The 2022 season has come to an end, so let’s look back on who stood out for the Carolina Panthers during a wild and dramatic campaign.
When your team misses the playoffs five years in a row, you start looking forward to the offseason and seeing where your team can improve via free agency or the NFL Draft. However, I really wanted to take a step back and put things in perspective.
The Carolina Panthers missed the playoffs, yes, but their season wasn’t all bad.
For starters, David Tepper finally released his club from the clutches of Matt Rhule. This was a coaching tenure that set the franchise back years and sent the team further down into the abyss of mediocrity.
The Panthers were also able to win more than five games in the regular season for the first time in three years. They also somehow managed to play meaningful football all the way into January for the first time since 2017.
Considering how bleak things appeared for the Panthers after Week 5, to finish 7-10 and come within touching distance of an NFC South championship was encouraging. The important thing for Carolina is building on this positivity during the offseason.
From the coaching changes to the personnel decisions made, some Panthers deserve a shoutout for their accomplishments this season. Here are my picks for a few end-of-season superlatives.
Chuba Hubbard – Carolina Panthers RB
- Honorable Mention: Frankie Luvu, Derrick Brown, Brady Christensen.
Plenty of players deserve to be in consideration for the Carolina Panthers’ most improved player of 2022. But my vote goes to Chuba Hubbard.
The running back struggled as a starter in 2021 after the injury to superstar Christian McCaffrey and found himself as a reserve at the beginning of this season. However, after the All-Pro was traded and Matt Rhule was fired, Hubbard found himself in an increased role within Steve Wilks’ new offensive plan.
The Panthers began to lean on the run game as Wilks took over. Thanks to their sterling consistency, it took the pressure off of almost every player on offense.
Hubbard was vital to this new-look offense and posted massive improvements in his game from a year ago. He also progressed from a blocking standpoint, which was essential after a torrid rookie campaign in this key area of production.
Toting for a very impressive 4.9 yards per carry, and posting a catch percentage of 82.4 percent, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy proved the doubters wrong that he could be an NFL running back.
Coming into next season, Hubbard looks to increase his role and form a formidable backfield with D’Onta Foreman providing the pending free agent receives a contract extension beforehand.
Ikem Ekwonu – Carolina Panthers OT
- Honorable Mention: Cade Mays, Amare Barno.
The 2022 NFL Draft class boasts an impressive lineup of rookies that includes Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and many other high-impact players who helped their teams fill positions of need. Ikem Ekwonu is another standout and has made a strong case that he is the Carolina Panthers’ blindside anchor long-term.
Having played every single offensive snap in 2022, Ekwonu provided the Panthers with something they haven’t had since the great Jordan Gross retired almost a decade ago. Stability.
Ekwonu is also a hometown kid who had a dream of playing for the Panthers. That makes his exceptional start to life in Carolina all the sweeter.
This pick should come as no shock to anyone who’s seen the North Carolina State product compete this season. Ekwonu has arguably had the best rookie season for a Panther since the phenomenal Luke Kuechly won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012.
The Panthers have found their guy at left tackle at long last. Those in power need to do everything they can to surround Ekwonu with the team he deserves to protect.
Carolina Panthers OL
- Honorable Mention: D’Onta Foreman, D.J. Moore, Chuba Hubbard.
Words can’t describe how happy and relieved I am that the Carolina Panthers finally have a good offensive line. Ikem Ekwonu, Brady Christensen, Bradley Bozeman, Austin Corbett, and Taylor Moton produced one of the best seasons by any unit in franchise history.
The Panthers allowed 36 sacks this season, which was the 11th-fewest anywhere in the league. This represents a massive improvement after allowing the fifth most sacks in 2021. The team also ranked No. 10 in rush yards to further enhance their influence.
With the revolving door at quarterback, in-season trades of key players, and coaching changes, the only addendum to the front line was Bradley Bozeman replacing an injured Pat Elflein. This group gave the team extra versatility to lean heavily on the run game late in the season.
According to ESPN, the 2022 rendition of the Panthers’ offensive line ranked No. 11 in pass block win rate at 62 percent, and No. 15 in run block win rate at 72%. In 2021, the crew ranked No. 29 and No. 26 respectively.
I started to give this award to running back D’Onta Foreman, who was more than deserving. But the stability of the line and consistency all season long, in addition to being the best unit the Panthers have had in years gave them the advantage.
Everything about this group just feels right.
Frankie Luvu – Carolina Panthers LB
- Honorable Mention: Jaycee Horn, Derrick Brown, Brian Burns.
Quite a few players can be honorable mentions for the Defensive Player of the Year superlative. But I came away quite infatuated with Frankie Luvu this season.
Not enough can be said about Luvu’s impact on the game. The Carolina Panthers defense looks like a different animal in the games he played.
Luvu is one of six NFL players to post 100 combined tackles and 7 or more sacks in a single season. Only 15 players have done so since 2001, with the ferocious linebacker being the only one to complete this feat in the last two campaigns.
With a desperate need for an edge rusher opposite another great candidate for this award, Brian Burns, Luvu made his presence felt from the linebacker position. Filling the void as best he could.
Luvu was a standout player in his limited role from a season ago after serving three years with the New York Jets. In 2022, the Washington State product posted career highs in tackles, sacks, pressures, and interceptions in his first year as a starter.
Luvu looks to be an integral part of the Panthers’ defense for years to come. Even though there could be big changes coming to the defensive second-level once again this offseason.
Steve Wilks – Carolina Panthers interim HC
- Honorable Mention: Chris Tabor, James Campen.
It was extremely hard to pick between Steve Wilks, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, and offensive line coach James Campen. But I gave the honors to the interim head coach for bringing life and hope back to the Carolina Panthers after two years of utter malpractice.
After what looked to be yet another wasted and lost season, David Tepper finally made the decision to send former head coach Matt Rhule packing and promoted Wilks to be the leader of this franchise for the rest of the season.
The Wilks-led Panthers almost immediately turned the season around to finish just one win away from being division champions. This represents an incredible change of pace for a team going nowhere fast with Rhule mismanaging all areas of the franchise.
Wilks did not get a fair shake as Arizona Cardinals’ head coach. That’s been abundantly proven since his return to Carolina.
He is a man who fuels the culture and represents everything the Panthers need in a head coach, as well as what the communities in the Carolinas hope for. Wilks’ tough coaching and the respect commanded in the locker room by current players and past legends prove that he has all the tools to lead this franchise moving forward.
Whether Tepper goes down this route rather than a hot offensive mind remains to be seen.