CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WGHP) — The Carolina Panthers have had one of the more eventful offseasons in the NFL as they traded up to the top of the NFL Draft and had a very active free agency period.
Are those additions enough for the team to compete for an NFC South title in 2023?
Quarterback
| Bryce Young (rookie) |
| Andy Dalton |
| Matt Corral |
The Panthers selected Bryce Young with the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft because they believe that he is a franchise-altering quarterback. Expect him to be the Week 1 starter.
Andy Dalton is a longtime veteran starting quarterback who will serve as a mentor to Young and can play at a starting-caliber level in the event of an injury.
Corral missed all of what would have been his rookie season last year with an injury and will look to establish himself as the Panthers’ long-term backup QB.
Running Back
| Miles Sanders |
| Chubba Hubbard |
| Raheem Blackshear |
One of the Panthers’ biggest moves in free agency was signing Pro Bowl running back Miles Sanders to a 4-year, $25.4-million contract to be their long-term replacement for Christian McCaffrey who the team traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.
Sanders helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance last season as he posted 1,269 yards rushing and scored 11 touchdowns.
Hubbard and Blackshear return as supporting pieces from last season who helped mold the Panthers into one of the elite rushing teams in the NFL after the McCaffrey trade alongside D’Onta Foreman who signed with the Chicago Bears this offseason.
Wide Receiver
| WR1 | SLOT | WR2 |
| Terrace Marshall Jr | Adam Thielen | DJ Chark |
| Jonathan Mingo (rookie) | Laviska Shenault | Damiere Byrd |
The Panthers have for the most part undergone a complete makeover at wide receiver after trading away DJ Moore as a part of the Bryce Young/No. 1 pick trade.
Thielen is still a very productive receiver even as he ages, posting 36 total touchdowns over his last four seasons.
Chark is a physical specimen standing at 6 feet-3 inches with remarkable speed for a player that size. He appeared to be on a superstar trajectory after making the Pro Bowl in his sophomore season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 but has since struggled with injuries over the last 3 seasons. Still, he remains a potent deep threat as he averaged 16.7 yards per reception with the Detroit Lions in 2022.
The Panthers also drafted Jonathan Mingo with their second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and hope to develop him into a long-term starter.
The team also will look for Terrace Marshall Jr to make a major step in this third season. After playing very little under Matt Rhule as a rookie, Marshall began to flourish in 2022 as a deep threat once he began to play more under interim head coach Steve Wilks after Rhule was dismissed.
Shenualt is also a player with a non-traditional skill set who will often play more like a running back on schemed-up plays rather than a traditional route running wideout.
Tight End
| Hayden Hurst |
| Ian Thomas |
| Tommy Tremble |
| Stephen Sullivan |
Tight end has been of the team’s biggest needs since Greg Olsen’s departure in 2019.
Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble both provide good things as blockers but were not dynamic receiving threats for the Panthers in recent seasons.
Hurst will provide Carolina with a reliable pass-catching target with athletic upside for Bryce Young to utilize.
Offensive Line
| Left Tackle | Left Guard | Center | Right Guard | Right Tackle |
| Ikem Ekwonu | Brady Christensen | Bradley Bozeman | Austin Corbett (injured) | Taylor Moton |
| Brady Christensen | Justin McCray/Cade Mays | Sam Tecklenburg | Chandler Zavala (rookie) | Cameron Erving |
The Panthers will look to bring back the same starting five on the offensive line as last year in 2023 when everyone is healthy.
The progression of the team’s offensive line into a productive unit last season was one of the biggest factors in the Panthers’ 6-6 finish and near playoff appearance in 2022.
Carolina took Ikem Ekwonu out of NC State in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He progressed well as the season went along and the team will look to him to continue to emerge as one of the elite young tackles in the NFL.
Brady Christensen also had something of a breakout campaign at left guard in his second NFL season after an inconsistent rookie year under Matt Rhule where there was much confusion on what position he would play.
Bozeman took over as the Panthers starting center around the halfway of the season and helped spearhead their elite rushing attack after the McCaffrey trade.
Corbett was the team’s big free agent signing in 2022 and had a great season before tearing his ACL in the team’s final game against the Saints on Jan. 8, 2023. He will likely be out for the first half of the season as he recovers opening the door for Ekwonu’s former NC State teammate, 2023 fourth-round pick Chandler Zavala, to possibly be a starter.
Cade Mays and Justin McCray are also candidates to start at guard while Corbett recovers.
