Where the Panthers Sit in Peter King's NFL Power Rankings

It's safe to say that expectations are fairly low for Carolina in 2022.

Following all of the moves made in free agency and in the 2022 NFL Draft, NBC's Peter King recently released his NFL Power Rankings.

As expected, the Panthers are not thought of very highly as he pegged them at No. 31 in his rankings, above only Houston.

Hard to be optimistic if you’re a Panthers fan. You don’t know who your quarterback, head coach, or coordinators will be on opening day 2023, and you’re not sure any of those men are in-house (even Matt Corral) today. The best sign of the spring for Carolina is that owner David Tepper came out and said the team has to be patient. If so, give Sam Darnold six or eight games to sink or swim, and if he fails, give the rest of the year to Corral. I wouldn’t import Baker Mayfield unless I was confident he had a good chance to be the QB of the future. How you’d figure what to pay him … I am clueless. 

I do agree with King that it can be hard for Panthers fans to be excited about the 2022 season, but there are a few reasons to be optimistic. Much of the defense that finished No. 2 in the league returns, you get a healthy Christian McCaffrey (we think), a revamped offensive line, and a new look offense led by Ben McAdoo. 

I don't believe the Panthers are playoff-bound, but I do think they should be rated higher than the Falcons, Seahawks, Bears, and potentially Jaguars.

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