Canal Street Chronicles
Can Bryce Young and new HC Dave Canales fix the Panthers offensive struggles?
Let’s be really honest for a second, the Carolina Panthers offense was bad last season. It was so bad, in fact, that it ranked as the worst in the NFL, tied with the Patriots at 13.9 points per game. This week, the New Orleans Saints will get the first look at the Panther new, and supposedly improved, offense.
The Panthers fired Head Coach Frank Reich after an abysmal 2023 season which saw them go 2-15. They went out and hired Dave Canales, former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator, to help Bryce Young and the rest of the offense improve this year.
The Panthers also made some roster changes at every level of their offense. On the offensive line, they brought in OGs Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, both of whom are expected to start this year. They also added WR Dionte Johnson from Pittsburgh, who has caught 50+ passes every year in his career and eclipsed 1,000 yards in 2021, and Ja’Tavion Sanders, who posted back-to-back 500+ yard receiving seasons at Texas before he was drafted this year. They also drafted another Longhorn in RB Jonathan Brooks, but the Saints won’t see him until their second meeting due to injury.
The Panthers have done as much as they could in one offseason to help second-year quarterback Bryce Young, and while this offense may not be amazing, I think it will be much improved from the unit that couldn’t average two touchdowns a game last year.
I know there are a lot of people out there, including Panthers fans, who are already out on Bryce Young, but I’m not ready to say he’s a bust yet. I saw first-hand what he could do in college, and while he’s undersized, he can be a good NFL QB with the right weapons and a competent offensive line. Luckily for the Saints, they have a really good defense, so I’m not so sure Young is going to be able to play great against them, especially not in week one.
On the outside, the Panthers have four guys who are likely going to get most of the work: Dionte Johnson, Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo and Xavier Legette. None of these guys really scare me as someone who can go for 100+ yards and multiple scores, but I will say that I think they’re all pretty solid players. Marshon Lattimore will likely follow Johnson/Thielen (whoever’s outside) around while Paulson Adebo will take on Mingo or Legette. Alontae Taylor is expected to be the slot guy for the Saints this season, and from what I can tell, it’ll likely be Thielen and Johnson who rotate in the slot.
As it stands right now, the Panthers are looking alright at running back. Without Brooks, they’ll turn to Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders, both of whom averaged under 3.8 yards per carry last year. Part of that was due to offensive line play, but part was also...
