NFL Power Rankings: Panthers labeled a 'mess' as training camp continues

There's palpable excitement over the Carolina Panthers during training camp. After a nice finish to the season in 2024 and several key offseason additions, there is a belief that the Panthers are firmly trending in the right direction. What if that's not the case, though?

The Panthers are still a 5-12 team that, for all they did in the offseason, still has a few glaring holes in training camp, and that's a hard time to fix things roster-wise. That's why FOX Sports insider Ralph Vacchiano ranked them 28th in his power rankings.

Panthers land dishonorable mark in power rankings

The Carolina Panthers might be exciting right now, but that's all based on speculation. The product on the field has yet to be truly seen, so all anyone can go on is what it looked like last year, and that wasn't very good.

"For all the excitement about Bryce Young’s improvement last year, the Panthers still had the fourth-worst offense in the NFL. And that isn’t nearly as big of a problem as their league-worst defense," Vacchiano argued. "That’s why, other than getting Young a receiver with their first-round pick (Tetairoa McMillan) they used all the rest of their draft and free agent capital to add to their defense. Unfortunately for them, it’s going to take more than one offseason to fix that mess."

To be totally fair, citing the Panthers' fourth-worst offense in the NFL is a little disingenuous since that is heavily deflated by the rough weeks of Bryce Young and Andy Dalton. From Weeks 8 to 18, things were much better and are a more accurate representation of the offense's true skill.

However, it's still true that this isn't exactly an elite offense, and the defense remains a massive work in progress. Like Vacchiano said, it will take time, so maybe the brakes need to be pumped this year before expectations get out of hand.

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