Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! Its officially the first week of the NFL season, expectations are high, and anxiety is even higher! Many of the questions that rolled through this week had to do with what the Panthers season looks like if they can’t pull out a win on Sunday, and I think its a fair thought to have. So as a reminder, this is YOUR mailbag to ask all your questions, whether they be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! ‘Brian Answers” is the place where I answer those questions, so join us next week in “Brian Asks” to throw out your questions, and see them answered in this same column next week. Let’s dive into all your questions from this week’s mailbag!
HighMiles: Where would we be now if we had kept C McC?
I don’t usually like to go down rabbit holes like this, but I’ll bite for fun. I don’t think Carolina makes the trade up to #1 overall for Bryce Young if Christian McCaffrey remains a Panther. Maybe they decide to try and trade up after the first two picks are made (which still would have assuredly been Young and CJ Stroud) to select Anthony Richardson. Or, they just stand pat with Sam Darnold/PJ Walker, maybe sign a free agent again. This would have left them in position to supplement the other positions a bit, giving them the opportunity to take an OT like Darnell Wright or Peter Skoronski. Maybe they go for a defensive front seven piece like Jalen Carter, Lukas Van Ness, or Will McDonald. Or, in my opinion, they go defensive back since their secondary wasn’t exactly a strength going into that season either. I don’t think the trajectory is much different whether they go find a QB or choose to build around a Sam Darnold etc. If this current regime were the ones making the decisions, I might feel things could have gone a lot better. But in the end, I think it was time for CMC to move on since Carolina wasn’t going to be pushing for a Super Bowl regardless of whether they traded him or not.
TLGPanthersFan: Jaguars are such a question mark almost as much as the Panthers but on paper they are the better team. What would you considered a success even if we lose? Who are you watching that isn’t Bryce.
I would consider either a shootout loss or a close defensive battle won by a few big plays a win. In my personal opinion, I think the Jaguars will walk away with a win on Sunday, and the biggest reason will be a couple of big plays by WRs Brian Thomas Jr and Travis Hunter. Explosive plays on offense are one of the biggest deciders of games just behind things like turnovers and time of possession, especially when you have teams like these two who are really trying to establish...
