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Best of the offense WR Jalen Coker: 77.2 RB Chuba Hubbard: 76.4 RG Robert Hunt: 73.8 LG Damien Lewis: 72.9 LT Ikem Ekwonu: 72.8 Coker’s standing may come as a surprise to those who just know him as an undrafted free agent, but not to those who knew who he really was before the pros. The impressive 23-year-old wideout has averaged 15.5 yards per catch, the second-highest amongst all rookie receivers with at least 15 receptions. In what should be a surprise to absolutely no one, Hubbard settles in near the top for Carolina. His 818 rushing yards rank third in the NFL heading into Week 11. He’s been helped out by Hunt, Lewis and Ekwonu—who have earned run-blocking grades of 77.8, 72.7 and 80.7, respectively.

Best of the offense 1. RG Robert Hunt: 84.9 2. RT Taylor Moton: 78.8 3. LG Damien Lewis: 77.3 4. OL Chandler Zavala: 74.0 5. QB Bryce Young: 71.4 The hog mollies put their hard hats on in Germany, allowing just one sack of Young and opening up holes for running back Chuba Hubbard’s career-high 153 rushing yards. If we were to extend this list to six players, center Cade Mays (67.7) would enter the discussion thanks to his admirable showing against Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II. Young completed 15 of his 25 throws for 126 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. His 71.4 mark is second-highest in a start this season. https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/lists/panthers-giants-week-10-pff-grades/

Best of the offense 1. RB Chuba Hubbard: 81.5 2. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders: 78.9 3. QB Bryce Young: 77.8 4. TE Ian Thomas: 77.0 5. WR Jalen Coker: 70.4 Hubbard led the way with efficiency, rushing for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Sanders also made the most out of his opportunities, reeling in four catches for a game- and career-high 87 receiving yards. Young’s 77.8 overall offensive grade is the third-highest of his career in a start.

Best of the offense 1. WR Jalen Coker: 84.4 2. RB Miles Sanders: 72.5 3. RT Taylor Moton: 69.4 4. WR David Moore: 66.8 5. WR Xavier Legette: 66.0 Coker went for a career-high 78 receiving yards and pulled in his first NFL touchdown pass. His 84.4 grade is also a career-best. Fellow rookie wideout Xavier Legette also visited the end zone, beating All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II for a 6-yard score on Carolina’s opening drive.

Best of the offense 1. QB Andy Dalton: 79.1 2. RB Miles Sanders: 73.4 3. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders: 72.7 4. WR Diontae Johnson: 71.5 5. RB Chuba Hubbard: 69.5

Best of the offense 1. RB Chuba Hubbard: 90.6 2. QB Andy Dalton: 78.8 3. WR Diontae Johnson: 77.1 4. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 76.2 5. WR Adam Thielen: 70.4

Best of the offense 1. RG Jack Anderson: 90.3 2. RB Dillon Johnson: 77.3 3. TE Feleipe Franks: 72.0 4. WR Jonathan Mingo: 71.8 5. C Andrew Raym: 68.7 Anderson did work in his Panthers debut, racking up 37 total snaps as the starting right guard. He earned a team-high 88.5 run-blocking grade and a solid 76.0 pass-blocking grade. Johnson rushed for a game-high 83 yards, which accounted for over half of Carolina’s offensive output (156 total yards). He also scored the team’s only touchdown of their last four games.

Firing a head coach after just one year isn’t great, but you could tell there was just no saving the relationship between Frank Reich and owner David Tepper. I am excited about what Dave Canales could be as a head coach, so I’ll remain positive there. The Panthers lost some big-name players, such as Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu. They also said goodbye to Jeremy Chinn, Bradley Bozeman and Hayden Hurst. It’s hard to see the fumbling of the Burns situation as anything other than an impactful net negative. However, they did stay aggressive to bring in some good players like Jadeveon Clowney, Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis and Diontae Johnson. It was tough for the Panthers to make the big draft splash they needed without their original first-round pick, but I believe Xavier Legette and Jonathon Brooks can be early contributors, and Ja’Tavion Sanders could be TE1 at some point. C+

