Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! Apologies for the delay this week, but I’m here and rocking out all of your questions! Let’s dive in.
Brazilian Panther: Give me three teams that gonna face the Panthers that made significant roster upgrades through free agency and the draft Brian.
- I’m going to lump the Falcons and Saints into one answer, since I think those two are obvious ones. Both were lauded with great draft grades and every divisional matchup looks difficult.
- Laugh if you want, but I have the Browns as one. They made a concerted effort to bolster their offensive line, including using one of their first round picks on OT Spencer Fano, someone many mocks had the Panthers potentially taking. KC Conception was one of my favorite WR prospects in the Draft as well.
- Surprise! The Philadelphia Eagles had another strong off-season. With the swirling rumors around AJ Brown, they made that trade sound like a good idea after drafting WR Makai Lemon and TE Eli Stowers, and trading for WR Dontayvion Wicks. Oh yeah, and they once again made another shrewd trade for DE Jonathan Greenard, as the rich get richer along their defensive trenches.
bolshy: Do we become a respectable franchise this year?
I think between the playoff performance to start 2026, and having highly regarded free agency and NFL Draft
periods, it certainly seems like the media is catching on to what Dan Morgan and Brandt Tillis are cooking in Carolina. Obviously, much of their success hinges on how Bryce Young performs in his 4th season, but many casual fans are noticing that Carolina isn’t a joke anymore.
GooseCreek: Who are the assets that the Panthers may utilize this season to acquire draft capital in 2027?
Man, we haven’t even made it to the PRESEASON and we’re already talking about trading people away. Oh well!
I think the Panthers could choose to move Taylor Moton in the event that some combination of Monroe Freeling, Rasheed Walker, and a likely earlier than expected returning Ikem Ekwonu can work as a tackle combination. I’d hate to see it for Moton as a guy who has put his head down and worked his entire career, but they could trade him to a Super Bowl contender and move on from his enormous price tag. I could also see them trading Mike Jackson away if he’s still looking for an extension (which he deserves) if their young depth behind him can step up. On offense, I don’t think I see them trading anyone but Xavier Legette. Chuba Hubbard seems to be a popular answer but I’m not sure how I would feel about a running back committee where a ton of work would be going to Jonathon Brooks and Trevor Etienne.
schrodingersblackcat: Brian, what’s that bear doing?
Hopefully taking some much deserved time off and stealing Saints fans pic-a-nic baskets.
Revshawn: What’s your office/gaming setup look like? Can you shoot us some screenshots and let us see what peak male entertainment is all about?
Its pretty sad. Google Chromebook for my non-work laptop, and a PS5.
brake23: We potentially have a stacked WR room now. If I could pick I’d go with TMac, Coker, Brazzell, XL, Metchie, and Horn Jr. I project TMac to get 1100 yds, Coker 800, Brazzell 450, XL 250, and Metchie/Horn to split 400. What would your lineup be and how many yards would you expect from the WRs?
That’s probably the lineup I would pick, though I don’t think Chris Brazzell would so much be the WR3 as much as a very specific type of route runner in the beginning. I’d expect Xavier Legette and Johnathan Metchie to occupy the “3rd wide receiver” type position and Jimmy Horn Jr probably backs up Brazzell in his deep threat, speed focused role.
Bruce Guild: How long before we have a new crowned King at QB?
I wouldn’t get your hopes up. If he makes the roster as a gadget type guy, that would be a huge win for this scouting department. I see no world where he becomes a starting level QB. He’s more of an athlete who throws the ball sometimes and I don’t think he will be able to make NFL level throws. Happy to be wrong though!
Senanima: You can choose only one:
A) a fully working Mortal Kombat 1 stand up arcade game
B ) two unopened boxes of 1999 Pokeman cards
C ) an autographed and framed Nick Scott jersey verified with selfie shot meet and greet.
D) 450$ dollar gift card to Buc-ees.
I’m very tempted to go with B as someone who grew up (and low key still is) a massive trading card nerd. But C is the only answer here.
I linked your whole question so people can see the entirety of what you said. Personally, I don’t see Pickett as anything more than a fall back option. I wouldn’t expect him to lift the ceiling of the offense so much as stop the bleeding if Bryce Young’s inconsistency issues continue to plague him in 2026. But the Panthers should be able to be somewhat competitive with a guy who isn’t the reason they lose each week.
positivebob: What do think of the depth at IOL and the TEs? Good enough or more to come?
I think the Panthers are set at tight end. They basically rolled the same group out last season and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to add to it this year. At interior offensive line, I think they’ll do what they usually do and snipe up some guys during rounds of cuts that other teams don’t have the room to keep.
@WTMealey: 2 minutes left ball on the 10 yd line. Prime Smitty Tmac and Greg are your weapons but Tolbert is your only RB. You’ve got Prime Cam and Prime Jake as options. Who you giving the ball?
Prime Cam Newton by a mile. Jake Delhomme was great, but Cam would have eaten a defense alive with those weapons.
aaroningreensboro: What the hell is the deal with Brady Christensen? We sent him off into the wilds of free agency last year and no one wanted him, which surprised the shit out of me. Then we re-sign him for one year, and here we are again acting as if he’s worthless. I don’t understand
Dcangio09 basically answered the question. And I agree with him, Brady Christensen is recovering from an Achilles tear and he’s suffered pretty debilitating injuries every season he’s gotten significant time. I think there’s a very good chance they bring him back, but its very telling that in two free agency cycles he didn’t seem to garner interest elsewhere.
DeacCat: New question: At what positions are we most likely to go dumpster diving after training cap cuts.
Probably LB, OL, and possibly defensive line. You can’t really have too many of those.
Revshawn: Do you think it’s a damn crime about how ERFA contracts are handled? I don’t like it! I think it is absolutely crazy that any player with less than 3 seasons can be automatically locked down at a one year tender and he is unable to negotiate with other teams or do anything about it.
I think its definitely a bad deal for the player, but I also blame the NFLPA for that one since they agreed to it. I guess its similar to how drafted players are handled, because it would almost be a bad thing to be a 7th round draft pick instead of a UDFA if you can just sign anywhere you want without having the restricted rights tenders being a thing, because then the *rare* time a UDFA turns out to be a super star, they’d hit the open free agency market in year 2 without the original team having anything they can really do about it.
I still agree, just playing devils advocate.
JakeNCVA: How likely is it that Brooks can make a comeback? Almost no game contact football for 3 seasons 2 pro and last year in college. I hope he does, but it seems like a low possibility.
I think this is actually his best chance to make a comeback. While his football conditioning will certainly need time and patience to work out, if he’s really been making the strides he claims he has in the mental aspect of the game, physically he should be as explosive as ever. I think if he comes out firing, giving him the ball 25 times a game is going to kill him (not literally), but if they manage his workload he could really be the biggest surprise of the off-season.
Guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis both look like very realistic cap casualties, so I’m thinking its all but a certainty one of them is let go. They could opt to extend someone like Lewis instead, simply because he’s been so darn consistent, but those are my top candidates. They might move on from Chuba Hubbard, but he seems to be a cornerstone of the offense from a leadership standpoint. DL Bobby Brown I’d say is also all but a certainty to be released, especially if Lee Hunter hits the ground running in his rookie season. DL Terk Wharton also looks to be very cuttable, but I’d like to see what he looks like if he can stay healthy this year.
That’s all for this week, Panthers fans! Join us next week for another round of fan questions!
