Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener 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.
#41. Jeff Mitchell
Panthers stats: 78 games, 78 starts
Career stats: 119 games, 118 starts
After a stellar college career at Florida, center Jeff Mitchell was a fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 1997. His career got off to a slow start as he didn’t see the field in his rookie season, but that quickly changed. Over the next three seasons he started 40 games for the Ravens. In his final season with the Ravens in 2000, Baltimore won the Super Bowl with Mitchell starting throughout the regular season and playoffs.
After winning the Super Bowl, Jeff Mitchell signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2001.
And if you’re a Panthers historian, you’ll ruefully recall the Panthers went 1-15 that year. Immediately after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, Mitchell was snapping the ball to Chris Weinke for the league’s worst team while trying to open holes for running backs Richard Huntley (165 carries), Nick Goings (66), and the immortal Tim Biakabutuka (53).
Talk about the best of times and the worst of times.
But things would get much better for Jeff Mitchell from there. Over the next four seasons from 2002-2005 Carolina went 36-28, including two 11-win seasons and a Super Bowl appearance in 2003. Stalwart players from the 2003 Super Bowl squad like Mitchell deserve a place of respect in the minds of Panthers fans, and that’s exactly what he’s getting today.
Over five seasons with the Panthers he started all 78 regular season games in which he played, missing just two games over that stretch. While he never made the Pro Bowl in his career, he was a capable, steady, and solid at center. Good centers make the entire offensive line better and make life easier for their quarterbacks, and Mitchell was very good at that for half a decade in Carolina.
