How the Panthers will use Christian McCaffrey and what to know about Carolina’s offense
There’s an elephant in the room when it comes to the Panthers’ offense this season. For nine straight years, so much of the talk surrounding the team’s offense leading into the season was about Cam Newton. Now he’ll be up north, as a captain and the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots while Carolina starts over on its own.
The offense has far more familiar faces than the other side of the ball. Except at quarterback.
With coordinator Joe Brady calling plays and leading an offense for the first time in his career at any level, much of how this offense will look won’t fully come into form until they’re on the field with everyone watching.
Here’s what you need to know about the Panthers offense:
Christian McCaffrey: Still good at football
McCaffrey, the Panthers’ MVP last season easily, made history in 2019. He became the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season (Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk). Are those numbers realistic for 2020? Probably not. McCaffrey has more weapons alongside him and this is a different offense. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be heavily featured as a a rusher and a receiver.
“We want Christian on the field as much as possible, but at the same time, we also have to understand that, A) we have other good players. Mike Davis has had one of the best camps of anybody,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said this month. “We also understand that we don’t want Christian to take on excess wear and tear. He’s going to take on wear and tear, but not excess wear and tear.
“That being said, nobody in football takes care of their body better than Christian. For him to have the amount of carries he’s had the last few years and to move the way he looks and looks the way he looks, I think he’s ready to play better this year than he has before ... we’re going to put him out there as many snaps as it takes for us to win.”
McCaffrey averaged about 25 touches per game last season, up from his previous career-high of 20.4 a game in 2018. When discussing the amount of touches the running back could have this year, Rhule referenced the amount Hall-of-Fame running back Walter Payton was used over his 13-year career. Payton averaged 22.8 touches per game in his career, but during the 1984 season, he averaged 26.6 per game, and had two other seasons in the 25-carry per game range.
McCaffrey, 24, is more of receiver than Payton, and football is played differently now. But despite the Panthers having the back under contract until 2025, the team won’t be using him less to preserve him. That’s not an approach they currently feel is necessary.
“I don’t think the amount he had last year was a ridiculous amount of touches. I don’t,” Brady said this month. “I think he was kind of on course with a player of his caliber... it might more so be when he’s getting those touches and how he’s getting those touches, but at the end of the day, we want to win football games and that’s the most important thing to him and to us. I know when the ball is in his hand, it gives us a great opportunity to win, so we’ll cross that path game by game.”
Teddy B leading the way
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is often referred to as a stop-gap; option before the Panthers draft their next franchise quarterback. Bridgewater, however, will be given a chance to succeed with the Panthers. He knows Brady from their time together in New Orleans and the pair are building an offense that will suit him best.
Rhule referred to the offense as being as much Brady’s as it is Bridgewater’s.
Bridgewater, 27, hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2015 with the Vikings. This is a big opportunity for him to prove he deserves to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He’ll certainly have the weapons around him to make it work and he has the confidence of the team as well. He has been the starting quarterback from the moment he was signed, no competition. How he performs this year will be fascinating to watch.
And yes, he will be throwing the ball downfield.
Panthers are strong at receiver
Rhule acknowledged the obvious when he said that that the receiver group is “probably one of our positions of strength.” Despite the Panthers placing wide receiver Keith Kirkwood (broken clavicle) on injured reserve earlier this week — he will be eligible to come back in as soon as three weeks — the group is still one of the top positions on the roster.
The Panthers added Robby Anderson to work alongside DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel, in addition to Pharoh Cooper, who will largely be handling punt and kick return duties, and Seth Roberts.
All eyes will be on Moore to have his second 1,000-yard receiving season and for both Anderson and Samuel to produce up to the level that many have been waiting for. Samuel is in a contract year. How creative the Panthers get with him as a receiver and a rusher remains to be seen.
Another thing to keep an eye on in the receiving game? Tight ends. Ian Thomas is coming off a toe injury, but the Panthers also have a lot of faith in Chris Manhertz, not only as a blocker, but as a receiver. Bridgewater said his eye lit up when he found out Manhertz was a former basketball player at Canisius College. Don’t be surprised to see some two-tight end sets.
“Chris Manhertz is one of the best blocking tight ends in the league and his receiving abilities just improve every year, and it really has improved steadily through this camp,” general manager Marty Hurney said. “Ian Thomas, when healthy, we really think that he can bring a skill set and you feel very good about going 12 personnel.”
Familiar faces on the o-line
The Panthers addressed the offensive line a bit this offseason, trading guard Trai Turner to the Chargers in exchange for veteran left tackle Russell Okung, who has one year left on his deal.
Guards John Miller and Michael Schofield were also brought in. Like any team, the biggest key here will be to stay healthy, something this group in particular has not done well. Okung missed the first seven games last year due to a pulmonary embolism and then suffered a groin injury late in the season. He and the Panthers were limiting his participation early in camp, but he has been relatively full go for a couple of weeks. The left tackle has only played a full 16-game season once since being drafted sixth overall in 2010. Second-year left tackle Greg Little, who missed much of last season due to his own injuries, will back him up.
Guard Dennis Daley sprained his ankle during the team’s scrimmage last Friday, which may leave Schofield to fill in for him with Miller at the other guard spot. The Panthers’ offensive line had issues last year largely because Daley, then a rookie, and other players were forced to deal with a significant amount of change due to injuries. On the other hand, right tackle Taylor Moton has yet to miss a game in his three-year NFL career.
Okung, Schofield and center Matt Paradis all played together on the 2016 Broncos. The Panthers also signed tackle Trent Scott, who played with Schofield and Okung in Los Angeles previously. And all three were coached by current Panthers offensive line coach Pat Meyer when they were on the Chargers. He also coached Miller in Buffalo. Suffice to say, having those relationships will help this offensive line. Depth could be an issue, however.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How the Panthers will use Christian McCaffrey and what to know about Carolina’s offense."
