- Taylor Moton, RT
Moton was the high point of last year's line, and didn't get as deep into struggle as the issues of LT, C, or the guards. Moton, the team's highest paid player, is a measure of consistency. PFF had him 13th best OT in the league. - Robert Hunt, RG
Hunt similarly provides exceptional ability in both run and pass blocking, of course with the expectation that he will have to continue his success in Carolina. Hunt is massive, moves like a smaller guy, blocks the run like he's two guys at times. Carolina didn't just pay huge for the Dolphins' advanced 2023 success, he was their most consistent starter in 2021. In Hunt and Moton, Carolina has thrown potentially their two best players, at Bryce Young's strong side. And I don't think that'll hurt anything with the run game either. - Derrick Brown
Brown is an elite run defender and acceptable pass guy, in part from batted balls; he also gets to the QB, but his sack numbers are low. If you were to argue that Brian Burns' numbers were down from fewer opportunities, it makes you wonder similarly about Brown. And having a good gap defender across from him in A'Shawn Robinson will give Brown, who had an eye popping 100 tackles last year, even more opportuity, but hopefully fewer teams are running out the entire 4th quarter against Carolina.
By positional ranking, Brown might be the highest player, and for that, you could argue him to be the #1 on this list instead. - Dionate Johnson
We'll see if this lands, but as of right now he's ball-hungry on a team that needs someone to be that guy. He's here at #3 in part because of elite route-running and being the best route runner on a team with an accurate QB is the best chance Carolina has to actually pass the ball. Even if the forward-thinking Dave Canales gets super conservative and does a Dan Henning Run-Run-Pass-kick, having a real route runner out there gives you options. Johnson should really unlock 3rd down, as well. And if he doesn't, taking a lot of attention never hurts. - Xavier Woods
A bit of a surprise, but Woods had a really good year, outplayed the now-departed Vonn Bell, and became what Bell was supposed to be. Woods has alternately been a good pass defender, or a good run guy, but last year brought it all together. - Jadeveon Clowney
Clowney is not perfect, and his rush ability last year undeniably had not shown up as easily prior; I've often cited Justin Houston coming off a big Ravens year to fully disappear here. But, a difference here is that Clowney is elite at setting the edge against the run, something that Carolina has not had for a long time. Another place that Carolina needed to improve, and has. - Jaycee Horn
More 'on paper' than any newcomer, Horn's ideal for his position but he's gotta be available. When he is, unquestionably valuable. He's a near demoralizing figure to WRs, he's excellent at his responsibilities, and if he can just be around, becomes one of those guys that constantly gets talked about as a lock-down guy. - Adam Thielen
I know, he's not optimal at his age, but he really, really worked last year without a lot of ability to separate, which led him to have an exceptional man coverage score, and Thielen was insanely productive compared to the field in Carolina. He had no business doing so much better than everyone else, and yet, did. He was very productive in an environment that no one else was. - Bryce Young
I think a thing lost in last year being included in Young's resume is, I just don't see him being the reason Carolina went 2-win. He made plenty of mistakes but those saying, if you put a good cast around him you might compete immediately, were right. It didn't seem too big for him. He finds the open man and makes quick decisions with a quick release, and gets an accurate ball out, when he has either an open man, or time, or both God forbid. - Shaq Thompson
There's value in what Thompson does, and while he's no longer likely the athletic marvel, he does everything well, he is consistently good when healthy, he's a solid man coverage matchup, and should get more opportunity to do some fun things when there's no Frankie Luvu. His 2021 coverage and overall grades, along with his 2022 near-dominant run defense, if he can marry those two together the way that Woods above did last year, Thompson will be a dominant player.
There are more newcomers there than I'd like, and it's easy to say that Carolina has given up some ridiculously talented players along the way. Any from within Brian Burns, DJ Moore, or Luvu may have topped this list, or been in the top five at worst. And that's without the bizarre usage of, say, Jeremy Chinn devaluing an obviously talented player. It's not lost to me that Christian McCaffrey remains one of the league's best weapons, or that the 'take' from dropping a lot of the guys has included returns we're still hoping to see. But, this rambling postamble aside, this is about celebrating who's actually here.
And what's here is not bad. It's not a Marty Hurney level topheaviness, but it's a good starting point, and if things go fine here, the biggest concern is developing depth. Along with that, one of the main keys to this whole thing is that only a few are home-grown - and it's up to guys like Xavier Legette to earn their own spots here. A future where Legette, Jonathon Brooks, Jonathan Mingo are key contributors for Young, that matters. But from within the last four years, there aren't enough of those guys.
Source: http://absolutepanthers.blogspot.com/fe ... ts/default
