- Bryce Young faces a pivotal season: Young has earned a PFF grade above 70.0 in consecutive years, but Carolina will likely need to see more before committing to him beyond his fifth-year option in 2027.
- Carolina upgraded its defense: Devin Lloyd arrives after earning an 87.9 PFF grade in 2025, while Jaelan Phillips generated 76 pressures across the regular season and playoffs.
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The Carolina Panthers lost their final two games of the 2025 regular season but still won the NFC South on a tiebreaker, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Their season ended with a home loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round, but reaching the postseason was still an encouraging step forward for a team in the midst of a rebuild.
Carolina was aggressive in free agency as it looked to build on that progress, but the team's ceiling in 2026 will likely be determined by the play of quarterback Bryce Young.
Here's our 2026 preview of the Carolina Panthers.
Key Free Agency/Trade Additions
| Position | Player | 2025 PFF Grade |
|---|---|---|
| WR | John Metchie | 57.6 |
| OT | Rasheed Walker | 63.0 |
| C | Luke Fortner | 66.5 |
| OT | Stone Forsythe | 55.4 |
| QB | Kenny Pickett | 48.4 |
| HB | AJ Dillon | 54.7 |
| LB | Devin Lloyd | 87.9 |
| EDGE | Jaelan Phillips | 74.2 |
Linebacker Devin Lloyd has steadily improved over his first four NFL seasons and is coming off a career year in 2025. His 87.9 PFF grade ranked third among all linebackers, with Lloyd pairing strong work against the run with significant improvement in coverage. He also provides value as a blitzer, generating 28 pressures on 103 pass-rushing snaps, the third-most pressures among off-ball linebackers.
The signing of Jaelan Phillips carries some risk given his injury history, but his pass-rushing production returned to 2022 levels during his time with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles last season. His 76 total pressures across the regular season and playoffs ranked ninth among edge defenders, while his 44 pressures from Week 10 through the end of the season following his trade to Philadelphia ranked seventh at the position.
2026 NFL Draft Class
| Position | Player | 2025 PFF Grade |
|---|---|---|
| OT | Monroe Freeling | 72.3 |
| DI | Lee Hunter | 80.4 |
| WR | Chris Brazzell II | 79.4 |
| CB | Will Lee III | 66.5 |
| C | Sam Hecht | 80.8 |
| S | Zakee Wheatley | 85.9 |
| LB | Jackson Kuwatch | 82.1 |
Defensive tackle Lee Hunter is a stout run defender with the potential to anchor the middle of Carolina's defensive line for years to come. After spending three seasons at UCF, Hunter earned a career-high 83.6 PFF run-defense grade in his lone season at Texas Tech. He also showed some ability as a pass rusher, earning a 72.1 PFF pass-rush grade in 2025, but his ability to hold up against the run is likely to be his calling card at the NFL level.
Center Sam Hecht falling to the fifth round was a surprise given his reliability in college. He allowed just seven pressures on 392 pass-blocking snaps last season and did not surrender a sack across 850 pass-blocking snaps in his college career. He also earned a career-high 78.3 PFF run-blocking grade in 2025. While Luke Fortner enters the season as the likely starter, Hecht has a realistic path to becoming Carolina's starting center in the near future.
Reasons for optimism
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan made an immediate impact in his first NFL season, leading all rookie wide receivers in receiving grade (79.2) and trailing only Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III with an average of 1.85 yards per route run.
McMillan quickly established himself as Bryce Young's favorite target, with his 126 targets across the regular season and playoffs twice as many as any other player on the Panthers' roster.
Reason for pessimism
The Panthers are currently without both starting offensive tackles. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the wild-card loss to the Rams, while right tackle Taylor Moton is sidelined with blood clots. It remains unclear when either will return in 2026, but both appear likely to miss at least the start of the season.
That makes the additions of Rasheed Walker and Monroe Freeling through free agency and the draft even more important. Walker earned a 69.3 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025, while Freeling was one of college football's top pass protectors, allowing just two pressures on 469 pass-blocking snaps. Still, losing both starting tackles is a significant concern, and for all of Freeling's potential, he has yet to play an NFL snap.
There is also the question of how far Bryce Young can take this team. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick is coming off his second consecutive season with a PFF grade above 70.0, but he has shown the potential to become a top-tier quarterback only in flashes. His 4.5% big-time throw rate in 2025 ranked tied for 19th among the 45 quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks. That level of production is manageable while Young remains on his rookie contract, but the Panthers will likely need to see more before committing to him beyond his fifth-year option in 2027.
Breakout Candidate
The Panthers have already demonstrated their belief in former undrafted free agent Jalen Coker, signing him to a three-year, $34 million extension this offseason. Through his first two NFL seasons, Coker has earned PFF receiving grades above 70.0 and averaged at least 1.60 yards per route run in both years.
With Tetairoa McMillan established as the primary target, Carolina does not need Coker to lead the passing game. Instead, 2026 presents an opportunity for him to earn more recognition as a versatile secondary option who can make plays both from the slot and out wide.
Key roster battles
The Panthers' decision to spend a third-round pick on wide receiver Chris Brazzell II appeared to put added pressure on former first-round pick Xavier Legette. Through two NFL seasons, Legette has been outproduced by Jalen Coker, who went undrafted in the same class, and Brazzell was set to provide another challenger for playing time.
An early training camp injury is expected to cost Brazzell his rookie season, however, shifting the focus to whether John Metchie can push Legette for a starting role. Metchie has shown occasional flashes through his first three NFL seasons, but his career average of 1.03 yards per route run suggests he presents a less significant threat to Legette's role than Brazzell might have.
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