The Panthers are the hottest team in football right now. What are the ingredients that have allowed this team to flourish? To all non-Panther fans, here are the top 13 players on the 13–0 Panthers (Note: players not ranked in order of skill.)
Cam Newton, QB
It is no secret who the leader of the Panthers is. In terms of pure passing, Newton still lags behind pure pocket passers like Carson Palmer and Tom Brady (passer rating: Newton, 96.9; Brady, 103.6; Palmer, 107.2). Newton’s accuracy and footwork naysayers will always exist as well. However, to say that Newton hasn’t developed into a threat as a passer is definitely erroneous.
For starters, Newton steps up his game when it counts—his fourth-quarter passer rating of 115.0 is the best in the league. One also has to consider the group of receivers Newton has to work with. Excluding top target Kelvin Benjamin, who was lost in the offseason, the Panthers’ receiving core of Ted Ginn–Jericho Cotchery–Devin Funchess–Philly Brown is fairly underwhelming. Newton has also shown considerable improvement on his deep ball, which fully utilizes his cannon arm. In fact, Newton’s numbers have actually been degraded due to several Ted Ginn drops on perfectly thrown long bombs.
All of this is not considering Newton’s running prowess. Newton currently has seven rushing touchdowns on the year, which is more rushing touchdowns than seven NFL teams. With the Panthers playing great and Newton having a career year, there’s no question as to why Newton is a prime MVP candidate.
Luke Kuechly, LB
Cam Newton may be the face of the franchise, but Kuechly is arguably the best player in the league right now. Recently, Pro Football Focus posted an article on how Kuechly was breaking records in its grading system. In fact, it doesn’t take an expert eye to see the damage he causes on the field. Though playing suffocating coverage and possessing world-class instincts, Kuechly is a favorite for defensive player of the year, making him and Newton real contenders for a Panthers’ MVP award sweep.
