4 Carolina Panthers players who excelled under Steve Wilks in 2022

Which Carolina Panthers players excelled under the leadership of interim head coach Steve Wilks in 2022?

At this point, it is safe to say Matt Rhule was the wrong head coach for the Carolina Panthers after moving on from Ron Rivera. After two straight five-win seasons and a 1-5 start in 2022, David Tepper finally made the decision to begin rectifying what has been the worst move since becoming the owner.

This was a long time coming. It also has allowed the Panthers to move forward and get back to fielding a competitive team.

Steve Wilks turned in one of the best coaching jobs anywhere in the NFL this season. He made many decisions that resulted in Carolina’s improvement to a .500 win-loss record without Rhule.

In fact, Wilks was able to surpass Rhule’s highest single-season total with six wins. And he did it in just 12 games.

Even though the bar is extremely low when it comes to impressive coaching, Wilks did more than Rhule ever could with the roster that wasn’t his own creation. With the support from players, past and present, he is in a prime position to be named head coach in 2023 and beyond.

Part of Wilks’ incredible turnaround stems from giving some key impact players down the stretch more time to shine. Following trades and injuries, these four individuals excelled and found success after Rhule under the coaching of Wilks.