CAROLINA PANTHERS
2022 Record - 7-10
Head Coach - Frank Reich
Offensive Rank - 29th (306 YPG); Scoring - 20th (20.4 PPG)
Defensive Rank - 22nd (350 YPG); Scoring - 19th (22.0 PPG)
The quarterback position this season will be started by rookie Bryce Young (Alabama) with veteran Andy Dalton backing up. Dalton played with New Orleans last season and passed for 2,871 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The running game will feature Miles Sanders, who ran for 1,269 yards last year (4.9 YPC average) and scored eleven touchdowns with Philadelphia. The wide receivers have some new faces in 2023 as well with Adam Thielen (70 receptions for 716 yards and six TD in Minnesota) and DJ Chark, who had 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns with Detroit and tight end Hayden Hurst (52, 414, two TD with Cincinnati). Terrace Marshall, Jr. had 28 receptions last season for 490 yards and one score while Laviska Shenault, Jr. made 27 receptions for 272 yards and one touchdown. Rookie Jonathan Mingo (Mississippi) will be on hand as well.
The defense will have DeShawn Williams, Shy Tuttle and Derrick Brown up front along with linebackers Brian Burns (12 1/2 QB sacks), Shaq Thompson (team leading 135 tackles) and Frankie Luvu (seven sacks and 111 tackles). Jaycee Horn (three interceptions), CJ Henderson (two picks) and Donte Jackson (two INT) lead the defensive backfield along with safeties Jeremy Chinn and Vonn Bell.
OUTLOOK FOR 2023 - Carolina finished strong last year after a rough 1-5 start and Head Coach Frank Reich takes over a team that will have new faces in many places this year as they look to win the NFC South, which is up for grabs with all four teams having multiple changes on the roster.
The Panthers will be looking to the rookie to lead the offense and Bryce Young was the top pick in the NFL Draft last April. The passing game struggled a year ago and the running game was among the top ten and now has Miles Sanders in tow, replacing D'Onta Foreman, who left in the off-season. The wideouts will be different as well as top man DJ Moore went to Chicago and in his place is Thielen and Chark, both coming over from NFC North teams. How quick Young and the receiving corps mesh will determine a lot.
The defense was so-so a year ago and made some minor changes in personnel and added rookie edge rusher DJ Johnson (Oregon) to go with a pretty solid front seven. Whether that will translate to an overall better defense will be worth watching. The Panthers last made the playoffs in the 2017 season, so they are hungry and with some new faces and some youngsters coming on board, it could be another year of development before they get there again. But in today's NFL, quick turnarounds are more common than in past years. They could be a surprise team come January.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week One - at Atlanta
Week Two - vs. New Orleans
Week Three - at Seattle
Week Four - vs. Minnesota
Week Five - at Detroit
Week Six - at Miami
Week Seven - BYE
Week Eight - vs. Houston
Week Nine - vs. Indianapolis
Week Ten - at Chicago
Week Eleven - vs. Dallas
Week Twelve - at Tennessee
Week Thirteen - at Tampa Bay
Week Fourteen - at New Orleans
Week Fifteen - vs. Atlanta
Week Sixteen - vs. Green Bay
Week Seventeen - at Jacksonville
Week Eighteen - vs. Tampa Bay
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