Who are the pillars of the Carolina Panthers?
Pro Football Focus salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger recently selected three players from each NFL team to build his own squad around. For the Panthers, he began with the obvious—quarterback Bryce Young:
A rookie No. 1 overall pick will always make lists like these, and Young is no exception. While he can certainly produce early in the shot clock, what makes Young special is what he does when the play breaks down. He earned a 92.2 grade when his time to throw was more than 2.5 seconds in 2022, third in the country, with his 79.1% adjusted completion percentage on such plays ranking second. He’ll have to extend plays and get creative as a rookie while the Panthers look to add more pass-catching weapons over the next few years.
Considering the Panthers have just built their offseason and offense around Young, that’s a pretty wise choice. Oh, and the fact that he’s been heralded throughout the spring and summer by coaches, players and reporters alike is a nice sweetener as well.
Spielberger then rounded out the group by looking to the other side of the ball:
On defense, Carolina has two cornerstones on the line in edge defender Brian Burns and interior defender Derrick Brown, the latter of whom took a big step in 2022, earning a career-high 84.4 overall grade.
Both men are coming off career years. Burns put up 12.5 sacks en route to his second straight Pro Bowl selection while Brown shattered a franchise record for tackles (67) by an interior lineman.
Some other contenders for the trio could have included left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and cornerback Jaycee Horn—both of whom play premium positions at near-premium levels. So, yeah, it’s not a bad kind of crowded down there in Charlotte.
