State of the Panthers: Pre-training camp roster outlook in 2021

When can the Carolina Panthers become contenders?

After looking at our current roster and how it stacks up against other teams who have won it all in today’s NFL climate, when can the Carolina Panthers realistically expect to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

The Panthers are a real mixed bag when it comes to their current configuration with pieces ready to win now and others lagging so far behind they aren’t even in the same zip code anymore.

So let’s take a look at some important factors.

First off, Matt Rhule is known for rebuilding programs at the college level. However, that took him on average three years to complete and that was without the pressure of the NFL and with more consistency in players.

On top of that, it takes on average 2-3 years for a player to develop into a solid starter. Sometimes even longer to reach their potential and the Panthers have a lot of players that fall into that developmental category.

And finally, the players that are ready to win now are more complementary pieces than the building blocks of a solid roster.

So with the needed development time of current players and the fact that more need to be added in the coming draft, I have some disappointing news to anyone looking forward to placing some bets this fall.