Who is the Carolina Panthers quarterback?
With the first pick in the 2023 NFL draft the Carolina Panthers select Bryce Young, QB, Alabama. With that pick the Carolina Panthers believe they have found the answer to last year’s quarterback issues. Using three separate quarterbacks last season the Panthers ended their season with a 7-10 record. The problems they faced stretched from performance to injury and they never could quite figure out a solution. With Baker Mayfield starting the year, suffering a high ankle sprain and eventually being released by the team they looked to PJ Walker who had a 2-2 record before Sam Darnold returned from IR to take over the remainder of the season. That old trio has now been separated with Mayfield on the Buccaneers, Walker on the Bears, Darnold on the 49ers and the new offensive leader Bryce Young at the helm for Carolina.
Who was hurt on the Panthers last year?
Quarterback troubles weren’t the only issues the Panthers faced last season. The Carolina defense finished 22nd in yards allowed per game and 22nd in pass yards allowed per game. A portion of which can be attributed to injuries to CB Donte Jackson (Ankle, Achilles), S Xavier Woods (Hamstring), and CB Jaycee Horn (Ribs, foot, wrist). It was a constant struggle with injury in the secondary and one that prove to be hard to recover from week in and week out. Next season is a new year however and if they can stay healthy, we can surely expect a different result given the talent they have there.
Donte Jackson here for OTAs…
The veteran CB underwent Achilles surgery last season. Working his way back pic.twitter.com/I7uqdjTRKE
— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) May 22, 2023
How was the Carolina Panthers health last year?
The team’s health however was a bit of a different story. What some might think should be terrible based on the overall record of the team was actually relatively average when compared to the rest of the NFL. Finishing with an average Banged Up Score of 73.3 they didn’t fluctuate all that much through the season. The Panthers did start lower than a team would like to at the beginning of the season with an 82.4 B.U.S. and trended slightly down as is normal for an NFL season. They were able to climb back up to a 78.5 by the end of the season which landed them as the 4th healthiest team week 16. An average weekly ranking of 15.9/32 put them almost dead middle of the back throughout the year which was good enough to be the healthiest team in the NFC South. Their performance matched their health opportunity, logging a 4-2 record against division rivals, proving once again that health does matter. Unfortunately for them non-divisional games landed them with the same record at 7-10 as the Saints and Falcons.
One issue that was brought up on the NFLPA report cards this past season was the need for better nutrition. The players ranked the Panthers nutrition as a D while other aspects all got A’s and B’s. As we have talked about in the past health is best when all parts (ie nutrition, medical and strength and conditioning) are all working together. If the Panthers need a place to start when looking at next years health, that’s a good place to start.
With all this talk about health we haven’t forgotten about the trade of RB Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers which gave Carolina a 2nd, 3rd and 4th round pick this year. Of course, losing McCaffrey was a big blow considering his talent but bringing in some young talent will hopefully help the Panthers rebuild into a team that can contend first in their division and then the playoffs. The NFC South is putting pieces together across the board and should certainly be an interesting division to watch next year.