Moton will remain a mainstay as he has been for several years at right tackle.
Edge Rusher
| Weakside | Strongside |
| Brian Bruns | Marquis Haynes Sr |
| DJ Johnson (rookie) | Amare Barno |
| Jordan Thomas | Yetur Gross-Matos |
The Panthers could still look to add talent at this position with free agents such as Leonard Floyd and Jadaveon Clowney still available to be signed.
Brian Burns coming off a career-high in sacks is the obvious alpha among the team’s pass rushers.
Beyond that, expect a rotation of guys led by veteran Marquis Haynes and young players in 2023 third-round pick DJ Johnson and sophomore Amare Barno.
Barno is a physical freak who flashed the ability to get sacks in limited playing time as a rookie. Johnson is a strong and speedy power rusher who should make an impact in the edge rotation as well.
Still, consider an additional signing to be incredibly likely here that could push guys like Jordan Thomas and Yetur Gross-Matos off of the roster.
Versatile linebacker Frankie Luvu will also play a large role in the Panthers’ pass rush but will likely not play a majority of his snaps as a traditional edge rusher.
Interior Defensive Line
| Right Defensive End | Nose Tackle | Left Defensive End |
| Derrick Brown | Shy Tuttle | DeShawn Williams |
| Brayvion Roy | Marquan McCall | Henry Anderson |
| John Penisini |
The Panthers also are experiencing something of a makeover on the interior defensive line as they shift from a 4-3 to 3-4 style defense under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
New additions include Triad-native Shy Tuttle and DeShawn Williams who the Panthers hope will help bolster their run defense and ease the burden on young star Derrick Brown who began to emerge as one of the premier defensive linemen in the NFL in 2022.
Inside Linebacker
| Left Inside Linebacker | Right Inside Linebacker |
| Shaq Thompson | Frankie Luvu |
| Kamu Grugier-Hill | Brandon Smith |
| Bumper Pool (rookie) | Bumper Pool (rookie) |
The Panthers look to have a fearsome duo of linebackers in the elder statesmen in Shaq Thompson and the electric, versatile Frankie Luvu.
Thompson, one of only 2 players besides long snapper JJ Jansen still remaining from the Super Bowl 50 team, will play the more traditional linebacker role as he has through most of his career.
Luvu will move all across the field both as a standup linebacker and as a designated pass rusher.
Brandon Smith is a great athlete who will look to put more together in his second season in Carolina. The amazingly named Bumper Pool will also look to make an impact as a rookie UDFA.
Jeremy Chinn, who is technically a safety, will also factor largely into the linebacker room as he will be on the field and in the box in most passing situations in nickel and dime packages.
Chinn is also likely to move into the box when Luvu moves closer to the line of scrimmage as a pass rusher.
Cornerback
| CB1 | SLOT | CB2 |
| Jaycee Horn | Jeremy Chinn | Donte Jackson |
| Keith Taylor Jr | Eric Rowe | CJ Henderson |
| Stanley Thomas Oliver | Jammie Robinson (rookie) | Stanley Thomas Oliver |
Cornerback is another position where the Panthers could look to add more depth, especially with Donte Jackson recovering from the torn Achilles he suffered in Nov. 2022.
Still, the Panthers return most of the same talent from last season with the major difference being Jeremy Chinn’s full-time-designated role as a nickel/slot corner and dime linebacker.
Look for Eric Rowe and to see significant playing time in the slot while Chinn is being moved around the field.
The Panthers will hope that the new defensive scheme will help Keith Taylor Jr and CJ Henderson have stronger performances than they did in 2022.
Safety
| Free Safety | Strong Safety |
| Xavier Woods | Von Bell |
| Jammie Robinson | Jeremy Chinn |
| Sam Franklin Jr | Eric Rowe |
The Panthers made a major addition to the safety room by adding Von Bell, who has been one of the better safeties in the NFL during his last few seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bell will give the Panthers the freedom to move Chinn across various positions on defense.
Xavier Woods returns as a quality starter at free safety and Sam Franklin Jr is an ace on special teams.
2023 fifth-round pick Jammie Robinson could also figure into the safety and slot corner rotation.
Special Teams
| Kicker | Punter | Kick Returner | Punt Returner | Long Snapper |
| Eddy Pineiro | Johnny Hekker | Raheem Blackshear | Raheem Blackshear | JJ Jansen |
Status quo on special teams for the Panthers who return most of their starters as well as special teams coordinator Chris Tabor.
