The Panthers want to climb out of the NFL abyss in 2025.
Following a three-game improvement in the first year of the Dave Canales era, the vibes are somewhat high around Bank of America Stadium, even after a lackluster preseason slate.
After showing glimpses of the offense’s potential down the stretch of last year’s 5-12 season, the pressure is on Canales and third-year quarterback Bryce Young to continue to trend in the right direction. And with several new additions on defense, the hope is that Canales and Young won’t have to scramble to manufacture 30-plus points every Sunday.
So, will the Panthers make a run at a division title after seven straight years of watching the playoffs from home? Let’s check in with The Observer’s Panthers writers to see what they think …
What will be the Panthers’ 2025 win-loss record?
Mike Kaye: 7-10. Heading into the summer, I was pretty bullish on an 8-9 finish. But I think the immediate growing pains of life without Adam Thielen could cost Carolina in an early game that comes down to the wire — specifically thinking about Arizona in Week 2. Overall, though, this team feels improved and worthy of contention beyond the first month of the season, which has really been the crux of the struggles for the Panthers in this era. If Carolina can push into November around .500, they’ve got a chance to surprise a lot of people. Would a 9-8 finish be a massive shocker? Not really, but it won’t be easy.
Alex Zietlow: 8-9. I’ve been touting 7-10 all offseason. But because Mike took that total above — and because I’m buying the unrelenting hope that Canales seems to carry with him by the truckload — let’s roll with 8-9. This team should be explosive enough on offense and competent enough on defense to be in every game it plays, save the Buffalo Bills game in late October. Go 3-1 to start the year and then find a way to win five more — maybe against the Dolphins, Cowboys, Jets, Saints (twice)? — and that’s eight right there.
Scott Fowler: 6-11. I felt better about things before the Panthers lost all three preseason games and got outscored 69-23. Certainly, those losses don’t count, but they did point up the Panthers’ problematic lack of depth at a number of key positions. With the Panthers keeping 11 rookies on their 53-man roster, this feels like a team preparing for the long haul a bit more than one ready to win a lot this season.
Who will be the team’s offensive MVP?
Mike Kaye: Chuba Hubbard. The Canadian-born running back surprised a lot of people last year when he ran away with the starting job and had a Pro Bowl-worthy season in 2024. I wasn’t among the surprised crew, as Hubbard’s performance in 2023 showed flashes of brilliance in an otherwise dreadful campaign. This year, Hubbard is well paid and perfectly positioned to again be the focal point of the offense. While Rico Dowdle is a worthwhile tag-team partner and a justifiable insurance policy, Hubbard is the guy, and with Thielen gone, he’s the most proven offensive playmaker in town. Young, Canales and the offense need to continue to lean on him.
Alex Zietlow: Bryce Young. The third-year quarterback will be without his favorite weapon of his previous two seasons in Adam Thielen, who got traded to the Minnesota Vikings last week. Of course, there’s another key thing he’ll be without in 2025: Excuses. This is Young’s most important year to date in the NFL. Full stop. His offensive line is good and healthy and replete with returning talent. His receiving corps is deep. And his confidence — coming off a red-hot five-game stretch to end 2024 and a productive training camp this summer — should be sky-high. The former No. 1 overall pick never made any excuses for his uneven play his first two seasons; others did that for him, with the promise that he’ll one day show who he is. The time is now to do that. This year. And I think he will. So we can put some numbers on it: 3,500 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and fewer than seven interceptions.
Scott Fowler: Tetairoa McMillan. The rookie says not to call him “Tet” but to use T-Mac instead, and a lot of people are going to remember that preference after McMillan has a 1,000-yard receiving season as a rookie. McMillan can flat go up and get it, and I believe he will emerge as Bryce Young’s No. 1 receiver within the first month of the season. Trading Adam Thielen cleared the way for this; now McMillan needs to make it happen, and I believe he will.
Who will be the team’s defensive MVP?
Mike Kaye: Jaycee Horn. I’m calling it for a second consecutive season: Horn will be the most important player on defense for Carolina. Following his first Pro Bowl season, Horn has been rewarded with a hefty contract and been positioned as one of the three or four faces of the franchise.
Still just 25, there is plenty of upside worth exploring, and I think that’ll be shown with a bit more versatility in 2025. If Horn can boost his interception numbers, his profile will be elevated nationally, and the Panthers will get a few more tallies in the win column this fall.
Alex Zietlow: Trevin Wallace. He won’t get the interceptions Horn will, or the sack numbers his edge rushers will. But Wallace will likely be the team’s leading tackler and, if this summer is any indication, be a force to be reckoned with in the pass rush. He’s now an unquestioned starter in a pretty thin room after being a reserve for most of 2024. Expect a sophomore jump for Wallace; the Panthers are counting on it.
