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.
#49. Andrew Norwell
Everyone loves a story about an undrafted free agent becoming a high level NFL player. Andrew Norwell is an interesting, and perhaps the least surprising version of that story.
Norwell was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school, ranked as either a four start or five star prospect, depending on where you look. He went to Ohio State, where he developed into a two time All Big Ten honoree. Despite the prestigious pedigree and decorated college career, Norwell somehow went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Panthers were fortunate enough to scoop enough, and boy did that work out for them. He was forced into the starting lineup in Week 7 of his rookie year and would never relinquish that spot. He finished out the season as arguably the best rookie lineman and one of the best interior lineman in the whole league.
He would go on to be a staple of the Panthers offensive line for the next three seasons and would perform as one of the league’s best guards, though he didn’t get a lot of recognition for it. He finally got his flowers after the 2017 season, when he was named first team all pro. The Jaguars would lure him away from Carolina with the largest contract for a guard in the entire NFL. Norwell would finish out his career with four seasons in Jacksonville and one last rodeo for Ron Rivera in Washington in 2022.
Norwell was an interesting case of a highly regarded player throughout his amateur case that didn’t get drafted and then went on to become a very good NFL player. It’s like the least surprising success story for an undrafted free agent of all time. But credit to the Panthers for getting him to come here and giving him an opportunity to shine.
Norwell only spent four seasons in Carolina, but he was one of the best players in the league at his position during those four years. His time coincided with what were some pretty good offensive seasons by the Rivera era Panthers standards, and he was a big part of that. He was part of the team that made it to Super Bowl 50 and the groups that went to the playoffs in 2014 and 2017. His rise from undrafted free agent and the elite player he was during a high point in Panthers history earns him spot number 49 on the list of top 100 Panthers of all time.