Best of the offense 1. RB Chuba Hubbard: 77.2 2. RT Taylor Moton: 74.6 3. WR Adam Thielen: 72.7 4. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 67.4 5. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 63.6

Best of the offense 1. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 83.5 2. RB Chuba Hubbard: 76.2 3. RT Taylor Moton: 70.1 4. C Bradley Bozeman: 65.4 5. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 64.9

Best of the offense 1. WR DJ Chark: 82.9 2. QB Bryce Young: 82.0 3. WR Adam Thielen: 79.7 4. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 79.4 5. TE Tommy Tremble: 76.9

Best of the offense 1. QB Bryce Young: 78.0 2. C Bradley Bozeman: 76.1 3. RG Gabe Jackson: 72.2 4. WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 69.0 5. WR DJ Chark: 67.4

Best of the offense 1. LG Cade Mays: 89.9 2. RB Miles Sanders: 84.5 3. RT Taylor Moton: 80.1 4. RB Chuba Hubbard: 69.0 5. C Bradley Bozeman: 66.6

Best of the offense 1. RB Chuba Hubbard: 84.9 2. WR DJ Chark: 84.5 3. RT Taylor Moton: 68.6 4. WR Jonathan Mingo: 67.2 5. RB Miles Sanders: 62.4

Best of the offense 1. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 78.3 2. WR Mike Strachan: 75.4 3. RT Taylor Moton: 72.7 4. RB Miles Sanders: 64.5 5. TE Tommy Tremble: 63.0

The weather is changing as we move deeper into winter, but there’s been an ugly storm brewing in Carolina since early September, as the Carolina Panthers are 0-6, remain the last winless team in the NFL and the offense is in a funk. To make matters worse, they don’t own their 2024 first-round pick and are showing little sign of turning the ship around. But what’s gone wrong? Hopes were high for the Carolina Panthers heading into the 2023 NFL season. After walking through the desolate quarterback wilderness for the last few years, with everyone from Kyle Allen to Baker Mayfield taking snaps under center in the post-Cam Newton world, the Panthers finally got their quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting Alabama’s Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick. With a new quarterback and the NFC South up for grabs, hopes were high for the Panthers. Through six games, those hopes for success have been replaced by hopes for a semblance of competency on offense. The Panthers have the 29th-graded offense and rank 26th in EPA per play and 19th in +EPA%, which measures consistency and success rate. Those numbers don’t bear particularly great reading, but it looks worse the deeper you dive. It’s fair to say that Young hasn’t played well so far. His 51.0 overall grade ranks 34th out of 35 quarterbacks this season, and he’s completed 63.2% of his pass attempts for just 967 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. The raw numbers, aside from the low passing yards totals, are fine. However, Young’s play has been erratic at times. Young's essence is creativity. We saw it in college. He likes, occasionally maybe needs, to work and move around the pocket, evading pressure to hunt for the big play. It’s not all he is, but it’s a big part of his aura. However, that aura hasn’t manifested itself in the NFL yet. Young’s average time to throw is the ninth-highest in the NFL at 2.74 seconds and, so far, bad things have happened when he holds onto the ball. He has a 47.0 overall grade when he holds onto the ball for more than 2.5 seconds, the second-lowest in the league, and averages just 5.3 yards per pass attempt. On top of that, Young’s big-time throw rate is the second-lowest in the league at 1.9%. Those big plays that he’s been hunting? They’re not coming. And it’s hard to blame Young for that. Despite his spotty play, the flesh and bones of a real starting NFL quarterback are there. His accuracy rate is one of the highest in the NFL at 63.7%, and his plus-accuracy rate (call it pass attempts with excellent ball location) is also seventh-highest. The arm talent is still there, evidenced by the touchdown pass that Young ripped to Adam Thielen in the back of the end zone against the Miami Dolphins. Thielen has been the rare bright spot in the receiving department for Young, and that in itself is a worry. Thielen’s 86.1 receiving grade ranks 11th in the NFL, and he comfortably leads the Panthers offense in targets, catches, receiving yards and touchdowns. No other Panther comes close to his 49 receptions on the season — the next closest is Terrace Marshall Jr. with 16. This is a team that just lacks playmakers. Receivers that can consistently get open and make plays. That makes things tough for Young. Sometimes the post-snap picture is too muddy because there’s nothing for Young to look at, everyone is covered. There’s little to suggest that anything will change soon with this set of receivers. Aside from Thielen, no other wide receiver on the team has better than a 59.0 receiving grade. Yikes. It doesn’t stop there. Even when the picture is clear downfield, Young often isn’t even afforded the time to navigate his surroundings in the pocket. The Panthers' 46.9 pass-blocking grade ranks 29th, and Young is being pressured on 39.1% of his dropbacks. The amalgamation of everything is that that’s no way to live and survive as an NFL quarterback. However, when Young is on time and working within the rhythm of the offense, things look good. When he holds onto the ball for less than 2.5 seconds, Young is playing well. He’s completing 75% of his passes, throwing five touchdowns and zero interceptions, and has a 63.2 passing grade. It’s not perfect, but it’s a stark improvement compared to when Young holds onto the ball for too long. Getting the ball out quickly can’t be the only answer though. Sometimes it’s just not viable. The look you want isn’t always there, and it’s there even less when you don’t have a set of playmakers that can consistently create separation and win their matchups. Yet, Young doesn’t have the freedom to hold onto the ball without being pressured. That’s where the struggles really begin. It’s a vicious cycle. It would help if the Panthers had a counter-punch in a consistent running game, but they don’t. Miles Sanders has been an abject disappointment after signing a four-year, $25 million contract in the offseason. He’s averaging just a career-low 3.1 yards per carry and his 0.08 missed tackles forced per attempt is sixth-lowest among all ball carriers with at least 25 attempts. It also doesn’t help that he’s averaging just 0.9 yards before contact. That’s down to the poor play from the offensive line again. Things looked better with Chuba Hubbard against the Miami Dolphins, but there’s still a long way to go. https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-whats-wrong-with-the-carolina-panthers-offense

