What Are Your Top Offseason Targets Now That Bryce Young Is Showing Promise?

[Oldschool Leroy]

which scheme is easier to draft for in today's NFL, 3/4 or 4/3? 

[Jon Snow]

45 minutes ago, Oldschool Leroy said:

which scheme is easier to draft for in today's NFL, 3/4 or 4/3? 

I don't think it's that simple. You are limited by who is available in each draft. Also teams do not run a specific base defense all season. Coordinators base their defense on their opponents so the more versatile your team is at presenting different fronts the better your overall defense will be. That's if you have a coordinator that can scheme them up.

[heel31ok]

15 hours ago, Saca312 said:

 

 

With the season nearing its end and the playoffs slipping out of reach—even in a division as weak as ours—the silver lining lies in the Panthers’ recent competitive performances. While the team started the season as one of the league’s worst, they now appear to be trending upward in both competitiveness and potential. Bryce Young has shown steady improvement, doing just enough to suggest that we no longer need to panic about replacing him in a draft class with underwhelming quarterback prospects.

That said, I still believe bringing some contenders at quarterback—someone like Drew Lock or Justin Fields—would provide healthy competition for Bryce Young and push him to keep improving. While we can seemingly move forward with Bryce as our QB1, this offseason must focus on addressing glaring roster holes to better support his development and make the team more competitive overall.

Here are the top priorities I’d focus on if I were running the Panthers:

1. Run Defense

The Panthers’ run defense has been a glaring weakness all season. While the pass rush has shown recent improvement, the inability to stop the run remains a major issue. Whether the problem stems from defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s scheme or a lack of size and strength along the defensive line, this area needs significant upgrades. We need to bring in bigger, more physical players in the trenches or tweak the scheme to better defend against the run. If we want to stop being gashed on the ground every week, this must be addressed as a top priority.

2. Field-Stretching Wide Receiver

The wide receiver room is crying out for a true deep threat. We have promising pieces like Leggette, who is a big-bodied target, and intriguing options like Coker and others, but none of them are speedy enough to truly stretch the field and force defenses to respect the deep ball.

Granted, Young's arm originally made the deep ball a moot point, but we still need good separaters and field stretchers.

After trading Johnson to the Ravens and cutting ties with Mingo after his bust of a season, it’s clear this room needs an overhaul. The Panthers should target a speedy, dynamic wide receiver who can create space and open up the offense, either through free agency or the draft. A true field stretcher would do wonders for Bryce Young’s development and help the offense take a step forward.

3. CB2

The cornerback position 2 desperately needs an upgrade. Dane Jackson, unfortunately, has not lived up to any positive expectations and has been a significant liability in the secondary. The lack of reliable depth behind Jaycee Horn is painfully obvious. Adding a competent CB2 through free agency or the draft should be a priority to shore up the secondary and improve coverage against the league’s more dynamic offenses.

Am I missing anything? If you have any specific players in mind, whether free agents or draft prospects, voice your thoughts below.

 

 

QB

[SCO96]

2 hours ago, Oldschool Leroy said:

which scheme is easier to draft for in today's NFL, 3/4 or 4/3? 

I pretty much agree with what Jon Snow said, but I'd like to go a little more into detail. Wade Phillips was famous for running great defenses. He said that ideally everyone would love to run a 4-3. It allows you to rush 4 and drop 7 for coverage. The front 4 must be able to get constant pressure on passing downs and tie up blockers to allow the LB's to flow to the ball on running plays.

 4-3 DE's must be big and strong enough to set the edge to defend the run, but also be quick enough to come off of the edge and rush the passer. Phillips said that the ideal 4-3 DE "is hard to come by" and "hard to pay". The DTs must be strong enough to clog running lanes, and also be able to push the pocket on passing plays. It's hard to find a DT who can do both consistently. I may be in the minority, but I think this is a weakness in Derrick Brown's game. He's a great run defender, but I don't think he affects the passing game "enough" when you look at where he was drafted and how much he's making. I'd rather have Kawann Short or Kris Jenkins in their prime over D. Brown.

3-4 DE's are less relied upon in the passing game because the OLB's in the 3-4 contribute to the rush. It's easier to find these type of players (in terms of size) in the draft than the ideal 4-3 DE. You need a stout NT in a 3-4 that can literally tie up 2 blockers in every play and control both A-gaps on running downs. If you don't have that its too easy for your opponent to run the football. The ILBs also have to be bigger/stronger because they take on more blocks from the interior O-lineman...and they still have to be quick enough to help out in pass coverage. Luke Kuechly was a prototypical 4-3 middle LB. I don't think he would have been "as great" as a 3-4 ILB.

The 3-4 does cause some problems because you can bring pressure from anywhere, whereas the pressure in a 4-3 is usually gonna come from the front four. Both defenses can work, but you have to have the right personnel and scheme to be consistently successful in the NFL.

[Call Me James]

It’s still BPA outside of running back.

[Oldschool Leroy]

34 minutes ago, SCO96 said:

I pretty much agree with what Jon Snow said, but I'd like to go a little more into detail. Wade Phillips was famous for running great defenses. He said that ideally everyone would love to run a 4-3. It allows you to rush 4 and drop 7 for coverage. The front 4 must be able to get constant pressure on passing downs and tie up blockers to allow the LB's to flow to the ball on running plays. 4

Thank you for explaining all this; I didn't know it was so involved... now I understand how hard it is to find the right players..