Carolina Panthers have a dominant OL
It didn't take long for Dan Morgan's most pressing priority to become public knowledge during his first offseason at the helm. The general manager made fixing the offensive trenches his biggest objective above all else. And he stopped at nothing to achieve his goal.
There wasn't much money to spend, but Morgan managed to acquire marquee signings to fortify the offensive line interior. The Carolina Panthers spent lavish sums on Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to be their starting guard tandem. This was an instant game-changer.
Hunt and Lewis changed the entire demeanor of Carolina's protection. They were ruthless, aggressive, and took no prisoners. Taylor Moton remained the model of consistency and Ikem Ekwonu bounced back after a rough NFL sophomore campaign in 2023. Austin Corbett, Cade Mays, and Brady Christensen played well at the center position, although all three are out of contract this offseason.
The Panthers offensive line improvements came at the expense of their defense. This was a calculated risk from Morgan that paid off handsomely. Once the same attention is given to the defensive side of things, Carolina will be a force.
There are questions about the center position, but Morgan can easily rectify this issue. And make no mistake, having a dominant offensive line has more stroke than you think.
Carolina Panthers have a young, progressive head coach
David Tepper needed to think differently during the 2024 hiring cycle. His decision to give a college coach carte blanche to run the Panthers as he saw fit represented a grave error in judgment. He ignored the momentum generated by interim head coach Steve Wilks and the support from Carolina's locker room, going with an experienced retread down on his luck in Frank Reich. This quickly became a catastrophe.
Tepper realized what was unfolding and fired Reich after just 11 games. He deserves credit for that. He also deserves credit for going against the grain and handing the head coaching gig to Dave Canales.
There was no interest in Canales from elsewhere. Most analysts thought he'd be a head coach one day, but this promotion after one year of play-calling experience came too soon. But for once, the Panthers got ahead of the game rather than playing catch up.
Canales' previous connection to Dan Morgan and his strong reputation with struggling quarterbacks tipped the scales in his favor. However, the coach's boundless energy, unwavering belief, and clear vision for the future were the most impressive traits to emerge from year one under his leadership.
Everyone bought in. It took time, but Canales started to see the fruits of his labor down the stretch. The fact Carolina never threw in the towel despite playing for nothing more than pride typified the culture shift across the franchise. That's something the Panthers must lean into this offseason.