Game Of Throws: Will Panthers take next step in 2025?
The Carolina Panthers rebuild continues in 2025.
While I’m not convinced Carolina is ready to contend for a playoff spot, apparently the majority of FanDuel bettors believes this team will exceed expectations this year.
After a brutal 1-7 start, the Panthers won four of their final nine games to finish with a 5-12 record.
2023 first overall pick Bryce Young bounced back after being benched early in the year and did enough over the second half to inspire the coaching staff to believe that he can still live up to the hype as a legitimate franchise quarterback moving forward.
Carolina added another weapon to its offence with the selection of Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
With Adam Thielen back in Minnesota and Jalen Coker set to miss time due to injury, it will be up to McMillan and Xavier Legette to pick up the slack early on.
Meanwhile, the Panthers will also lean on their running back trio of Chubba Hubbard, free agent addition Rico Dowdle, and fourth round draft pick Trevor Etienne.
Hubbard signed a four-year contract in the midst of rushing for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.
It will be interesting to see how Dowdle and Etienne are worked into the rotation behind Carolina’s lead back.
Considering the holes on the defensive side of the football, the Panthers will need to lean on their offence.
Last season, Carolina gave up an average of 31.4 points per game, finished with the third-fewest sacks, and became the first team since 1980 to give up more than 3,000 rushing yards in a single season.
The Panthers also gave up the most touchdown passes of any team in the league.
Carolina is banking on the additions of free agent defensive tackles Bobby Brown and Tershawn Wharton will help against the run.
They also drafted a pair of pass rushers in second round pick Nic Scourton and third round pick Princely Umanmielen, then grabbed safety Lathan Ransom in the fourth round.
Free agent safety Tre’von Moehrig and cornerback Mike Jackson were also added to improve the pass defence.
Still, a modest improvement won’t be enough to keep the Panthers defence from ranking among the worst in the NFL once again this season.
While they might have one of the easier schedules in the league, they might not be ready to capitalize on it.
Per the FanDuel traders, 73 per cent of the bets on Carolina’s regular season win total have been on overs.
I’m not rushing to bet on the Panthers to finish with seven or more wins.
Instead, I’ll lock in McMillan over 850.5 receiving yards in his NFL rookie season.
With Thielen in Minnesota and Coker banged up early, Carolina will need their rookie first round pick to produce at a high level immediately.
If the reports out of Panthers camp are accurate, McMillan will be ready for that responsibility Week 1.