NFL history: The Mount Rushmore of every NFL franchise

Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, Steve Smith, Julius Peppers, Sam Mills

Just like the aforementioned Baltimore Ravens, the Carolina Panthers don’t have an incredibly long history. They were an expansion team in 1995 — along with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They’re still looking for their first championship, but the Panthers have had a lot of success and made two trips to the Super Bowl.

Their most recent came after the 2015 season when they went 15-1. That season, they were led by quarterback Cam Newton, who also won the MVP that year. Newton, a dual-threat runner and passer, hurt teams all year with his legs and arm. He’s used that formula every season since being the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Auburn University.

His No. 1 target for the first couple of seasons was Steve Smith, who played 16 years of NFL football. 13 of those came with the Panthers, as he was the top target for Jake Delhomme before Newton and helped the Panthers get to their only other Super Bowl appearance after the 2003 season. Smith ended his Carolina career with 836 receptions for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns.

Also on that 2003 Super Bowl team was defensive end Julius Peppers. The best sack artist in the history of the team, Peppers was with Carolina from 2002 through 2009 and then again from 2017 to 2018. He had 97 total sacks over his two stints in Charlotte.

The final member of their Mount Rushmore is Sam Mills, who joined the team as a free agent in their first season of existence. He provided a veteran presence and had 331 tackles in his three seasons. After his playing career was over, Mills transitioned to coaching with the Panthers until he passed away at the young age of 45 due to intestinal cancer.