The Carolina Panthers have invested heavily in wide receivers over the last few seasons. They've spent draft capital the last two years at tight end. They've picked two running backs to pair with a borderline star in Chuba Hubbard in the backfield. And yet, they still have some really awful weapon groups.
In fact, ESPN's Bill Barnwell thinks they have the second-worst collection of skill-position players in the entire NFL. Only the Tennessee Titans were ranked lower. Carolina, despite its efforts, is still a wasteland on offense.
"Outside of veteran Adam Thielen, who continues to produce at age 34, there's a lot of projection here," Barnwell noted. He said he likes Jalen Coker more than Xavier Legette, which says more about Legette than Coker. He also said Tetairoa McMillan is an unknown right now, which leaves WR as a bit of a question mark.
"With Jonathon Brooks out for the season, the backfield will run through Chuba Hubbard, which is well-deserved. Hubbard is patient and powerful; his burst between two unblocked Cardinals defenders to score a game-winning touchdown in overtime on his final snap of the 2024 season might have been Carolina's offensive highlight of the season," Barnwell said.
He also praised the signing of Rico Dowdle, who was solid as a starter and should be good when called upon in 2025. Barnwell did not mention the tight end spot whatsoever, which is pretty indicative of the talent there. It's no man's land, and there are two unproven players with Tommy Tremble, a proven mediocre player.
Perhaps the most interesting thing here is not that Barnwell ranked them 31st, although one could argue that's low. The New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns probably don't deserve to be ranked higher.
No, the most interesting thing is that Carolina ranked higher last year. They were 31st in 2023 and then 28th in 2024. Somehow, they've moved backwards. This kind of makes very little sense, given that they've added a better backup running back (and Trevor Etienne), another potentially promising tight end, and Tetairoa McMillan. They didn't lose anyone, either, so this is curious at best.
