Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We got a ton of questions as we dive right into the off-season, and they touched on all sorts of subjects. Let’s jump right in!
Bruce Guild: Brian who would yopu put as you biggest player performance surprises on offense and defense (1 each) of the 2025 and what does it mean for the roster and for the upcoming offseason.
Who were you biggest surprises to the downside on each side of the ball and impact on the offseason.
For the offense, I’d say I was most surprised by Rico Dowdle’s 1,000 yard season, honestly. Chuba Hubbard went into the season entrenched as the number one guy, but that streak middle of the season had Rico Dowdle performing up there with the top backs in the league. I think he started to slow down due to the heavy usage from that, and eventually Chuba returned somewhat to form and Carolina was once again splitting the carries. I expect the Panthers won’t have any chance of bringing Rico back, not just because of the inconsistent usage towards the end of the season. On the downside, probably Ja’Tavion Sanders. He showed a lot of promise last season, and this year was cut short by injury. But he was pretty consistently outshined by Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans as receivers as well.
For the defense, biggest surprise for me was Chau Smith-Wade. He played quite well and seems entrenched as the Panthers “regular” nickel cornerback. They’ll still be filtering in big safeties and other player types, but Smith-Wade turned out to be more than the typical training camp smoke. I give a close second to CB Corey Thornton, who also had his season cut short by an unfortunate injury. On the downside, I’d say its between Bobby Brown III and Turk Wharton on the defensive line. Brown didn’t seem to get as much usage as many probably expected, as A’Shawn Robinson was mostly the biggest benefactor of having Derrick Brown back along the defensive line. Turk Wharton was very good when he was out there, but he just couldn’t stay healthy. For a big money defensive line signing, that was disappointing. Hopefully he bounces back next season in that regard.
Gamble20: I know the Panthers “like” Cade Mays. And we know they likely need a backup plan for Icky due to the injury. However, Dave reiterated how essential the offensive line is to their success and pointed out what the Bears spent as evidence. We all believe defense will be top priority, but is there any chance the Panthers might actually try to find an upgrade at center and go after the top free agent (Linderbaum?).
There’s always a chance, though with the many other needs on this defense, they likely could re-sign Mays and Brady Christensen on the cheaper side, and not have to worry about center. I could see them drafting one though, since this...
