Carolina Panthers: 5 Storylines to watch in the 2020 season
By Zach Wilson
These five Carolina Panthers storylines will make them worth watching in the 2020 season.
The Carolina Panthers have caught a lot of flack for their offseason decisions heading into 2020. Fans and people around the league weren’t happy with how the team dealt with nine-year quarterback Cam Newton and how they cut him loose. And the hiring of Matt Rhule hasn’t sat well with a lot of people either.
Attach all that with long-time Panther Mario Addison signing with the Buffalo Bills, defensive staple James Bradberry signing with the New York Giants and fan-favorite Greg Olsen inking a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Not even mentioning the departures of Vernon Butler, Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe and many more, we’re already looking at a brand new roster. But of course, the most difficult news of all for Panther fans was the retirement of one of the best defensive players in football, Luke Kuechly.
This year’s team will be brand new to the eye of the Carolina faithful. They enter the year with a young defense and an offense that looks dynamic and fast. Although the Carolina Panthers may not have the greatest season record-wise, they still have the opportunity to be a very entertaining team.
So how about we take a look at five storylines to monitor with the Panthers for the 2020 season
5. Can Christian McCaffrey Go Back to Back?
Despite a fairly uncompetitive season, we saw the continuing rise of the best running back in the league. Last season, Christian McCaffrey became the third running back in NFL history to finish a season with over 1,000 rushing yards, and 1,000 passing yards, joining Roger Craig (1985) and Marshall Faulk (1999).
He finished with 2,392 yards from scrimmage, which led the NFL and was the third-most in league history. This season is only McCaffrey’s age-24 season and we’ll see if he can top last season’s fantastic year.
One thing which has been present throughout McCaffrey’s three-year career is his durability. The Stanford product has yet to miss a game in his NFL career and has remained consistent and solid through all of them.
With the addition of Robby Anderson, McCaffrey could very well have just as good, if not, better of a season this time around. Anderson remains one of the fastest receivers in football and his ability to take the top off is uncanny.
This could create a lot of room underneath for McCaffrey to work with and the addition of Teddy Bridgewater could help as well. The option game with Cam Newton was one of the best in the league. Now that McCaffrey is back with a mobile quarterback, the running game could open up even more from last season.
The Panthers have McCaffrey locked up through 2025 with his new $64 million contract extension. His ability to thrive in the backfield or from the slot make him well worth it.
If there is one thing to look forward to while watching the Carolina Panthers, it’s this guy. He’s probably the best running back in the league, and only continues to improve. He alone can make the Panthers offense great and it will be interesting to see how he gels with the new additions to the Carolina attack.