4 Panthers not named Sam Darnold under most pressure in 2022

Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers RB

The microscope will once again be on the fitness of Christian McCaffrey in 2022. It was another luckless campaign for the running back last time around en route to seven games and left more questions than answers about the All-Pro’s dependability moving forward.

McCaffrey cannot be the workhorse that the Carolina Panthers depended on significantly any longer. That’s not the way to best utilize such an important player that’s missed so much time of late.

Hopefully, new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo can come up with a solution to this ongoing complication. It will also take a level of acceptance from McCaffrey to take help from other skill position players in pursuit of maximizing his own production.

Any problems that McCaffrey encounters in 2022 regarding injuries will not be well received. It could also significantly jeopardize Carolina’s chances unless a proper contingency plan is put in place.

This is a precarious situation. One that’s made more pressing with McCaffrey finally beginning his bumper new contract next season.

Hopefully, for the player and the Panthers, McCaffrey will remain healthy for an entire campaign and continue to put up elite numbers. But there is just no telling for sure despite how well the Stanford product looks in offseason workouts.