Carolina Panthers 2023 Offseason Checklist
The 2022 season is now in the rearview mirror as the Carolina Panthers finished with a 7-10 record, finishing second place in the NFC South division. After starting 1-4, the Panthers turned things around going 6-6 under interim head coach Steve Wilks. Despite the strong finish to the year, Carolina decided to go with Frank Reich as its next head coach. There will be a lot of thing that he needs to do to make year one a success and that includes building a phenomenal coaching staff.
But staffing aside, what exactly must Reich and the Panthers do to get things headed in the right direction in 2023? Let's take a look.
Draft Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
As I've stated numerous times on our podcast and on various radio stations, I'm not very high on this quarterback class. I think there's too much hype and a lot of it is because of how bad last year's class was. I'm not sold on Bryce Young and it's all because of the size. I don't know if I can trust the guy to stay healthy long-term in this league.
There is one quarterback in this year's class that I'm growing more fond of each day and that's Ohio State's C.J. Stroud. He's an extremely accurate passer in all three levels, can make every throw, has good mobility and pocket presence, and has an absolute cannon for an arm. If there's one guy Panthers GM Scott Fitterer should go all-in for, it's Stroud. In my opinion, he's the guy with the most franchise type potential.
Sign veteran pass catching tight end
Ian Thomas is one of the better blocking tight ends in the league, but he's not much of a threat in the receiving game. Tommy Tremble is coming along but I'm not sure he can evolve into that middle of the field guy. He too, is more of a blocker. Mike Gesicki and Dalton Schultz make sense but someone like Austin Hooper or Robert Tonyan may be more reasonable financially. Either way, Carolina has to make an effort to improve the tight end group, preferably with a veteran.
Trade for/sign a big-play receiver
Aside from DJ Moore, what do the Panthers have at wide receiver? A bunch of questions marks. Terrace Marshall Jr. has shown some flashes but you don't want to bank on him developing into WR2 and it not happen. Laviska Shenault is talented, but can he be more than just a role guy that catches swing passes/screens?
Fitterer said this is the year that they can start to take some shots. Allen Lazard, JuJu Smith-Schuster, D.J. Chark, Sterling Shepard are all names that pop on the free agent board. Or they could go after an explosive receiver via a trade such as Tee Higgins. There are plenty of options out there, Carolina just has to make it a priority to get DJ Moore some help.
Add another pass rusher
How good was Brian Burns this season? My goodness. He had a career year across the board with 63 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 22 QB hits, and 12.5 sacks. Now just imagine what those numbers would have been had he had some help on the opposite side. Folks want to blame Fitterer and the Panthers for "letting" Haason Reddick "walk" but that's not what happened...at all. Carolina tried to bring him back but at the end of the day, Reddick wanted to go somewhere he had a chance to win and to put the icing on the cake, he returned closer to his hometown of Camden, New Jersey by signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Anyways, getting another respected pass rusher would force teams to go away from double-teaming and chipping Burns as much as they did in 2022. Yannick Ngakoue is someone that would bring exactly what Carolina needs. Plus, he has familiarity with head coach Frank Reich from his time in Indy.
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
