Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kay Adams on the Up & Adams set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kay Adams names Carolina Panthers among NFL teams poised for big turnaround in 2025

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 9:00 AM ET

When it comes to national NFL writer, most tend to completely ignore the Carolina Panthers - that is when they aren't ranking them or their players far lower than they actually deserve. There are exceptions to the rule, though. Pat McAfee for one has been impressed by what the Panthers have done this offseason, especially in the draft.

Kay Adams is another prominent voice who sees good things in the Panthers' immediae future. She has had Carolina legend Luke Kuechly on as a regular guest and has been more bullish about Carolina's flawed but rising roster than most national analysts.

The latest accolade for the Panthers from Adams is getting ranked among the top-five teams around the league that are poised for a big turnaround in 2025.

Kay Adams on Carolina turnaround

“Carolina Panthers, that’s correct... They went 4-5 in the second half of last season. Bryce Young came alive down the stretch. Their win total is six-and-a-half, that’s crazy. Do I think that they could push for a wildcard spot down the stretch, I do, in the NFC South? Of course...”

Here's the full clip.

This checks out. The strength of this Panthers roster is their underrated offensive line unit, which is returning every key piece from the 2024 season. That will help Bryce Young continue his development, which in turn will help take advantage of Carolina's young up-and-coming receiver corps and enabling the run game led by Chuba Hubbard to keep going strong.

Not much went right on the other side of the ball in 2024, but the one position you couldn't fault for that was cornerback, where the Panthers are returning Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson and have a promising slot option in Chau Smih-Wade. Every other position group on defense has been radically turned over this offseason. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll see a big improvement from this group, but they literally can't get any worse than they were last year.

Assuming most of their key offseason pickups work out, the Panthers should be shooting for a 9-8 record, which would represent a massive four-win improvement over last season.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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