Christian McCaffrey has been locked up through 2025. Teddy Bridgewater is replacing Cam Newton at quarterback. Robby Anderson has joined the wide receiver group and Russell Okung will provide a veteran presence at left tackle.
Free agency was good to the Panthers ... on offense.
The defensive side of the ball, however, has Carolina in worse shape than it finished last season, when it gave up an 31 rushing touchdowns _ eight more than any other NFL team. Seven defensive starters became free agents and only one, safety Tre Boston, was re-signed. With the team focusing largely on the offense in free agency, there are plenty of holes to fill on the defense with the eight picks the Panthers have in the upcoming draft.
"When you look at the defensive side of the ball, I think that's where we probably haven't added as much as we have on offense," general manager Marty Hurney said last week. "So if you were to say, 'What area do you look at the most,' it would be defense rather than offense at this point."
Here's a look at what the Panthers need and how they could address it:
