3 severe overreactions from the Carolina Panthers' 2024 offseason

Carolina Panthers' playoff chances

The Carolina Panthers won two games last season. They were comfortably the league's worst team and didn't even have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft to show for it. There's nowhere to go but up, which is the one positive to take from last year's complete capitulation.

Dave Canales brought positivity back. He's improving everything across the football operation. He's also got the benefit of continuity on the defensive side after convincing Ejiro Evero to stick around and be part of this ambitious project.

Canales believes something special is brewing. He's made bold claims about progress throughout the offseason. The head coach laid the gauntlet down to his NFC South rivals, claiming the Panthers weren't far away from legitimately competing if everything clicked right away.

Fans are dreaming of competitive football in December. Others are convinced this team can make a strong push for the postseason despite their basement-dweller status heading into the campaign.

The Panthers are taking things step by step. Dan Morgan preached the need for patience initially. This was a big job with too many problems to fix in one fell swoop. If strides are made in some capacity, that's the clearest sign yet that this once-proud organization is finally on the path to respectability.

As previously stated, the Panthers need to walk before they can run. The NFC South isn't the most competitive division in football, which only raises Carolina's newly-raised bar for which to aim. However, expecting Canales to instantly transform his group into a playoff challenger is unfair and unrealistic in equal measure.

The truth is in the middle. Somewhere around 6-8 wins should be classed as a triumph for Canales in Year 1 as head coach. Even if this modest target isn't reached, it's not the end of the world.

We live in an instant gratification era. But keeping the bigger picture in mind is imperative for every Panthers fan in 2024.