Ranking NFC South teams by their starting quarterbacks

3. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton is one of the freakiest athletes that the quarterback position has ever seen. Coming in at 6-5, 245 pounds, the Panthers signal-callers is nearly impossible to sack. With that size and strength on top of his speed, he’s a true weapon as a runner.

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If his rushing ability wasn’t dangerous enough, Newton also has a howitzer for a right arm. Every individual weapon he has at his disposal is why he was able to win MVP back in 2015, leading Carolina to a 15-1 regular-season record and a berth in Super Bowl 50. However, they are also part of the reason he’s only third on this list.

While Newton’s athletic traits are freaky, they end up hurting him on the field at times, causing him to be a bit reckless in the open field. That can lead to him getting banged up.

In March 2017, he had surgery on his shoulder. Then, through most of the 2018 season, he played through a hurt shoulder and was eventually shut down for the final two weeks of the season. Newton’s arm strength can bite him as well as he sometimes struggles with accuracy or with relying too heavily on his talent to make impossible plays.

Newton has the physical traits to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and even showed it in 2015 season. However, his floor is also lower than many other high-level players at the position. In some divisions, Newton would likely rank second or possibly first at quarterback. In the loaded NFC South, though, that’s not the case.