Are the Panthers Still the Worst Team in the NFL?

It’s no secret that the Carolina Panthers had a lot of work to do this offseason in order to turn things around following a league-worst 2-15 campaign.

To his credit, new general manager Dan Morgan filled most of the roster’s biggest needs with the signings of Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis on the offensive line, trading for wide receiver Diontae Johnson, and adding key pieces to the defense such as LB Josey Jewell, CB Dane Jackson, S Jordan Fuller, and pass rushers D.J. Wonnum, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Jadeveon Clowney.

Even without Brian Burns, who was traded to New York, this roster appears to be significantly better, at least on paper. How much better? Not much according to Eric Edholm of NFL Network, who still has the Panthers occupying the No. 32 spot in his NFL Power Rankings-post free agency.

“I’ve heard the reasoning for the Panthers’ massive spending to build up the interior of the offensive line, with everything from “that’s how Sean Payton did it for Drew Brees,” to “they needed to overspend to attract badly needed talent.” There’s probably truth to both of those notions, but that doesn’t mean the approach will bear fruit. The Diontae Johnson trade was a high-risk, high-reward move that I kind of liked, and they’ve added more depth and flexibility on defense, even if a lot of these moves shored up the middle and bottom of the roster. The obvious elephant in the room is the need for Dave Canales to coax the best he possibly can from quarterback Bryce Young and allow him to thrive in more reasonable conditions. There’s still a lot to be done, but they’re off to as good a start as you probably could have hoped for, even if spending so heavily on the interior line will limit them in other ways.”

I’m not sure I would characterize the Diontae Johnson trade as high-risk. If anything, it’s a fair deal for both sides considering the Panthers were ready to move on from Donte Jackson, as were the Steelers from Johnson. Instead of outright releasing them, they each fill a need. I can’t say I completely disagree with the Panthers being dead last in the league as of this moment, but I believe there’s a path for them to move out of the bottom five. Obviously, much of that will be dictated by Bryce Young’s performance.