Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#17. DeAngelo Williams
The Carolina Panthers used the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft to take a dynamic running back out of Memphis. Williams was explosive in college, rushing for over 6,000 yards including back to back seasons of over 2,000 total yards and 42 total touchdowns across his junior and senior seasons. Because Williams didn’t play in a major football conference, he wasn’t in the Reggie Bush tier of pre-draft buzz. Still, he was the third of four first round running backs taken that year. The Panthers still had Deshaun Foster as the starting back, so Williams only had about 500 rushing yards his rookie season. After a couple seasons of splitting carries with Foster, the Panthers gave Williams the starting job in 2008. He rewarded that faith with over 1,500 rushing yards and a career high 18 touchdowns, earning him the PFWA Most Improved award and a Second Team All-Pro nod for his breakout season.
That production outburst may have been in response to the Panthers using the 13th overall pick in the 2008 Draft to take another running back: Jonathan Stewart. Taking two first round running backs in three years ended up being great for the Panthers and Williams’ longevity, though he never matched the stat production from that 2008 season. The following season, Double Trouble as they became to be known became just the sixth pair of teammates to both rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season. 2010 was a rough year all around for the Panthers, and Williams was no different. He suffered a foot sprain just halfway through the season that landed him on IR, in part because the Panthers season was already essentially over.
Everything turned around in 2011 for the Panthers as a whole with the addition of Cam Newton at quarterback. For Williams, though, that meant an already crowded backfield added another ball carrier. Williams was still productive when called upon, averaging about 50 yards per game over the next three seasons. In 2014, Williams’ career with the Panthers came to an unfortunate end. After missing ten games due to various injuries, the team released Williams. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, playing two seasons before retiring.
Though Williams’ departure from the team was less than amenable, with rumors of hurt feelings due to a lack of team attendance at his mother’s funeral, his time with the team was undeniably successful. Williams was the rare combination of elite highs and overall longevity, especially at the running back position. His two year run in 2008 and 2009 put him near the top tier of running backs league wide, and his nine years with the team cemented him in the Panthers record books. He is the second leading rusher in Panthers history and third in rushing touchdowns, and his 2008 season still stands as the record for most rushing yards and most rushing touchdowns in a single season. Since you can’t tell the history of the Panthers without Double Trouble, DeAngelo Williams lands at No. 17 in our countdown.
