If you could add one player from any team in the NFL to the 2025 Panthers to make them Super Bowl contenders, who would it be?

[X-Clown]

12 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

Barkley? He literally drug the Eagles offense to the SB. 

 

He ran behind the best offensive line in the league, largely the same one that paved the way for Miles Sanders to run for 1300 yards and 11 TDs.

[Gapanthersfan]

20 minutes ago, X-Clown said:

He ran behind the best offensive line in the league, largely the same one that paved the way for Miles Sanders to run for 1300 yards and 11 TDs.

There have been other lines assembled in NFL history every bit as good as what the Eagles, but very few have had a RB perform like Barkley.

Barkley was a threat to put 6 on the board every time he touched the ball. An RB touches the ball 20+ times a game. It changes the entire complexion of the game. 3rd downs are easier, drives are extended, defense stays rested and opponents play from behind all game. 

Barkley and that line is what got them there. Defense is the icing. Let the defense play 40 minutes and see how good they look. 

Hurts tried his best to give us the game last season. I can’t drink his cool aide. 

[PootieNunu]

1 hour ago, Jon Snow said:

You're dreaming. All 3 of those qb's need a complete team. Allen and Burrow cannot get their teams over the hump by themselves as has been proven.  So this is a fantasy that every fan clings to. "If we only had this guy or that guy we would be SB contenders", it takes more than just a top 5 qb to be a contender. It always has.

 

 

The bills have been contenders for years they just haven't gotten over the hump, the bengals were just recently in the super bowl. 

I think you have SB winners and SB contenders confused

[CRA]

There is no non-QB that would make this squad Super Bowl contenders. 

Mahomes, Lamar, Allen or Burrow IMO are the only options.  

[CRA]

2 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

You're dreaming. All 3 of those qb's need a complete team. Allen and Burrow cannot get their teams over the hump by themselves as has been proven.  So this is a fantasy that every fan clings to. "If we only had this guy or that guy we would be SB contenders", it takes more than just a top 5 qb to be a contender. It always has.

 

 

Allen and Burrow simply play in the AFC where the torched basically went Brady to Mahomes.   They already make their teams Super Bowl "contenders".  Both have proven their play is good enough to overcome all sorts of issues whether it be bad line play, bad D, weak support or whatever.  And they would be in the NFC....where the Brady/Mahomes issue of the AFC doesn't exist. 

[Jon Snow]

36 minutes ago, PootieNunu said:

The bills have been contenders for years they just haven't gotten over the hump, the bengals were just recently in the super bowl. 

I think you have SB winners and SB contenders confused

I think you have the Panthers confused and on the same talent level as those 2 teams. And no, neither are contenders to win it this season either. Even with all their talent the cannot win it all nor contend on a regular basis. Keep dreaming though.

[ForJimmy]

There should be a lottery to see which team gets to use Mahomes for the year.  Just to see how much of a difference a great QB can make.  

[tukafan21]

5 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

You're dreaming. All 3 of those qb's need a complete team. Allen and Burrow cannot get their teams over the hump by themselves as has been proven.  So this is a fantasy that every fan clings to. "If we only had this guy or that guy we would be SB contenders", it takes more than just a top 5 qb to be a contender. It always has.

 

 

I don't disagree, but you're not giving our offense enough credit, and I'm not saying we would win the SB, just that we would be contenders, which we would have been.

The Bengals had a horrible start to the season last year and it caused them to just miss the playoffs by one game, but had they made it, they absolutely would have been contenders in the AFC.  They had a bad defense, probably worse than ours will be this year, and you can't convince me that we don't have a better offensive roster than they had last year.  

We have a Top 10 OL, two 1k rushers from last year, two 1st round WRs, one of the best slot WRs in the league, and then Coker.  Like I said, their Top 2 WRs are better than ours will be this year, but we take them in every other spot, OL, RBx2, and our 3rd/4th WRs.  

If Burrow was able to turn that team into a contender last year, no reason he couldn't do the same with our roster this year.  And hell, I think our offensive roster is better than KC's last year too, and while I know their defense did a lot of the heavy lifting last year, if you give Mahomes an improved offensive roster around him, he's going to be THAT much better himself.

