Cat Scratch Reader
Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. Today marks 100 days until the Panthers kick off their 2026 season at home against the Chicago Bears
This year, we decided to change that up a bit by countdown our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial. These are the 100 greatest Carolina Panthers.
Kragen was a former All-Pro nose tackle who brought playoff and Super Bowl experience (with John Elway’s Denver Broncos) to the Carolina Panthers as the 19th overall pick in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft. He was ten years into his career when he came to the Carolinas but remained as a three-year starter who helped set the tone for the kind of football that the Panthers became known for in their early days.
He went on to score his first—and only—regular season interception and the Panthers first defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery to cement his place in Carolina history. The Panthers long history of star defensive lineman may have largely eclipsed Kragen’s time in Charlotte, but their tradition began with him.
