Carolina Panthers: More Valuable: Cam Newton or Luke Kuechly?

Both Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly are special players on the Carolina Panthers roster. But who’s the more valuable asset to the team?

Each team in the NFL is filled with exceptional athletes at every position on the field. The Carolina Panthers are in the same boat but two players were featured in the ranking of top players in 2016. Cam Newton adorned the top ranking, while teammate Luke Kuechly came in at number seven. This fact lends itself to the age old question of offense versus defense. In this iteration, the question is who is more valuable to the Panthers: Cam Newton or Luke Kuechly?

There are some limitations to the comparison that come with playing to very different positions. But there are some key conversation points as to what both men bring to their side of the ball that can be compared against each other.

First and foremost, both Kuechly and Newton are the leader of their respective units. Newton garnered that position through the sake of being the top quarterback on the roster and the 2011 number one pick. Kuechly, on the other hand, had a tougher battle as he was joining a core of already high performing linebackers in Jon Beason and Thomas Davis when he became a Panther in 2012.

Newton came into his position with the hype that surrounds being a top draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner, but it would be Kuechly that had the breakout rookie season. He would become the Defensive Rookie of the Year with 103 tackles and two interceptions. Those accolades would only be the start as he would three-time Pro Bowler, Butkus Award winner, and Defensive Player of the Year. His unprecedented run has continued each season as he’s consistently regarded one of the most important defensive players in the league.

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Newton, on the other hand, took a longer route to earning the recognition of being a franchise quarterback. Newton struggled early in his career, causing many people to question if he is the long-term solution that the Panthers needed. 2015 completely changed that narrative as he earned the NFL MVP award and led Carolina to the second Super Bowl in team history. Even though the team would fall short to the Denver Broncos, Newton’s performance was so well-respected that his peers voted him the Top Player of 2016.

Feb 7, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) runs against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter in Super Bowl 50 at Levi

In an interesting comparison, both Newton and Kuechly bring a freak athlete style of play to the field. Newton often breaks plays wide open with his arm or his legs, while Kuechly seems to fly around the field and take part in every tackle. Whenever they are on the field, it seems like they play a key part in every single play.

But that brings up another key part of the conversation; health. Kuechly missed three games in 2015 due to concussion issues, which is a development to watch in the future. In five years of play, Newton has missed only two games – even with his run-first mentality. In both situations their backups, A.J. Klein and Derek Anderson respectively, played well enough to keep things headed in the right direction. However, caution would lean towards Newton being a bigger missing piece if he was to go down to injury in compared to Kuechly.

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Whether fans love the offensive or defensive components to football, one thing is very clear for the Carolina Panthers: they are in an excellent position to have both Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly as two leaders on this roster.