A Mahomes, Burrow, or Allen would be able to win the South by outscoring teams.  And yes, come playoff time against an Eagles or Lions juggernaut, our defense probably costs us the game, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't at least be contenders.

If Bryce can prove me wrong and his supporters here right, and be THAT guy for us this year, I genuinely think we can be a real playoff threat in 2026 once we add a few more pieces to the defense and then be a genuine SB contender in 2027 if the team keeps improving.

We're the 2022 Detroit Lions right now.  

Great offensive pieces, tons of holes on defense, but if things go right we'll just miss the playoffs (like they did) and then be right in the playoff hunt the next year (like they did) and then be contenders the following season (like they did when they were the #1 seed).

[X-Clown]

5 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

There have been other lines assembled in NFL history every bit as good as what the Eagles, but very few have had a RB perform like Barkley.

Barkley was a threat to put 6 on the board every time he touched the ball. An RB touches the ball 20+ times a game. It changes the entire complexion of the game. 3rd downs are easier, drives are extended, defense stays rested and opponents play from behind all game. 

Barkley and that line is what got them there. Defense is the icing. Let the defense play 40 minutes and see how good they look. 

Hurts tried his best to give us the game last season. I can’t drink his cool aide. 

They still have AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert plus Hurts rushing ability to stop teams from completely keying in on Barkley. He’s a great player but to pick him over every other single player that would be available in the league over other larger impact positions sounds like a Marty Hurney decision. 

[CRA]

1 hour ago, X-Clown said:

They still have AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert plus Hurts rushing ability to stop teams from completely keying in on Barkley. He’s a great player but to pick him over every other single player that would be available in the league over other larger impact positions sounds like a Marty Hurney decision. 

Barkely is a put you over the top player.  Not a make you a contender player.  Which is exactly what has career has shown.  Why the Giants let him go.  

[Shotgun]

 

1 hour ago, X-Clown said:

They still have AJ Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert plus Hurts rushing ability to stop teams from completely keying in on Barkley. He’s a great player but to pick him over every other single player that would be available in the league over other larger impact positions sounds like a Marty Hurney decision. 

They also had the #1 defense. Barkley is a great RB but any top 10 back in the league would have had a career year playing in Philly last year.   

[Waldo]

I don't think 1 player makes this team a contender. Playoff team? Sure, that bar is pretty low with the expanded playoffs. I just think the D is going nowhere with Evero, DC is still way too green at best and the roster just isn't that good. The oline is the best position group and that could have holes at OC and RT with a little bad luck...not evem mentioning the usual NFL freak injuries.

A top QB makes it a playoff team looking at the rest of the NFC south. Hell TB does it with just a solid QB and revolving door at OC.

[kungfoodude]

17 hours ago, Day1PanthersFan said:

2024 showed Mahomes can't do it by himself, Kelce is getting older and can't bail him out has much, and they are thin at WR

QB is the last piece you need to win a superbowl, like the Rams and Bucs proved, they built a talented defense and offensive supporting cast, then went out and signed or traded for a proven veteran(Brady and Stafford)

So my answer is Saquon Barkley

TBH, the difference between this team with and without a completely healthy Barkley is probably +/-1 game.

[CRA]

17 hours ago, Day1PanthersFan said:

2024 showed Mahomes can't do it by himself, Kelce is getting older and can't bail him out has much, and they are thin at WR

QB is the last piece you need to win a superbowl, like the Rams and Bucs proved, they built a talented defense and offensive supporting cast, then went out and signed or traded for a proven veteran(Brady and Stafford)

So my answer is Saquon Barkley

in 2024 KC was the #1 seed with the best record in the NFL....in the tougher AFC.  They finished the year in the Super Bowl. 

I mean, 2024 Mahomes showed once again, QB play is the king maker in the NFL and what mattered most.....because as you said, Mahomes did all that with an ok team around him.   The team from the NFC that meet him there? They had to have the #1 defense, arguably the best OL in the NFL, skill weapons coming out the ears.....because their QB isn't the level of Mahomes.   KC lost a game at the end.  But the season 100% showed that Mahomes is the difference maker and why getting QB right is what matters most.