Scott Fowler: Derrick Brown. Don’t forget about the guy who may well be the Panthers’ best overall player. Sometimes in 2023, to break up the monotony of covering a 2-15 season, I would simply watch what Brown did for an entire defensive series at a time. It was illuminating. There was no chance to do that last year, as Brown hurt his knee in Week 1 and didn’t play the rest of the season for a Panthers defense that was historically awful. Now he’s back, and I’m betting he will be playing at a Pro Bowl level once again.
Who will be the team’s rookie of the year?
Mike Kaye: Tetairoa McMillan. With Thielen no longer in the lineup, the Panthers need to hope and pray that this is the case. The Panthers have put a lot of pressure on McMillan — and really, Xavier Legette — with the Thielen trade, and this year’s first-round pick will need to step up to reward the brass for the vote of confidence. With Young needing a new favorite weapon, McMillan is likely to be targeted A LOT this year. If the rookie can take advantage of those targets, he will be considered an ascending playmaker with Pro Bowl potential. If not, this offense is going to sink again.
Alex Zietlow: Nic Scourton. He plays a premium position and has flashed already a few times this preseason. If the Panthers’ second-round pick can stay healthy — a collapsed lung in Houston abbreviated his preseason — then he’ll be a force against the run and pass.
I understand Scourton is a play for the long-term. He’s still 21 years old, after all, with veterans like DJ Wonnum and Pat Jones II ahead of him. But if he can come up with six sacks on the year and play his way into starter status by the back half of the season, I think he’s in contention for the Panthers’ most valuable rookie.
Scott Fowler: Tetairoa McMillan. Since I’m picking him to be the offensive MVP, it stands to reason he would also be my rookie of the year. However, I’ll pick a second rookie here to shine on defense: safety Lathan Ransom. If he’s not starting by midseason, I’ll be surprised. He’s physical, creative and used to being a winner. On a defense that still needs lots of talent after a horrible 2024, he will help.
What will be the biggest surprise of the season?
Mike Kaye: The running game will continue to drive the offense. While everyone seems excited about all the new playmakers in the passing game, Hubbard, Dowdle and rookie Trevor Etienne are the weapons I have the most faith in. This offensive line can run block with the best of them, and having a trio of talented backs behind that group makes it all the more likely that Canales leans on them when it matters most. McMillan is a talented unknown. Legette still has a lot to prove. And tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, despite his terrific summer, is still adjusting to being a top weapon in an NFL offense. Plus, it’s hard to say whether Young’s performance down the stretch of 2024 is sustainable throughout an entire campaign. Maybe it lacks sizzle, but I’m going with what I know.
Alex Zietlow: The Panthers will be able to … stop the run? I know, I know, it’s a strange possibility to ponder for me, too. The Panthers gave up 3,057 rushing yards in 2024 — the most in the league and the third most in any single season in NFL history. But optimism springs eternal the first week of September. And because of this, I’m betting on this newly assembled defensive line with Super Bowl champion Turk Wharton and veteran A’Shawn Robinson and Pro Bowler Derrick Brown. I’m also betting on safety Tre’Von Moehrig, who is dynamic and a punisher in the run game. To make this measurable, let’s say the Panthers don’t allow over 2,000 yards rushing in 2025. That’ll put them right around a Top 12-15 defense in the category, if 2024 numbers are any indication. And that will be a massive help. A massive surprise, too.
Scott Fowler: The emergence of wide receiver Brycen Tremayne. Had anybody heard of this guy prior to training camp? I know I hadn’t. But at every practice, Tremayne seemed to make another play, which is why he beat the odds and made the team. He’s not that fast, but he’s a big target (6-4, 212 pounds). Tremayne may well be inactive early in the season, or at least only playing on special teams. But once there’s an injury, I’m penciling this guy in for a couple of big-time plays at wideout. The injury to Jalen Coker doesn’t hurt his chances to get some meaningful reps, either.
Who will win the NFC South?
Mike Kaye: Buccaneers. I think the gap is starting to close between Tampa Bay and everyone else in the division. The Bucs are on to their fourth offensive coordinator in as many years, and that is likely to finally bite them in some area of the offensive output. But the squad still has stability in talent, and ultimately, that’s where I think they have a legitimate advantage. Tampa Bay has been really good at beating division opponents over the past few years (4-2 in each of the past four seasons), and really, that’s how you win a lowly division like the NFC South. I think Carolina and Atlanta will keep it close in the first half before one of them drops off down the home stretch. New Orleans feels like schedule fodder that could lead to a couple of quality wins this season for each of the other three teams in the division.
Alex Zietlow: Bucs. There’s not much way around this one. The Saints are in rebuilding mode. The Falcons have some upside but still are led by a young quarterback and a second-year head coach. And the Panthers aren’t quite ready yet. I expect a regression from Tampa Bay — their last two offensive coordinators/play callers are now head coaches elsewhere, and that attrition isn’t great for any offense — but consistency is that franchise’s game. Another Baker Mayfield playoff run incoming?
Scott Fowler: Falcons. I was going to pick the Bucs, too, but what’s the fun of three people all agreeing? The Falcons have a chance, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and running back Bijan Robinson leading the charge.