4 moves to make the Carolina Panthers a playoff team with Bryce Young & Dave Canales

If we learned anything from last week's debacle, it's that the Carolina Panthers are not a playoff team. If they can't be trusted to win at home against a one-win team to get closer to a playoff spot, then they can't be trusted to win games down the stretch to lock in that playoff spot.

That said, the 5-5 start suggests that they are pretty close, especially considering they won seven games in the past two years. Maybe it won't happen with Bryce Young and Dave Canales together, but I believe there are a few things they can do to maximize those two and become a legitimate playoff team.

Hire a real offensive coordinator

In the Bryce Young era, he's had two offensive coordinators matched with his offensive head coaches, but neither of them have been legit OCs. Thomas Brown was an interesting hire that could've worked, but as a former Sean McVay assistant, he just wasn't ready for that role.

Brad Idzik is doing very little. It's a Canales offense, and he's a Canales guy, but I think the Panthers would do well to hire a real offensive coordinator that can work with Canales and help him avoid some of the pitfalls he struggles with. Someone with real experience coordinating an offense, not just a position coach that Canales likes would be great.

Sign a veteran to compete with Bryce Young

With his NFL future on the line, Bryce Young turned into a stud last year, but that hasn't been true this season. Maybe he needs a fire under him, so bringing in a veteran to compete would be smart. Andy Dalton isn't it, so maybe someone like Russell Wilson, Daniel Jones (who probably will be re-signed by Indy), or Marcus Mariota. Those aren't needle-movers, but they'll help Young.

I don't see a smart option moving forward for the Panthers to move on from Young in 2026 or even 2027 necessarily, but at least for 2026, Young has to be the guy, and he's probably a little too competent to allow them a top pick in 2027, so getting him going is paramount. Signing a vet would go a long way.

Sign Rashid Shaheed

Rashid Shaheed is a pending free agent this offseason, and he's the ideal target for the Panthers. Think of him as the supercharged Jimmy Horn. He's maybe the NFL's most prolific burner, and he does very little outside of that. He takes the top off the defense and brings speed, two things the Panthers don't really have.

Xavier Legette isn't scaring anyone, and while Tetairoa McMillan is a good deep threat, he's far from a burner. Bringing in Shaheed, or at least someone with speed like that, will open things up for all of them and allow Young to hit deep shots like he did in 2024. Plus, with all due respect to Legette and Jalen Coker, neither are good enough to pass on an impactful WR at this point.

Draft an edge

It's really hard to predict where the Panthers will draft next spring, but they have to target edge. Nic Scourton is good, but he is only one player, and Princely Umanmielen is still not an impactful player. The team still has a pretty bad pass rush, statistically, so adding there in the first round is crucial. Most star edge rushers were former first-round picks.

So with that in mind, the Panthers should have Keldric Faulk, David Bailey, Rueben Bain Jr. (a pipe dream, probably), and Matayo Uigaleilei at the top of their draft board. It worked passing on edge for something in 2025, but they can't do it a second year in a row.

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