Panthers Don’t Feel Like a Reigning Division Champion in NFL Power Rankings

Training camp gets underway for the Carolina Panthers in less than two weeks. The team’s rookies report on July 21, followed by the veterans the next day. The Panthers and Arizona Cardinals will kick off the 2026 preseason on August 6 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Canton, Ohio.

Meanwhile, noted football writers Gary Davenport, Kris Knox, Maurice Moton and Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report have combined their talents to produce NFL Power Rankings with the start of training camps later this month. The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks find themselves in the No. 2 spot behind the Los Angeles Rams. Some may say that’s showing Mike Macdonald’s team a little disrespect.

Carolina Panthers own disappointing spot on new power rankings

Chris Brazzell II — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Of course, these lists are certainly subjective and obviously the rankings are highly debatable considering no one is taking the field in the regular season for roughly two months. However, it is still somewhat of a surprise to see where Dave Canales’s club currently stands. The club is parked at No. 20, the lowest ranking of any of the 14 teams that reached the playoffs this past season.

“The Carolina Panthers are the reigning NFC South champions,” stated Knox, “and, on paper, they’re a better team now than they were a year ago. Carolina upgraded a defense that ranked 16th overall last season by adding the likes of Jaelan Phillips, Devin Lloyd, and Lee Hunter. It added a couple of pieces to Bryce Young’s supporting cast in receivers John Metchie III and Chris Brazzell II.”

Panthers’ 2026 defensive additions should make a big difference

Devin Lloyd INT! Jags back into the red zone.

JAXvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/W09QWeqIzi
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025

Phillips should upgrade the pass rush and he and 2025 second-round pick Nic Scourton could be dangerous off the edge. Lloyd comes off his first Pro Bowl season and was tied for second in the league with five interceptions.

Hunter is a second-round pick from Texas Tech who could wreak havoc up front. Still, Knox feels much will be decided based on the performance of their improving but inconsistent quarterback.

Carolina’s season will depend on Bryce Young’s development

“Of course, the Panthers’ 2026 season will largely be defined by the growth that Young does or doesn’t make,” explained Knox. “He played at an above-average level in 2025, but he still hasn’t quite established himself as a franchise quarterback…The Panthers have the pieces to repeat as division champs, but an 8-9 record isn’t likely to get it done this year.”

Of course, that mark barely got it done this past season. Canales’s team won a tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons because they finished with a combined 3-1 record vs. those two division rivals. Then again, the Panthers were swept by the last-place New Orleans Saints.

Still, with all the additional talent brought in by general manager Dan Morgan, 20th still feels a little low. Especially with the Buccaneers, who lost wide receiver Mike Evans (49ers) and linebacker Lavonte David (retired), sitting four spots higher at No. 16.

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