Carolina Panthers could have dominant offense behind Sam Darnold
The Carolina Panthers moved on from Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback this offseason. They elected to bring in former New York Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold to become their next starting quarterback. As Darnold begins his first season with the Panthers, he has more offensive weapons at his disposal than he ever did with New York. Carolina is hoping that this allows Darnold to reach the potential that many believe he has.
If Darnold plays well, Carolina’s offense could be one of the NFL’s best
Darnold will be reunite with former Jets teammate Robby Anderson this season. DJ Moore and Terrace Marshall are also talented receivers on the Panthers roster. Those three give Darnold the best receiving core he has had in his NFL career, and that’s not even mentioning star running back Christian McCaffrey.
If Darnold can at least be an average quarterback, ESPN’s Matthew Berry believes that the Panthers offense could be dominant this season.
“Sam Darnold is going to have DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Christian McCaffrey, Terrace Marshall who is lighting up camp, and a very creative play-caller in Joe Brady,” Berry said. “If Sam Darnold is even competent, I think that offense puts up numbers. You think about what Carolina likes to do, they’ve got speed out the wazoo. Finding ways to get those guys in space and get yards after catch, there’s going to be free yards everywhere for Sam Darnold.
“Now imagine, what if Sam Darnold is actually good? What if Sam Darnold is the guy we thought he was coming out of college? Every scout backwards and forwards was like, ‘This guy is the real deal.’”
Darnold never had his current weaponry in New York
The former USC star was in an impossible position with by the Jets. In his three seasons, Darnold threw for 8,097 yards, 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions, completing 59.8 percent of his passes.
The Jets have been one of the NFL’s worst teams by a wide margin in recent years. He had no weapons, no help, and he was set up for failure from the very beginning. That could very well change for Darnold in a better situation with the Panthers.
“I’m buying into the narrative of getting out of (former Jets head coach) Adam Gase’s system and getting out of the New York market. It was a franchise that had a lot of challenges. It was talent depleted and being in the New York market as the number one pick for a team and the number three overall pick in the NFL Draft as a young guy,” Berry said. “I’m on Sam Darnold this year as a sleeper. I think the Panthers offense is going to be one of the better offenses in the NFL. I like that offense as a whole and it starts with Sam Darnold.”