Until further notice, the Carolina Panthers offense is headed by the trident of Bryce Young, Miles Sanders and Adam Thielen. So if we compare that combination to the rest, what is this three’s company?
CBS Sports writer Jared Dubin recently ranked the NFL’s 32 quarterback-running back-wide receiver trios. And being that each player for Carolina’s bunch has something to prove, they stack up at No. 28 on the list.
Dubin writes:
Like [C.J.] Stroud, Young is not exactly surrounded by a bevy of skill-position talent. He does have a stronger offensive line in front of him and a veteran back in Sanders, but his top receivers are likely Thielen and D.J. Chark, barring rookie Jonathan Mingo stepping in and immediately asserting himself as the best pass-catching option. For that reason, this group ranks pretty low leaguewide, and barely escaped being ranked inside the bottom tier.
To get out of that second-to-bottom tier, each Panther has a big question to answer.
Is Young the real deal? Can the No. 1 overall pick live up to the billing and finally give this organization a long-term answer under center?
Can Sanders thrive as the three-down, bell cow back? The former Philadelphia Eagle ran for career-highs across the board in 2022, but can he do it again as the premier option out of the backfield?
And what does Adam Thielen have left? While he has recorded 30 touchdowns over his last three seasons, the soon-to-be 33-year-old isn’t the Pro Bowler he once was.
We’ll just have to wait and see how the reconstruction of the team helps address those cliffhangers.
