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.
#64. Captain Munnerlyn
There are a few possessions on an NFL team which by their nature tend to draw a lot of ire from fans. One of those positions is slot cornerback. No matter how good a slot corner is, they’re always going to give up completions in the short middle of the field, and there will be times where that makes them an easy target for fan frustration. Captain Munnerlyn felt a lot of that during his time in Carolina, but he was still a stalwart for two different versions of the team, one of which miscast him for quite a while as an outside corner.
Munnerlyn first joined the Panthers in 2009 as a seventh round pick. Despite his draft status, he earned himself a spot as the team’s starting nickel corner and punt returner. He played as the team’s nickel corner for two seasons, then was shifted outside when Richard Marshall was allowed to walk in free agency. While the 5’8.5” Munnerlyn struggled at times with bigger receivers, he had a knack for making splash plays. From 2010 to 2013, he intercepted seven passes and returned a franchise record five of them for touchdowns. He added three fumble recoveries and five sacks to his tally as well. He was part of a Panthers defense that was one of the best in the league in 2013. After that season, he departed in free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings.
After a strong first season in Minnesota, Munnerlyn’s play started to diminish. He played two more seasons with the Vikings before rejoining the Panthers as more of a role player. He played two more seasons in Carolina, adding one more interception, one more fumble recovery, and four more sacks.
Captain Munnerlyn was never an elite player, but he was a good player that is a prominent character in the 2010s era of the Carolina Panthers. After retiring, he’s stayed in the community and is now the head coach at Julius L. Chambers High School in Charlotte. All of that earns him spot number 64 on the list of the 100 greatest Carolina Panthers of all time.
