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Carolina Panthers 2025 NFL Season Preview

[Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 NFL Preview Magazine.Order your copy today online or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

The Carolina Panthers finally showed a little life at the end of the 2024 season, owing largely to an offense that awoke from a two-year slumber. Quarterback Bryce Young’s star had fallen so far by the beginning of the season that new head coach Dave Canales benched 2023’s No. 1 overall pick for poor performance following two awful games to start the year.

Young later would return, though, after a minor car accident sidelined quarterback Andy Dalton. Young made good on his second chance, showing flashes of the dynamic playmaker college football fans had been used to seeing at Alabama.

Now Carolina is trying to make sure Young keeps that momentum going in his third year. They’ve given him another playmaker to work with in No. 8 overall pick Tetairoa McMillan, a big-bodied wide receiver from Arizona.

More NFL team previews

AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Jets | Patriots

AFC North:Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers

AFC South:Colts | Jaguars | Texans | Titans

AFC West: Broncos | Chargers | Chiefs | Raiders

NFC East:Commanders | Cowboys | Eagles | Giants

NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings

NFC South: Buccaneers | Falcons | Panthers | Saints

NFC West: 49ers | Cardinals | Rams | Seahawks

The biggest deficiency that the Panthers worked on in the 2025 offseason, though, was their defense. It was horrid in 2024, allowing the most points ever in an NFL season and also becoming only the fourth team ever to allow 3,000-plus rushing yards in a season Carolina didn’t fire defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero after that performance, but he will be on the hot seat this year if Carolina doesn’t show marked improvement after the team overhauled that unit in free agency.

After going 5-12 in 2024, the Panthers really need to get better everywhere. But there is a sense of optimism surrounding Canales, who is from the Pete Carroll school of relentless positivity.

Offense

There’s a lot of stability on this side of the ball, as the Panthers have bet big that Young continues his form from the last two months of 2024. The entire offensive starting line basically returns en masse; mountainous guard Robert Hunt was a particular standout last year. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu remains iffy against some speed rushers, and the Panthers hesitated before picking up his fifth-year option, but they ultimately decided to do so. Right tackle Taylor Moton is a durable mainstay. The backups have a lot of experience as well.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) scores in overtime to win the game during the second half at Bank of America Stadium.

Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard

Although Young is the most well-known Panther, running back Chuba Hubbard is the best skill player on the team, and tailback may be Carolina’s deepest position. A leftover from the Matt Rhule era, Hubbard has become a sturdy NFL running back who is a breakaway threat. He had career highs in rushing yards (1,195) and rushing touchdowns (10) in 2024 and signed a lucrative contract extension in November. Unless Hubbard gets hurt, he’s the clear No. 1 back. The backup is another 1,000-yard rusher — former Dallas Cowboy Rico Dowdle, who ran for 1,079 yards in 2024 and now assumes the No. 2 role. Jonathon Brooks, a second-round pick in 2024, suffered his second torn ACL in 13 months in December and is out for the season.

At wide receiver, the Panthers’ No. 1 isn’t nearly as clear. Maybe it will be McMillan, a large target with great hands. Perhaps it will be Adam Thielen, the slot receiver who has filled that role by default the past two years for Young but whose production dropped in 2024. Maybe Xavier Legette can rebound from a relatively disappointing rookie year to have a strong Year 2. The Panthers also signed Hunter Renfrow, who was out of football in 2024, for depth right after the draft. What the team still lacks is a true speedster at the position. Jalen Coker, an undrafted free agent in 2024, could be a bright spot.

The team hasn’t had a big-time receiving tight end since Greg Olsen left. Tommy Tremble and 2024 fourth-rounder Ja’Tavion Sanders will vie for the starting job and more respect from defenses.

Defense

The Panthers’ two best defensive players are interior lineman Derrick Brown and cornerback Jaycee Horn. They’ve plowed a lot of money into both men. Horn was a rose among the thorns in 2024, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and becoming Carolina’s lockdown corner. Brown, however, suffered a Week 1 knee injury and missed the rest of the season. He is fully healthy and should enhance the run defense all by himself.

Carolina’s 32 sacks in 2024 tied for the third-fewest in the NFL, and the team has attempted to bolster that feeble effort with veteran Patrick Jones II and two high draft choices who will be edge rushers in the Panthers’ 3-4 scheme — Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. The run defense can’t be any worse, and 332-pound interior lineman Bobby Brown III should help Derrick Brown fill some of the holes inside. Tershawn Wharton will also help in that regard. But the most significant thing to watch is if Derrick Brown stays healthy and returns to form — the Panthers are a different defense with him on the field.

Carolina Panthers secondary

Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn

The Panthers’ two inside linebackers will be veteran Josey Jewell and second-year player Trevin Wallace after the team parted ways with Shaq Thompson. Jewell is a solid tackler, while Wallace has some big-play potential. The team re-signed steady Mike Jackson to start at cornerback alongside the ball-hawking Horn. Hard-hitting safety Tre’von Moehrig was a notable free-agent acquisition and one who will be counted on to improve a spot where the Panthers had little turnover production a year ago.

Specialists

There are some question marks here. Carolina has turned over both its placekicker and its punter, letting go of Eddy Piñeiro and Johnny Hekker, respectively. To replace Hekker, the team signed another veteran punter in Sam Martin. At kicker, however, the future is a little murky. Undrafted rookie free agent Ryan Fitzgerald, formerly of Florida State, has a stronger leg than Piñeiro and went 5-for-5 from 50-plus yards for the Seminoles last year while not missing a single field goal of any length. The job is his to lose. But if he struggles, don’t discount the possibility of the Panthers signing a veteran kicker at some point during the season.

Long-snapper JJ Jansen, the longest-tenured Panther in history, should return once again. The return spots may be once again manned by Raheem Blackshear, but fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne (former Georgia running back and the younger brother of Travis) will also get a shot to make a mark.

Final Analysis

Carolina hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season, and its run of seven straight losing seasons under owner David Tepper has been an embarrassment in a league where winning matters above all else. This season feels like an opportunity, though, with the NFC South in flux and Young ascending.

Still, the Panthers have to start stopping people, especially on the ground. If they can just become a middle-of-the-pack D instead of the dead-last unit they were a year ago, that would be a major boon. Offensively, the establishment of a No. 1 wideout is paramount, as is Young continuing to display the talent he did at the end of last year. If all that happens, this feels like a team that could flirt with the .500 mark all season and, if it’s lucky, factor into the divisional race for the first time in a long time.