Carolina Panthers: Justifying McCaffrey’s historic contract

The defense already has low expectations

Speaking of overwhelming a defense, remember when Gerald McCoy compared the Carolina Panthers to the NBA dream team? Sadly, this did not come to fruition and the player himself is no longer with the franchise.

Now that the “dream team” is broken up, everybody expects the Panthers to suffer a third straight year of mediocrity. It might happen, but relegation could work in their favor.

The San Francisco 49ers went from zero to hero in the NFC after retooling their defense and snagging the top defensive end of the 2019 draft. The Panthers got themselves a defensive end of similar potential in Brian Burns and after retooling their defense, they’re in a position to unleash him with some new athletic running mates.

The merciless NFC South will undoubtedly throw their best at the Panthers’ defense, so this year could be a baptism of fire. Guys like Christian Miller and Jermaine Carter will have more chances to roll with the starting defense, have a better feel of the heat and fight for their extensions.

Signs of improvement from the former practice squad and special teams guys might be enough to keep the skeptics quiet. More importantly, it might be enough to validate the prudence of decisions made this offseason.