PFF: Carolina Panthers have none of the NFL's top 50 players going into 2025

A lot of different factors go into making an NFL team a contender or a dud. Scouting, coaching, and development all play their part, but at the end of the day the single greatest factor will always be the talent of the players on the roster. In that department, the Carolina Panthers hit their peak 10 years ago when they nearly went undefeated in the regular season and made it to the Super Bowl.

At the time, Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Luke Kuechly and Kawann Short were all core blue-chip pieces that were among the best players in the NFL. 10 years is an eternity in football time, though - and if you fast-forward to today the Panthers have hit rock bottom in this area.

PFF shuts Panthers out of top 50 list

That sad fact is reflected in the recent Pro Football Focus rankings of the top 50 current players around the league, of which they list zero Panthers.

At the top of PFF's list is the Cleveland Browns' elite edge rusher Myles Garrett, followed by the league's top four quarterbacks: Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.

Aug 26, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Buffalo Bills guard Greg Van Roten (64), quarterback Josh Allen (17) and offensive coach Joe Brady watch as Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold (not pictured) is carted off the field during the second half at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

That looks about right on paper, as does the rest of the list - which doesn't include any former Carolina players, either. Following a good season one could expect ex-Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey to be on the list, but he missed most of last year due to injuries. Brian Burns is another potential blue chip piece, but he still has not quite broken through to his superstar potential.

If we were to expand the list to the league's top 100 players - only right tackle Taylor Moton really has a case of belonging - and he is in PFN's recent rankings.

This bottoming out was a long time coming and there are plenty of culprits involved - but the key contributing cause has been poor returns in the NFL draft year after year.

It's no accident that the last strong draft class the Panthers put together (2017) was also the last year that they made the playoffs. Making an aggressive trade for a true star isn't a terrible idea, but if Carolina is ever going to crawl out of this hole, they're going to need better results from the draft - and they have to do it consistently.

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