After nearly a decade of mediocrity and failure, the Carolina Panthers broke through last season and finished with an 8-9 record. Normally, that would indicate that this is a pretty average team that can at least compete with most opponents any given week—but that mark was good enough for an NFC South title.
However, we have to keep in mind that the Panthers are playing in the weakest division in the NFL, and that they finished the regular season with a -69 scoring differential. Plus, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons also ended up with 8-9 records, only losing out to Carolina due to a head-to-head-to-head tiebreaker.
So, going into 2026, it makes sense that many analysts consider the Panthers below average—even if their roster does
look better on paper now than at this time last year.
According to ESPN's final power rankings before the season begins, Carolina is only the 23rd-best team in the league. Their note from team beat reporter Mike Kaye says he is most excited to see what wideout Tetairoa McMillan can do in Year 2:
The McMillan-Bryce Young connection may be the best thing these Panthers have going on offense, especially since the plan is apparently to split the backfield reps between Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks. How much those two have grown will go a long way towards determining how far the Panthers go this year.
On the other side of the ball, the additions of linebackers Devin Lloyd and Jaelan Phillips should, in theory, finally break the Panthers out of the basement in the pass-rushing department. If that's the case, then a nine- or 10-win campaign is possible, assuming the rest of their roster stays healthy.
However, if the Panthers continue to flounder in pressuring the quarterback, their ceiling is going to be pretty low in 2026—and 23rd would be right where they belong.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Where did the Panthers land in ESPN's final preseason power rankings?
