An optimist's guide to the 2024 Carolina Panthers

Coming off a 2-15 season, it might be hard for the Panthers to stay positive. But we're here to help.

Here are three reasons Carolina should be optimistic.

1. HC Dave Canales' track record of success

When Panthers first-year head coach Dave Canales changed their career trajectories, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield were on their last chances as NFL starters.

Smith, a second-round pick (39th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, had 34 career starts before the 2022 season when he earned the starting job in Seattle with Canales as his quarterbacks coach. 

The journeyman quarterback, who had previous stints with the Jets, Giants and Chargers, had a career year under Canales' tutelage, finishing the season with a league-best 69.8 completion percentage, 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He received a three-year, $105 million contract extension the following offseason, and Canales was hired by Tampa Bay to be its offensive coordinator.

The Bucs were Mayfield's fourth team in three seasons, and the former No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft led Tampa Bay to the playoffs after posting career-highs in completion percentage (64.3), yards (4,044). and touchdowns (28). In March, he signed a three-year extension in Tampa worth up to $115 million.

Considering Canales' track record, we should expect quarterback Bryce Young to take a leap in Year 2.

2. Improved offensive weapons

The Panthers may not have realized just how integral wide receiver D.J. Moore was to their offense when they attached him to the deal for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, but they surely did after the unit failed to ignite last season. Carolina cobbled together a wide receiver group whose biggest contributor was former Vikings wideout Adam Thielen, 33, who is best as a secondary option at this point of his career.

The front office made a concerted effort to bolster the talent around Young, trading for former Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson and drafting Xavier Legette, who Carolina moved up to select with the last pick of the first round. The Panthers also added running back Jonathon Brooks and tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders in April's draft to solidify their commitment to their young quarterback.

3. It can't possibly get worse

2023 had to be rock bottom... right? The Panthers weren't just bad last season—they were brutally unlucky, too. Injuries to cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker Shaq Thompson dented a defense that had promise entering the season. 

The offensive line, a strength in 2022, took a massive step backward. The year before Young's arrival, the unit ranked in the league's top half in ESPN's pass- and run-block win-rate rankings. In 2023, it dropped to the bottom third in both metrics. Running backs averaged four yards per attempt, 23rd in the league.

Carolina was 2-6 in one-possession games.

Young isn't the first quarterback to struggle as a rookie, either. With a year under his belt, he should look more like the player who won the 2021 Heisman at Alabama.