ImfromClayton

It's been a long time, but I think we are finally good enough to at least be average! Given the last few years, I'm absolutely thrilled with average.

I think the D-line is going to take a massive step forward. We lost an all-pro caliber player in the first half of the first game last year, and spent the rest of the year making XFL players play out of position. It's not a stretch to say that's one of the worst defenses in the history of the league. Anybody that was willing to run the ball could do so at will. I expect that D-line to be at a minimum below average this year, which would be a marked improvement over "worst of all time." We spent enough resources there that they should be pretty good. I am not dreading week 1. That's a nice feeling.

If either of those Rookie Edge players has a good year, we have a chance to be really good. Nobody we brought in is a world beater on defense, but we got a little better at nearly every spot.

I definitely get it. A lot better chance that those guys make the 53 than if they were in KC or Philly.

I don't understand the frustration. They stated a fact. The tournament was in Charlotte, and the Panthers are the local team. Our organization is more than welcome to function at a higher level and win more games if we don't like the negative press.

The Vikings with back to back international games is fascinating. Their bodies will certainly acclimate to the time difference in a two week window, then they come back to a bye week. That said, if they stumble after two weeks in a row abroad, it could really impact the league's decision making on this in the future. It's not even remotely a big enough sample for a true study, but I think you'll see uproar from owners if this doesn't go well. And as someone who attends every home game, I personally hope it doesn't go well.

I have no idea what's available on the single game market, but every year the team has a limited amount of single game tickets available. If you can get some of those, I would. The only way cowboys tickets get cheaper is if the cowboys are absolutely terrible. Even if the cowboys are mediocre, it will not be a cheap ticket on the aftermarket.

We won't know the answer to this for a long time. Reality is, Caleb has been the consensus #1 in that draft for years. Bryce was a similar situation, but mostly the same. He was not the clear and obvious #1 that Caleb was, but most teams had Bryce at QB1. The Panthers were always going to be terrible Bryce's rookie year. I don't think DJ Moore's presence would have changed anything about that offense, as our guards, center, and left tackle were getting demolished on nearly every snap. It's clear Caleb's dad was trying to do everything possible to ensure Caleb didn't end up in Chicago with Eberflus. It's hard to imagine that he wouldn't have done the same, but probably more publicly with our situation, considering Carolina is an easier target for the media than Chicago. We can all speculate, but it's impossible to tell who is going to have the better career on May 16, 2025. If either QB doesn't pan out, we have an easy answer. If both flame out, the bears clearly won the trade, but it wouldn't have really mattered anyway. We all know how we win the trade. Candidly, even if one of the other picks we gave up ends up being a hall of fame player, we don't know if the panthers would have taken that player anyway. All you can do is make the best decision you can in the moment with the information you have. I really like Bryce Young, and I'm glad he's a Carolina Panther. The only way to win in the modern NFL is to have an absolute dude at QB. I personally am happy that our franchise recognizes this, as I remember times when they did not.

The biggest things I look for are things like West > East travel, and short weeks. As far as those things go, we got about as favorable a draw as one could have hoped for. This is a great schedule for a young team. I still don't think were quite there yet, but this is a great year to take a big step forward. Similar to last year, more important than the record is how we get there in my opinion. I don't think we can win it all yet. 9-7 but Bryce stinks (I don't see how this is possible) is a worse result for our immediate future than 7-9 but Bryce plays well throughout.

Yes, but he's a run stuffing edge. Which is something we've been lacking for while. I'm just saying the combo of him and derrick brown is going to be a lot for offenses to account for in the run game.

The combo of scourton and derrick brown is going to be difficult for defenses to account for. We should have a lot of free running linebackers able to make plays in the run game.

Steelers know they can't win a super bowl. They are reloading. Very smart, goal oriented franchise. 2nd isn't good enough in title town.

This is one story without a happy ending

While I think we will be a lot better this year, we are not a super bowl contender. Whatever he needs to do to get healthy for the long term, he needs to do.

I love it. Good for him. Seems like a great dude.

I also think there's a locker room element here. Shaq is and was an excellent person and leader. He's pretty much been the face of the franchise in the post Cam/Luke/Greg/TD era. I'm not saying Shaq is similar to 89, but Cam didn't come into his own as a leader until 89 was gone, and I love Steve Smith. I'm not sure Shaq can stick around long enough to be part of the next good run. We lacked leadership on defense last year in his absence. Need someone to step up into that role. Even on a team friendly deal, I'm not sure we bring him back, and I mean that in the most complimentary way I can say it.

I actually like that we made the decision early. Production is more valuable than the underwear olympics in my humble opinion. Use that pre-draft time to determine things like character and work ethic.

You are absolutely correct. We were speculating at the time. The UC news dropped yesterday (to my knowledge). That's great news. That said, he did have a devastating concussion that derailed his 2022 season, which is why we were speculating.

When the panthers are bad, we sell a shockingly low number of jerseys, and options become limited. In the good years, we had a lot of different options. I think T-Mac is going to have to play well on the field for his jersey to get produced in the FUSE template.

I know every jersey thread goes in this direction, but I feel the need to say it. The Chinese knockoffs are not your friend. Not only does the money not go to the panthers, but you don't control where it does go. The athletic did an excellent podcast on the business of counterfeit shirts not too long ago. I could care less about the legality of it, but the morality of it is no bueno. Now I need to wash off the "defends billionaire class" off myself, but like don't give your money to those people. If you can't afford a jersey, just go to ebay, or a thrift store, or wear a t shirt.

Only way fanatics improves the current product is if you don't buy it. The current FUSE jerseys are a rip off gents. Just being honest. (I still love the panthers and am excited for T-Mac though)

I fully agree with this, but there's no curing CTE. It's irreversible, and progressive. But also keep in mind his timeline went from John Gruden (and the organization's 2nd playoff season since 2002) to Josh McDaniels. McDaniels has been an abject failure as a head coach everywhere he's been.

Weird time in the league. I think Hunter had some concussion issues and things like that. I think he took 2024 off, and realized how much he missed ball, which is very relatable. He also, given his lack of size, needed to get fully healthy to get a good honest shot at the league again. He's a typical coach's kid. Elite route runner. Excellent hands. Oakland and Clemson fans were known for saying "3rd and Renfrow." I love how many guys the panthers have added that are known for their hands. If he still has the juice, he makes the roster easily. If he does not, he's likely a very easy camp casualty. Low risk, high reward. Keep cooking Dan Morgan.

It's going to be tough to make this roster at WR. Our emphasis on the position is interesting. That said, I love the guy as a prospect. He had some dominant games. Coming out of 2022 he was a highly coveted prospect. A&M did not have a very good passer in his tenure there. I also think he fit what Jimbo wanted to do a lot better than Elko. Hopefully, that's a good thing, as Jimbo runs a much more pro-style system. Potential high ceiling UDFA is what it's all about this time of year.

It took me a minute to get over the shock of the pick, but I agree. before T-Mac, we had 4 WR on the roster. AT is going to hang it up at some point, and David Moore, though he had some success last year, I'm not sure is a quality NFL player. What I like is, I've never seen us screen a pick the way we did. We always telegraph our picks. I also think this is a sign that David Tepper is getting out of the way. As others have said, when your roster is in the shape ours is, you can't miss. T-Mac seems like the type of player that has a relatively high floor. The ceiling is obviously a Michael Thomas/Mike Evans type of player, which have terrorized us for years. I do think the bulk of our draft will be spent on defense from this point on. That said, with only 5 WR, I could see a late round pick being another WR. A lot of TE projects in this draft as well.