Pencils down, players!
With the 2023 test officially over, let’s see which Carolina Panthers received the highest and lowest grades from Pro Football Focus.
Best of the offense
1. RB Chuba Hubbard: 77.2
2. RT Taylor Moton: 74.6
3. WR Adam Thielen: 72.7
4. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 67.4
5. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 63.6
Hubbard’s 77.2 grade is a new career-best. His career-high 902 rushing yards helped him get there.
The 33-year-old Thielen hit the 100-reception mark for just the second time and the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time since 2018.
Worst of the offense
17. G Calvin Throckmorton: 50.6
18. G Austin Corbett: 47.9
19. TE Hayden Hurst: 44.7
20. G Nash Jensen: 34.7
21. G Chandler Zavala: 26.2
Zavala struggled mightily in protection. The 2023 fourth-round pick earned a 7.1 pass-blocking grade, as he allowed a pressure on 14.2 percent of his opportunities.
Best of the defense
1. DT Derrick Brown: 90.1
2. CB Jaycee Horn: 84.1
3. S Xavier Woods: 80.3
4. LB Frankie Luvu: 78.5
5. OLB Brian Burns: 74.1
No surprises here—as Brown, the team’s most valuable player on the year, notched a career-best 90.1. Not only did he set a new single-season record for most tackles by a defensive lineman, but he also led the position (by a mile) with 50 stops.
Once again, Horn’s campaign was chopped up due to injury. Nonetheless, his 83.0 coverage grade was the best of his three-year career.
Worst of the defense
21. OLB DJ Johnson: 50.4
22. DL DeShawn Williams: 50.0
23. LB Kamu Grugier-Hill: 48.6
24. CB D’Shawn Jamison: 47.2
25. CB CJ Henderson: 45.4
Henderson didn’t fare as nearly as well as Horn did in that department, earning a career-low 43.9 mark in coverage.
