Back to the Drawing Board: Carolina Panthers' Season-In Review

by Crimsion | 3 years ago | 2 Comments

To the surprise of many the Carolina Panthers ended their 2021 campaign with a record of 11-6, falling just short of an NFC South title in week 18. 

Through the many ups and downs during the season, the Carolina Panthers were unable to find consistency on either side of the ball, eventually leading them to a wildcard loss to the New York Giants. In a snow bowl all their own the Panthers learned a lot about themslves and head coach Jordan Charles believes the team will have what they need to take the next step once this off-season is over.

"I liked most of what I saw in our eventual last game," said Charles in his post game presser. "But there are some things that we need to clean up and some personnel decisions that need to be made."

Carolina's defensive core is young, however one of it's leaders in OLB Haasan Reddick still remains without a contract heading into the conference championship period. The former Arizona Cardinal came second on the team in QB tackles with 15 and was a key part of Carolina's miniaml pass rush attack. While the team would like to lock up Reddick, he could end up playing 2022 on the franchise tag in hopes for a bigger payday moving forward, but most believe his future in Carolina is far from over.

The Panthers also lack any sort of staple in the middle as ILB Jermaine Carter Jr. is likely to depart from the team despite recording the third highest tackles on the team. While he was a solid asset in manufacturing the 14th best rushing defense, his playmaking ability in the passing game was limited and his absence leaves a massive gap in Carolina's armor.

Free Agent aquisition Karl Joseph added a much needed jolt in the secondary for the Panthers in 2021, adding 6 interceptions to the team's total, although three of those did come in a single game. It's unclear if Joseph has earned himself a second act here in Carolina as the system does complement this position well, so this will be someting to keep an eye on.

While the Panthers don't have many glaring needs on the defensive outside of potentially replacing two starters and adding some depth, on the offensive side of things the needs are much more apparent. 

For starters, the Panthers' offensive line will need some assistance as they may be without their veteran centre in Matt Paradis and guard in Cameron Erving. Their staple tackle Taylor Moton is in for the long haul and rookie Brady Christensen held his own as a starter this season. It may not take a lot to revamp this offensive line, but Carolina certainly will be active in the market despite putting up solid numbers on the offensive end.

The biggest elephant in the room this off-season will be the impending contract extension Quarterback Sam Darnold will require going into the 2022 season.

"I can't speak on our personnel moves, but we will make the best decision for the team when it comes to all of these." said Coach Charles when he was asked about Darnold playing without an extension. "We have Sam for the upcoming season, he played well here in New York and I feel as if he left a lastimg impression on us all."

Darnold in his first year under Charles' system produced 4,729 yards, completing 69% of his passes and tossing 42 touchdowns on the year. While those touchdowns were met with 33 interceptions of his own, the 42 were a career high for the 25-year old. The pieces around him were able to strive, especially that of Christian McCaffery, as he rushed for over 2,000 yards and tallied over 1,000 receiving yards. 

"I'm under contract to play here in Carolina and that is what I'll be spending my off-season preparing for," said Darnold at his end of season presser. "What we did here in 2021 was something special, and I hope to build upon that moving forward."

Carolina goes into the off-seaason with a comfortable amount of cap space, so it will be interesting to see how the team retools.