In his seventh professional season, Cam Newton continues to grow into his position as the franchise quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.
The Carolina Panthers put together a strong season in 2017 to rebound off of the mediocre output from the year before. The team closed out the year with an 11-5 record and finished second in the NFC South. While the group didn’t reach the level of success that many wanted, it was still an improvement and put the team back to a level of prominence in the league. Much of that success will be attributed to how Cam Newton played this season.
It’s clear that Newton is the heart and soul of this Panthers team. “Superman” brings a number of skills that greatly impact the offense and keeps opposing defenses on their heels. At 28 years old, the former Heisman Trophy award winner showed levels of improvement, but continued to struggle in some other areas that are well documented.
From a strictly passing standpoint, the numbers show that this was a down year for Newton. He ended the year with 3,302 yards, which is the second lowest total in his seven-year career. Newton has gone on record that he shots for a completion percentage of at least 60 and this year he came close at 59.1 percent.
What’s most telling about how Newton performed as a passer is his touchdown to interception ratio. Newton has struggled with turning the ball over for much of his career. His 2015 campaign remains as his best output in that category. Newton finished the year with 22 passing touchdowns, which is the middle of the line across the league and it’s the fourth time in his career that he’s earned more than 20 passing touchdowns in a season.
Newton’s development as a franchise quarterback continues to take steps forward and steps backward. After his great MVP year in 2015, he put up one of his worst years the following season. The Panthers already tagged him as the leader this offense needs to reach the next level. Newton has the skill set to do so, but many wonder what’s missing for him to build the consistency that’s seen in other franchise quarterbacks and the consistency that Newton put forth in that 2015 season.
Whenever talking about Newton it’s important to also mention his abilities to run the ball. In 2017 he finished the year with 754 yards and six touchdowns to lead all of Carolina’s rushers. This is also his highest output since joining the league. For the amount of running that Newton does in this offense, he’s remained relatively healthy. It will be interesting to see if those rush attempt numbers gradually decrease in an effort to shape Newton into more of a pocket presence.
Final 2017 Grade: C+
Overall, this was a strong season for the Carolina Panthers as a whole. While Newton’s numbers were down across the board, he contributed more than enough to keep this team afloat; especially in their single post season appearance this year. With that in mind, the grade that he will receive as the starting quarterback is that of a C+.
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He did more than enough to keep this team in a winning position, but his growth as a true franchise quarterback has taken some steps back in compared to what we’ve seen from him in the past.