3 Things That Badly Need to Change Before Week 1 for Panthers

The Carolina Panthers spent a lot of the offseason and preseason working through the kinks. They have some new faces and a new play-caller, so there was plenty to do. They had varying degrees of success in that endeavor. We now know more about what the kinks are, however.

But now, the time to work things out has passed. The next time we see Carolina will be in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, another team looking to defend its division crown. There are some things that will need to change between now and then.

Protection schematics

Carolina Panthers tackle Monroe Freeling (57) during the first quarter of the preseason game | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In a regular-season game, Monroe Freeling wouldn't have been left on an island like he was in joint practice with the Houston Texans. Regardless, it's clear the offensive line isn't yet (but probably will be since there's too much talent) ready to carry this offense. There's not much continuity with the unit, though.

In time, that may come. There's too much talent for the unit to be a liability on offense, but for Week 1 and the few games after, Brad Idzik has to scheme up better protections than we saw in the preseason. That was a consistent issue with the first-team offense.

Running game mechanics

Another thing that was consistently lackluster with the first-team offense was the running game. Now, having Chuba Hubbard back might help, but that's no guarantee, and he's not guaranteed to play Week 1, either. It could be Jonathon Brooks' first career start.

How can they do better? It starts schematically and continues to the play-calling. Brad Idzik and Dave Canales will need to be clever with how they use the running game to try and set everyone up for success. Given the passing game's deficiencies, this is an important change.

Defensive coverage

Carolina Panthers cornerback Michael Jackson (2) during Fanfest | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Panthers' defense had to operate a certain way in 2025 to make up for a lackluster offense that didn't score a lot of points and had major, debilitating weaknesses in the middle and off the edge. Those weaknesses are not there anymore, and the offense should be a little better.

What we saw of Ejiro Evero's scheme with the starters or top backups was more of the same, though. Despite the improved talent, we still saw the Panthers being willing to let teams get completions and leave players open, even if it wasn't for huge gains. Ben Johnson will tear that to shreds in Week 1.

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