The Carolina Panthers continued their offensive streak this week. They signed Andy Dalton, will likely be the backup for any quarterback they select now that they have the first overall pick in this year’s draft. The pick they got in a trade with the Chicago Bears that included them sending out leading wide receiver DJ Moore. And they signed back Miles Sanders, who is coming off the best year of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Panthers were thought to be one of the best places to sign the running back due to the lack of competition and how the rusher performed last year. What does Sanders’ signing mean for him and the rest of the Panthers’ draft picks for professional players this year and for the future in the dynasty?
Miles Sanders- Stock up
I couldn’t be happier about Sanders landing in Carolina. Let’s talk about the player first. Sanders is coming off a year with 259 carries, 1,269 yards, and 11 touchdowns. Those were high jobs. He also separated the backfield from the quarterback Jalen Hurts, who attempted to rush 164 times. Sanders’s touchdowns came when he was rarely behind on the field or was the one who got the ball in the red zone. He was still able to get into the end zone and finish eighth in running back touchdowns. It’s a big difference from his 2021 season, where he failed to score any rushing touchdowns.
Now he has a chance to match, if not better, those numbers. Let’s not gloss over the fact that Sanders averaged 4.9 yards per carry. That was below what he has been for most of his career. He’s shown he can be a workhorse, all down the backfield in the NFL. The Eagles made it to the Super Bowl thanks to what Sanders did on the ground.
Coaching Effect
He joins the Panthers team with Duke Staley as a coach. Staley coached Sanders in 2019 and 2020, his first two years in the league. Not only that, Frank Reich is the head coach. As the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Reich never had a second back make up more than 20% of the team’s carries. He runs the bell cow system, and Sanders is now running for 2023. As mentioned in our article about Reich’s hiring, his offenses have always been in the top 10 in rushing play percentage. That’s a huge boon for Sanders. He should easily see more than 250 carriers.
In 2021 D’Onte Forman he saw 203 carries and didn’t take the back seat until Week 7, when they sold out Christian McCaffery. If you took the leading rush attempt from every Panthers game last year, that back would have 285 carries. Now it is a new arrangement with the Reich. If you look at the leading rusher for the nine games coached by Reich and extrapolate that out to 17 games, the back would have hauled the rock 268 times. Both are above Sanders’ numbers from last year. The Panthers also landed the first overall pick in the draft. They will lead the season with either rookie under center or 13-year veteran Andy Dalton. The rookie will need to get used to the speed and depth of the NFL, and Dalton has been decent but past his prime. The running game will be even more important as the Panthers look to take the lead in the weakest division in football.
Ability to Hold Passes
There is also a passing touch up to Sander’s game. We haven’t seen much of that in the last few years since Sanders. His numbers have decreased every year of his career — 63 in 2019, 52 in 2020, 34 in 2021, and 26 in 2022. I’ll take you back to the fact that Staley was the coach back in Philadelphia in 2019 and 2020, when Sanders had his best years. of touch. The Panthers don’t have another linebacker for that traditional catch-and-catch role. Raheem Blackshear and Chuba Hubbard have only 49 receptions in their combined three years in the NFL. That’s the least Sanders had in his rookie season (50 receptions). The Panthers also lack more pass catchers at wide receiver and tight end. Sanders will be the first option in running games and could be a top two option on passing downs.
Longtime Sanders signed a four-year contract. It is worth $25 million, so Sanders receives $6.25 million a year. That puts him in the top 15 highest-paid running backs in the NFL. Not surprising for a 25-year-old back who has only had 914 attempts (carries and receptions) in his NFL career. He just signed his second contract and should be a leader back in Carolina for a long time. As part of the trade to move to the first overall pick, the Panthers had to give the Bears their first-round pick in 2024. They have a second this year, although they also sent one to the Bears. The one they sent was the one they received from the 49ers in the McCaffrey package. It’s a deep class of rushers, and the Panthers could take one at 39th overall, but given their needs at other positions, it wouldn’t make sense. That would leave either the third round this year (93rd overall) or the second next year where they could draft a rusher to push Sanders into the starting role.
Other Skill Positions- Same Value
Honestly, you might not be too happy about some of the skill positions on the Panthers. They signed tight end Hayden Hurst. He has just six games over a 10 point projection over the past two seasons. He has one season over three touchdowns, he was back in 2020. Hurst has been living and getting paid that season ever since.
The big reception includes Laviska Shenault, Shi Smith, and Terrace Marshall. They have nine total touchdowns in their careers in 78 professional games. It seems like a given that the Panthers will add a player, if not two or three, through free agency and the draft, but until they do, we can’t be happy. Shenault has shown flashes in one area of the gadget type, using his speed with the ball in his hands. Marshall struggled to stay healthy and on the field. Smith had two good games with solid production but it was inconsistent. It could have something to do with the revolving door at quarterback last season, or he could be, at best, the WR3 on the team.
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