2 Panthers Disappointments I Didn't See Coming in 2026

I know we're only three games into the season. That's way too early to start deciding what this Panthers team is or isn't.

And honestly, there have been some things I've liked. Bryce Young has played pretty well, Jalen Coker has been really good, and the defense has looked a whole lot better since what happened against Chicago.

But not everything has gone the way I thought it would. If you asked me what has disappointed me the most so far, I keep coming back to these two.

The Offensive Line

I know I've talked about Monroe Freeling a lot already, but I'm not putting all of this on him. I expected Freeling to struggle some. He's 22 years old, he's playing right tackle after spending most of his time at Georgia on the left side, and he probably got thrown into this a little sooner than Carolina wanted because of what happened with Taylor Moton.

But the whole offensive line hasn't been good enough.

The Cleveland game is the one that really bothered me. Bryce was pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks and had to throw the ball 48 times. I know some of that comes with trying to win the game late, but that's still way too much.

Freeling has struggled, and Luke Fortner hasn't exactly made me feel any better about the center position, either. Now injuries are becoming part of the equation, too. Damien Lewis missed practice again Thursday with an elbow injury, while Freeling was limited as he works his way through concussion protocol.

So how do they turn it around? I don't think there's a complicated answer. Get healthy, give Freeling some time to figure things out, and start giving Young more time.

And maybe don't put him in a situation where he has to throw it 48 times while he's getting pressured on half his dropbacks.

I'd start there.

The Run Defense

Yeah, I'm going back to this again.