The 2022 season was one to forget for Carolina. An atrocious start that saw them lose four of their first five games resulted in the firing of head coach Matt Rhule. They also traded away franchise star Christian McCaffrey. Whilst things improved somewhat under interim head coach Steve Wilks, the team finished 7-10, marking their fifth consecutive losing season.
Roster changes
The Panthers entered the offseason with a boatload of cap space. As a result, they didn’t really lose many players of note. With the exception of DJ Moore, who formed part of the trade with the Bears for the No. 1 overall pick, they only lost one player who had topped 50% of snaps in 2022 – defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis. The rest were backups or rotational players, such as Sam Darnold and D’Onta Foreman.
The Panthers made plenty of acquisitions though as Frank Reich looks to shape his roster. They added former Vikings receiver Adam Thielen on a three-year $25 million deal. They also brought in safety Vonn Bell and tight end Hayden Hurst from Cincinnati, both of whom are projected to be day one starters. The addition of Miles Sanders is another noteworthy move and he should be a key part of this offense in 2023.
Coaching situation
It’s a new era in Carolina. Frank Reich has joined the team as head coach and has already undertaken wholesale changes to the Panthers’ coaching staff. Reich will be the primary play caller to start things off, but he has signalled that he may hand this over to new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Brown joins from the Rams, where he worked as the assistant head coach. He has been joined by Duce Staley, who will serve as assistant head coach and running backs coach, the same role he held in Detroit for the past two seasons.
The changes haven’t been limited to the offense, with Ejiro Evero taking over as the defensive coordinator. Widely considered to be one of the brightest young defensive minds in the game and a future head coaching candidate, Evero joins from Denver and has assembled a new staff consisting primarily of former colleagues from the Rams and Broncos.
2023 NFL Draft
| Pick | Player |
| 1.1 | Bryce Young – QB, Alabama |
| 2.39 | Jonathan Mingo – WR, Ole Miss |
| 3.80 | DJ Johnson – EDGE, Oregon |
| 4.114 | Chandler Zavala – IOL, NC State |
| 5.145 | Jammie Robinson – S, Florida State |
The Panthers had one of the smallest classes in the 2023 draft but they made those picks count. They obviously made the big move to go up and get their quarterback of the future in Bryce Young. Young showed himself to be a true NFL-ready prospect in Alabama, despite the size concerns. They filled out needs with the rest of their picks, with Jonathan Mingo giving them another nice weapon for their new quarterback. Keep an eye on Jammie Robinson too, who could make an impact as a rookie.
Offense
The Carolina Panthers offense will certainly look different in 2023, with Frank Reich set to take over play calling duties. There may be some continuity though, particularly in terms of their reliance on the run game. The Panthers offense has been built around their rushing attack in recent years and if they want to make life easy on Bryce Young, they might look to do that again in 2023. The addition of Miles Sanders should certainly help in that regard.
They can also count on their offensive line. This has developed into a real strength for the Panthers over the last couple of seasons and they enter 2023 with all five of last season’s starters set to return. This is a unit that finished ninth in adjusted line yards last season and they looked very comfortable running a range of zone and gap scheme concepts.
The question will be whether Young has enough receiving weapons around him to hit the ground running. The departure of DJ Moore is significant and it isn’t yet entirely clear who will take on the mantle of WR1 for the Panthers. Second round pick Jonathan Mingo has a tonne of promise, but he definitely needs some time to develop. Outside of him you are relying on an aging Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, and Terrace Marshall Jr.
Defense
The Panthers have established plenty of talent in their front seven. Former first round pick Derrick Brown has really come on recently and had a great 2022 that saw him rack up 40 pressures and 31 defensive stops. They also obviously have Brian Burns, whose 68 pressures ranked 10th in the NFL in 2022. Their linebackers deserve a mention too. Whilst they aren’t household names, Frankie Luvu and Shaq Thompson have been very effective starters, ranking second and sixth in defensive stops in 2022.
Carolina has also managed to assemble some nice young talent in its secondary too. Jaycee Horn has looked great, despite limited playing time in his first two seasons due to injury. He has held opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 48.4 on his 52 targets. In Jeremy Chinn they have a versatile player capable of lining up all over the defense. This is all ideal for new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who loves to mix up his coverages.
The big question surrounding this defense is whether they have enough depth at cornerback outside of Horn. Donte Jackson is their other projected starter on the boundary and he is coming off a pretty underwhelming 2022. Both have struggled with injuries in recent years, which is all the more concerning given the lack of talent behind them. Neither CJ Henderson nor Keith Taylor has looked comfortable when called upon.
Prediction
With Bryce Young and Frank Reich in town there is plenty of promise in Carolina, but there will no doubt be growing pains too. There is too much talent on this roster and on the coaching staff for this team to disappoint in 2023, but they are likely a step or two off being a playoff team in the short term.
