Panthers earn optimistic offseason grade from NFL insider

The Carolina Panthers had an extremely busy offseason. It's largely complete, though a smattering of smaller moves could still be made. The roster is mostly set, though, so it's a fair time to review and grade what the Panthers did. Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox did just that.

The Panthers were 5-12, which might have been a better record than their talent would've suggested. They had the worst defense in the league and didn't have an overly explosive offense to make up for it. They've gone to great lengths to fix that, though.

Knox gave the Panthers a B in free agency, a B+ in the draft, and an overall B+ for everything they did. Knox particularly liked that the Panthers made a concerted effort to get more weapons for Bryce Young, who he said "was fantastic over his final three games, posting a QB rating above 100.0 in all three contests while compiling seven passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and zero turnovers."

The B/R insider added, "Carolina used its first-round pick on Tetairoa McMillan, who should be a perfect fit for Canales' offense. Dame Parson of the B/R Scouting Department compared McMillan to wide receiver Mike Evans, who was the centerpiece of Caneles' passing attack when he was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator in 2023."

He also noted that having both McMillan and Legette to grow alongside Young is important. Knox praised the signing of Rico Dowdle to ensure they have a quality running game even without Jonathon Brooks this season.

"Of course, the Panthers didn't ignore the other side of the ball. Players like Tershawn Wharton and Nic Scourton should help boost a defense that ranked dead-last in both yards and points allowed last season. However, fans shouldn't expect to suddenly see a playoff-caliber defense in Carolina," Knox added about the other side of the ball.

He still believes the Panthers might be another year away from the playoffs, but this is a major, encouraging step in the right direction for a football team that's misfired so often over the last seven seasons.