In the fifth of a 32-part series, we will feature all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Today we will look at the Carolina Panthers.
Key Off-Season Acquisitions
The Panthers were very active in the offseason with six key additions. They acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, and signed punter Johnny Hekker and center Austin Corbett from the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, linebacker Damien Wilson from the Jacksonville Jaguars to a two-year deal worth $6.9 million, safety Xavier Woods from the Minnesota Vikings to a three-year deal worth $15.75 million, and center Bradley Bozeman from the Baltimore Ravens.
In 2021, Mayfield completed 253 passes in 418 attempts for 3010 yards, 17 touchdown and 13 interceptions. He also had 37 rushes for 134 yards and one touchdown.
Wilson had 106 tackles for the Jaguars last season, five pass deflections, three sacks, one forced fumble and one interception. In 2020, he won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Woods had 108 tackles for the Vikings last season, three interceptions for 54 yards, two fumble recoveries, one sack and 10 pass deflections.
Fantasy Star
The fantasy stud on the Carolina Panthers is clearly running back Christian McCaffrey. When healthy, he is one of the very best fantasy football players. The key word in the last sentence however was healthy. In 2020, McCaffrey had separate injuries to his shoulder and ankle, and only played three games. Then in 2021, McCaffrey played only seven games due to injuries to his ankle and hamstring. He had 92 rushes for 442 yards and one touchdown, and 37 catches for 343 yards and another major score. When healthy three years ago in 2019, McCaffrey had a NFL high 2392 yards from scrimmage and 19 rushing and receiving touchdowns, which also led the NFL.
Prediction
The Panthers definitely deserve a high grade for trying to get better. They are clearly better than Atlanta in the NFC South, but still don’t seem to have the overall talent base to compete against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. Carolina could reach the .500 mark, and a third place finish is where they should end up.