1. TE Giovanni Ricci: 94.5 2. WR DJ Moore: 77.3 3. WR Shi Smith: 72.2 4. OL Cameron Erving: 71.3 5. RG Austin Corbett: 70.7

1. WR DJ Moore: 78.8 2. QB Sam Darnold: 71.4 3. WR Shi Smith: 67.9 4. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 65.4 5. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 65.1

#11. CAROLINA PANTHERS (UP 3) Projected Week 15 Starters: LT Ikem Ekwonu LG Brady Christensen C Bradley Bozeman RG Austin Corbett RT Taylor Moton No line has allowed fewer total pressures than the 71 the Panthers have given up over the season. No starter on the line has a PFF pass-blocking grade below 67.2 for the year.

1. WR Laviska Shenault Jr.: 88.2 2. RB Raheem Blackshear: 81.1 3. RB Chuba Hubbard: 76.0 4. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 73.3 5. C Bradley Bozeman: 69.4

1. TE Ian Thomas: 76.8 2. WR DJ Moore: 75.8 3. RB D’Onta Foreman: 75.3 4. TE Stephen Sullivan: 74.1 5. RT Taylor Moton: 73.4

1. RT Taylor Moton: 69.6 2. OL Cameron Erving: 64.8 3. LG Brady Christensen: 64.5 4. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 63.9 5. TE Ian Thomas: 63.8

1. WR DJ Moore: 77.8 2. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 73.2 3. WR Laviska Shenault Jr.: 73.0 4. RB D’Onta Foreman: 70.7 5. LG Brady Christensen: 67.8

1. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 81.7 2. RG Austin Corbett: 73.2 3. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 70.0 4. C Bradley Bozeman: 68.6 5. RB Raheem Blackshear: 68.5

1. RB D’Onta Foreman: 84.3 2. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: 75.1 2. WR Laviska Shenault Jr.: 75.1 4. TE Stephen Sullivan: 73.8 5. LT Ikem Ekwonu: 70.2