Cat Scratch Reader
The winners and losers of the Panthers season so far, according to Pro Football Focus
After an encouraging win on German soil, the Carolina Panthers returned home for the bye week sporting a disappointing, if not unsurprising, 3-7 record with 7 games yet to play. That said, the season was never expected to be the Panthers time to make a run for the NFC South title.
After a few seasons of shelling out far too much draft capital and free agency spending for far too little return, the Panthers needed a season of rehabilitation. A season to take their medicine and reset the franchise under a new regime. This season was all about evaluation. Evaluating how the new coaching staff leads, how they develop players like the inaugural rookie class of the Dan Morgan and Brandt Tillis era, as well as the struggling Bryce Young.
Who has done the most for themselves this season, and who has fallen short of expectations? Let’s take a look at the grades given out to Panthers so far in this season to see who are the winners, the losers, and the players to watch as the season comes to it’s conclusion.
Jaycee Horn and Chuba Hubbard are arguably the best player on their respective sides of the ball. Of the players who have played in every game this season for the Panthers, these two have the highest PFF grades. Horn’s 70.1 grade is 31st in the NFL at his position while Hubbard’s 76.4 ranks 16th. Then there is Brady Christensen who has a 65.3 grade at center, which isn’t mind-blowing but for a player who spent half his time as a center and the other half at left tackle, putting up a league average performance is commendable.
There’s been a running joke that the Panthers offensive line over the last half-decade or so has been, well, offensive. This year though, the Panthers line has been one of the most impressive in the entire NFL. The current Panthers line and their current ranks among players are:
In a league where defensive lines routinely anchor their pass rush against a team’s weak link, the Panthers managing to have every starter, including back-ups, rank among the top half of the league or higher is a sign of a good operation.
Of the Panthers bottom 5 offensive players with at least 95 offensive snaps, Tommy Tremble (46.2), Ian Thomas (52.8) and Ja’Tavion Sanders (54.0) have the lowest, 3rd lowest, and 5th lowest. To make matters uglier, that’s only if you are counting...
