Who are your top 5 Panthers players of all time based on talent?

[CamWhoaaCam]

For me it was a pretty easy list to make if we talking pure talent.

 

 

 

 

1. Julius Peppers- 6'7 280 athletic freak. Peppers was literally a freak of nature of an athlete. He would stand out on tv as he towered over Olineman. I don't think we will see a guy that size dominate at DE like he did. He was easily the best pure talent in Panthers history imo.

2. Cam Newton- Once again 6'6 250 athletic freak. Cam was trucking LB's and carrying Dlineman into the endzone on goal line runs. Not only was he fast and strong he also had a cannon of an arm before his injury. Cam was one of a kind.

3. Luke Kuechly- Kuechly was not only a freak athlete, but what made him great was his anticipation. I never seen a LB besides Ray Lewis blow up a play before it even starts. Kuechly would know the play before the offense. He was scary good at getting to the ball. He controlled the field on defense.

4. Steve Smith- Smitty was another freak athlete despite his height this dude was well built and had rock as calves. He was probably the most physical WR of all time. This dude was making DB's look like kids the way he would stiff arm them in the dirt. He also was a high leaper. He would attack the ball at the highest peak as if he was Randy Moss. Smitty was a tremendous athlete for his size.

5. Christian McCaffrey- Cmac was pretty much a do it all rb. He could line up at slot and look like the best slot WR in the league. Or he could run out of the backfield and hurt you as a runner. By far the best and most talented rb in franchise history.

 

Who are your top 5 Panthers players of all time from a "pure talent" perspective?

[Verge]

Talent? 

1. Cam Newton 

2. Julius Peppers 

3. Kelvin Benjamin 

4. Kris Jenkins 

5. Thomas Davis 

Probably 

Edited May 2, 2023 by Verge

[CRA]

pure talent is weird.   

You might could argue Ted Ginn Jr was blessed with more talent than Steve Smith.  89 just did a lot more with what he was given. 

[ericr0319]

Talent at their position in no order: 

1. Cam

2. Luke

3. TD

4. Gross

5. Peppers

[Swaggasaurus]

Your list is probably right. But my god Thomas Davis was a gifted individual.

[Ricky Spanish]

Man this is hard. Top 3 are obviously Cam, Peppers, and Luke, pick your own order. After that it gets Murky.

• CMC was a bonafide game changing stud, and even though he's athletic as hell, he optimized his gifts by working his ass off. 
• TD was a freak of nature that flourished once he found a home at OLB.
• Morgan was a monster when healthy, but couldn't stay on the field. Luke 1.0
• Jenkins was a brick wall who dominated games on his own at times. 
• Smitty was a stud but willed himself to greatness through hard work and a psychopathic mentality on the field. 
• Kalil was severely underrated and one of the most cerebral centers in the league when he played.

I dunno, you can argue pretty much anyone above and then some. 

 

[DamnItJake!]

To me:

1) Peppers

2) Smitty

3) J Gross - unsung hero

4) Kueckly

5) Cam/Delhomme - both got us to Super Bowl - had their own styles

[TheMostInterestingMan]

2 minutes ago, DamnItJake! said:

To me:

1) Peppers

2) Smitty

3) J Gross - unsung hero

4) Kueckly

5) Cam/Delhomme - both got us to Super Bowl - had their own styles

I’m no Jake Delhomme hater but you can’t compare him to Cam on talent. Give Cam prime Smitty and Moose and there’s no telling what he could have accomplished 

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Are we excluding Kevin Green and Reggie White?. Neither were home grown guys but it’s hard to not at least put them in with an asterisk. 

[CRA]

11 minutes ago, DamnItJake! said:

To me:

1) Peppers

2) Smitty

3) J Gross - unsung hero

4) Kueckly

5) Cam/Delhomme - both got us to Super Bowl - had their own styles

THE Armanti Edwards was more talented than Delhomme.  Heck, you might could make a case he was one of the more talented athletes in Carolina. 

having crazy talent doesn’t = being a good or great NFL player.  

The GOAT is Tom Brady and he wasn’t blessed with crazy physical NFL talent. Brady

had a high IQ, studied, focused on his strengths, focused/driven, leadership, intangibles, etc.  

[DamnItJake!]

9 minutes ago, TheMostInterestingMan said:

I’m no Jake Delhomme hater but you can’t compare him to Cam on talent. Give Cam prime Smitty and Moose and there’s no telling what he could have accomplished 

I understand the talent comparison that why I said they had their own styles..and I agree if Cam had Moose and Smitty he might have had a longer career !! if Kasay had not shanked that kick out during the Super Bowl I would have put him on there cuz we probably would’ve won it!! 

[DamnItJake!]

1 minute ago, CRA said:

THE Armanti Edwards was more talented than Delhomme.  Heck, you might could make a case he was one of the more talented athletes in Carolina. 

having crazy talent doesn’t = being a good or great NFL player.  

The GOAT is Tom Brady and he wasn’t blessed with crazy physical NFL talent. Brady

had a high IQ, studied, focused on his strengths, focused/driven, leadership, intangibles, etc.  

lol!! Did Armanti make the team!?? I don’t even remember.. it was a bad experiment and I think Delhomme played better than Armanti tbh!!

[Mr. Scot]

41 minutes ago, CRA said:

pure talent is weird.   

You might could argue Ted Ginn Jr was blessed with more talent than Steve Smith.  89 just did a lot more with what he was given. 

Yeah, this isn't the sort of thing I would base purely on talent.

The guys that become the best players aren't always the most talented guys, and the most talented guys don't always turn into great players.

Outside of that, innate talent is kind of a difficult thing to judge.

[DamnItJake!]

11 minutes ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

Are we excluding Kevin Green and Reggie White?. Neither were home grown guys but it’s hard to not at least put them in with an asterisk. 

Kevin Green is a great call.. of course.. seams to leaning to drafted/long term guys I am guessing!?