How the Carolina Panthers can win the NFC South in 2020

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers runs with the ball during the first quarter during their game against the Seattle Seahawks at Bank of America Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers runs with the ball during the first quarter during their game against the Seattle Seahawks at Bank of America Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
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Derrick Brown
Carolina Panthers, Derrick Brown (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3. A young and revamped defensive unit grows up in a hurry.

This past season, the Carolina Panthers went through two head coaches (Ron Rivera and interim leader Perry Fewell) as well as three different starting quarterbacks in Cam Newton, Kyle Allen and rookie Will Grier. The results were a last-place finish in the NFC South and the team’s third losing campaign the past four seasons.

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There will be more on the hiring of head coach Matt Rhule. Meanwhile, the team was busy this offseason addressing the offense during free agency and the other side of the ball in April’s draft. All told, six of the club’s seven selections were used on the defensive side of the ball, led by Auburn interior presence Derrick Brown (evaluation via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein).

The rest of this class includes defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (2-Penn State), safety Jeremy Chinn (2b-Southern Illinois, defensive tackle Bravvion Roy (6-Baylor) and cornerbacks Troy Pride (4-Notre Dame) and Thomas-Oliver (7-Florida International).

The Carolina defense was the real culprit last season and deserves more than its share of the blame for the team’s season-ending eight-game losing streak. The club struggled mightily when it came to stopping the run (29th in the NFL) and limited only two of its 16 opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground.