Now that much of the dust from free agency has settled and most of the pieces have fallen into place, it seems only prudent to evaluate how far the Panthers roster has come and how far it likely needs to continue evolving before the team makes their annual trek to Wofford College for training camp; this is certainly not the end of the Panthers roster-building, with the draft and the chaos of the pursuit of undrafted or still available free agents less than a month away. Remember the season doesn’t start tomorrow. But it’s a long month until the Panthers turn in a draft card, so let’s play a hypothetical. Where would the Panthers stand if the season did start tomorrow?
The Skill Positions
The Panthers are fortunate enough to have a number of key positional pieces in place going into the draft. Cam Newton is an unquestioned franchise quarterback, Christian McCaffrey is one of the best multi-purpose weapons in football and Greg Olsen, when healthy, is one of the three best tight ends in football and a future Hall of Famer. In addition, Alex Armah flashed enough as a rookie for fans to be encouraged about his ability to contribute as a sophomore, and Cameron Artis-Payne should see some more significant playing time based on his play in limited snaps last season. At receiver, Devin Funchess appeared to take the next step before an injury last season, and Curtis Samuel and Damiere Byrd both flashed in injury-plagued seasons. The addition of Torrey Smith, regardless of what you think of the trade in terms of value, gives the Panthers a veteran leader in the receiver room and a decent outside option, with Jarius Wright giving them a much needed chain-moving possession receiver.
However, the above glowing paragraph is certainly not meant to say that the Panthers don’t have needs at the skill positions. While Artis-Payne has performed well enough as a rotation piece to merit more carries, he doesn’t seem suited to replacing Stewart’s carries in short yardage situations. As good and durable as Cam Newton has been, the depth behind him at quarterback is very thin; Garrett Gilbert isn’t a bad third option, but Derek Anderson has clearly regressed as a backup and is still a free agent at the time of writing. There is a similar issue at tight end, where the only depth behind Greg Olsen is Chris Manhertz, a borderline third option, and a pair of UDFAs who failed to make a roster in 2017; as deep as the Panthers now go at receiver, there is no clear second option to Devin Funchess, merely a number of good third options and a relative unknown in Curtis Samuel.
With all this in mind, it would not be a surprise for the Panthers to add a number of skill position players during the remainder of the offseason – another quarterback is almost a certainty, most likely in the later rounds of the upcoming draft. Running back and tight end are both likely targets, possibly as early as the first round, and the Panthers haven’t been paying so much attention to receiver prospects like DJ Moore for no reason. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but the Panthers would be foolish not to address as many of these needs as they can before Week 1 rolls around.
The Offensive Line
The Panthers return four starters along the offensive line, with 2017 second round pick Taylor Moton appearing likely to compete with free agent addition Jeremiah Sirles and consistent backup Tyler Larsen to replace Andrew Norwell at left guard. Along with Larsen, they also release Greg Van Roten, both of whom can play all three interior positions. However, Ryan Kalil has already stated that he plans to retire after this season, and Daryl Williams will be entering the final year of his contact. While both Van Roten and Larsen are decent as interior depth, neither look capable of playing center at an All-Pro level, and the Panthers will likely need to add somebody to replace Ryan Kalil, be it the 2018 or 2019 Draft.
The major concern with the Panthers offensive line at this point is the lack of clarity, as Moton is very much an unknown quantity and Sirles has yet to prove he can be a starting guard at the NFL level; the Panthers could have two viable options already on the roster or could very well have none and nobody, including the Panthers to some degree, has a clear picture of exactly which side of that equation they’ll find themselves should they enter training camp with their current group. Given this, they may target an interior lineman in the upcoming draft, but should they feel confident in Moton and/or Sirles, then they will likely be happy with the other of the two acting as the third tackle with Larsen, the ever-popular Amini Silatolu and Van Roten offering interior depth. They may still wish to add somebody to develop behind Kalil at center, though that is also far from a certainty; we may be looking at the completed offensive line group as currently constructed.
The Front Seven
It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to Panthers fans when Star Lotulelei was lured away in free agency; what should have come as something of a shock was that they then splashed out to add Dontari Poe as his replacement. If anything, Poe is an upgrade over Lotulelei, especially as a pass rusher, and gives the Panthers arguably the best defensive tackle rotation in the NFL – Kyle Love is quietly excellent value as a rotation piece and Vernon Butler continues to flash in a rotation role, and it will be interesting to see if the Panthers move on from their two-by-two defensive tackle rotation in favor of a more matchup-based approach. What is clear, however, is that defensive tackle is not a significant need.
