Carolina Panthers: Justifying McCaffrey’s historic contract
By Alex Duran
The Panthers’ need to remain competitive in the NFC South
Kyle Brandt brought up a great point recently about the Los Angeles Chargers not being in their right mind to combat the Kansas City Chiefs by bolstering their defense through the draft.
Why? Because the Chiefs just proved that a truly great offense can’t be beaten by the best defense.
The best way to beat a great offense nowadays is with a better system. Which is something the Carolina Panthers’ NFC South rivals have done this offseason.
Besides stacking up on wide receivers, the Panthers did some patchwork for their offensive line by trading for Russell Okung and signing John Miller. It doesn’t sound like much, but the Panthers are enamored by Miller’s blocking ability in the running game and Okung’s successful history in both the pass and run game.
Christian McCaffrey’s extension gives the Panthers a leg up on their rivals in the ground game for quite a while. With a strong RB2 competition set to happen this summer, the Panthers can head into this season and beyond with a young and healthy one-two punch.
The NFC South ran all over the Panthers last year. But the run defense will be a focal point of improvement during training camp, whenever it gets underway. A young blood defensive tackle will have plenty of chances to prove that the new defense can’t be overwhelmed in the run game which might be enough for the offense to outpace the competition.