Alabama in 2022. And he has a fellow rookie weapon in Jonathan Mingo, who the team selected in Round 2.
Arguably the biggest reason for optimism about the Panthers finally righting the ship is the coaching staff they’ve assembled. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero excelled in Denver in recent years, and senior offensive assistant Jim Caldwell and senior defensive assistant Dom Capers both have head coaching experience.
The all-star staff, one led by head coach Frank Reich, also includes offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and assistant head coach Duce Staley. That trio—along with Evero—may, in fact, be in the mix for various head-coaching vacancies come 2024.
Carolina’s offense may also have a couple of future all-stars in quarterback Bryce Young and Mingo, their first two selections of the draft. Their class then rounded out with linebacker DJ Johnson in the third, guard Chandler Zavala in the fourth and safety Jammie Robinson in the fifth.