Defensive end, however, could still do with an offseason addition; Julius Peppers might have returned as (the best possible) veteran rotational piece, but Charles Johnson is now gone for good and it is unclear who will start alongside Mario Addison. Wes Horton played extremely well as a rotational player, but is probably sub-optimal as a starter – Daeshon Hall is another complete unknown as a second-year player returning from injury. Given that Addison is in his early thirties already, Horton is in the final year of his contract and Peppers is likely going to retire after this season, it would seem prudent to add another younger piece to the rotation.
Linebacker has been a strength for the Panthers in recent seasons and with Shaq Thompson lined up as the heir apparent to Thomas Davis, this should be a trend that continues into the near future; Davis is currently facing a four-game suspension to start the 2018 season, and this may well be a good test for Thompson as the main starter next to Kuechly. The Panthers do have good depth at inside linebacker as well, with David Mayo having stepped nicely into the role vacated by AJ Klein, but what the Panther lack is significant depth at the outside linebacker positiion, and it is unclear who will take Thompson’s role while Davis is suspended. It would be a surprise if the Panthers spent significant assets on a linebacker again this season, but it shouldn’t come as a shock if the Panthers do add an outside linebacker at some point later in the Draft, perhaps on the third day.
The Secondary
When the Panthers traded Daryl Worley to the Eagles and signed Bashaud Breeland, it seemed as if the Panthers had made a upgrade at the position for minimal expenditure. However, when Breeland then failed his medical evaluation, the Panthers where left with a gaping chasm opposite James Bradberry at corner. That was rectified by the signing of Ross Cockrell who, despite not being a household name, played at a high enough level last season in New York to be regarded as one of the better zone corners in the NFL. He might not be the sexiest signing of the 2018 offseason, but Cockrell and Bradberry could be a more-than-solid starting cornerback pairing.
The nickel and cornerback depth situation is somewhat more cloudy – Captain Munnerlyn struggled to live up to his contract last season and with Corn Elder returning from injury there could be a training camp battle for the inside-corner position. While Munnerlyn’s cap number is such that it would be hard to move on from him this season, he may end up being demoted to mere depth if Elder beats him out. Behind this pair, Gunter and Seymour are both likely to compete for the final cornerback spot or two – the Panthers are almost certain to add another cornerback in the Draft, with Ron Rivera indicating at the NFL Owner’s Meeting that he may not be convinced Bradberry is the team’s lead corner – whether that corner is added as early as the first round or as late as the seventh is not clear, but a new jersey number in the twenties appears to be a foregone conclusion.
The picture at safety is equally murky, with Mike Adams being the preferred option to start at strong safety with Da’Norris Searcy and Colin Jones most likely providing depth. This would, of course, require the Panthers to add a free safety in the draft or through free agency, as Adams would be forced to move to the free safety spot with Searcy taking over the strong safety role. This is far from an ideal situation as Adams would likely be athletically limited in coverage at the free spot and Searcy is a borderline starter at this point based on his 2017 tape; in this regard, free safety is probably the Panthers’ biggest need and strong safety is also not beyond imagination given Adams’ age.
Don’t rule out a free safety coming from free agency if the Panthers’ don’t find the right fit in the draft – instead of reaching for a Justin Reid at the 24th pick, they might feel content bringing in more of a project such as Marcus Allen and filling the starter’s role with one of the multiple viable players still available – Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, Tyvon Branch and Tre Boston are all still jobless at the moment and after May 7, the Panthers are free to sign anyone they’d like without affecting the NFL’s compensation-pick formula.
The Panthers’ corner situation is possibly better than it was at the end of the 2017 season, and Adams is likely to return as at least a capable starter at strong safety, but free safety is very much a need at this point in the offseason.
The Specialists
Graham Gano has returned on a long-term deal, and Michael Palardy will also return as an exclusive-rights free agent; JJ Jansen has several years remaining on his deal and will likely be long-snapping in Charlotte for most of his career. From this, it should be clear that the Panthers are not in major need of specialist help, but as with both specialists last season, they could always look to bring in some camp competition for Palardy.
Conclusion
Must Add: Free Safety
Rookie Could Start At: Defensive End, Guard
Still Day One/Two Draft Options: Running Back, Tight End, Wide Receiver, Center, Cornerback
Other Late-Round/UDFA Possibilities: Quarterback, Linebacker, Strong Safety, Punter
