ESPN Releases Post-Draft Power Rankings

Many believe the Carolina Panthers were one of the biggest winners from the 2021 NFL Draft, myself included. New GM Scott Fitterer did a tremendous job of letting the board fall to him, not reaching for players, and trading back multiple times.

Carolina filled a huge need at corner by selecting South Carolina's Jaycee Horn 8th overall, drafted LSU WR Terrace Marshall Jr. to replace Curtis Samuel, took BYU left tackle Brady Christensen to give Sam Darnold more protection, and drafted Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard in the 4th round - a prospect that was considered a day two pick just a year ago.

Despite having a solid draft class, ESPN dropped the Panthers from No. 23 to No. 25 in their most recent power rankings with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons both jumping ahead of them.

I understand having the youngest team in the NFL will keep the Panthers toward the bottom of these lists but I'm not sold on the idea that they somehow got worse following the draft. They made some key additions at areas of need and established depth in the back end of the draft which is something they did not have a year ago.

With all the talent this team has on both sides of the ball, I would slate them somewhere between 20-23 and not a spot lower.

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