Who Makes Up the New Core in Carolina?

Over the last few years, Carolina Panthers fans have seen the likes of Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, and Brian Burns traded away. 

Much of the previous core is now gone and with Derrick Brown receiving a contract extension on Friday, it got me thinking.

Who makes up the new core in Carolina?

I considered throwing Damien Lewis in here because of his big deal, but I’m not as confident in him as the other newbie up front. Ikem Ekwonu was a first-round pick, but I’m not sure he’s shown enough at this point to be considered as part of the core. 

So, here are the five players I see the Panthers building around for years to come.

QB Bryce Young

Bryce will be considered a part of the team’s core until he isn’t. Although he didn’t show much promise as a rookie, he had a lot going against him, okay maybe everything. Plus, when you draft someone first overall, he’s going to be considered the key of your core. Everything revolves around setting Young up for success and so far this offseason, the Panthers have done exactly that. He doens’t have to have a CJ Stroud type season in year two to prove he’s the right guy, but if he shows some signs and wins some games, that’s all you can ask for. 

RG Robert Hunt

A right guard is a part of the core? Well, the Panthers are sure paying him like he is. Hunt landed a five-year, $100M deal last month with $44 million guaranteed. If the young fella above is going to live up to his potential, Hunt has to play at a high level and eliminate the interior leakage that Young faced a year ago.

WR Diontae Johnson

Although Johnson is on the last year of his deal, I expect he’ll do what the Panthers brought him in to do and get a multi-year deal to stick around and be Bryce’s go-to target for seasons to come. He’s the best separator in the NFL and if he can become more sure-handed, Johnson could blossom into a star in Carolina.

DT Derrick Brown

Mr. Brown just got paid handsomely and deseveredly so. He broke the NFL single season record for most tackles by a defensive tackle last year with 103. With Aaron Donald riding off into retirement, there’s a case to be made that Brown is one of the best defensive lineman in all of football. Everything is won and lost up front in the trenches and with Brown locked up through 2028, it puts the Panthers in a terrific spot on that side of the ball.

CB Jaycee Horn

I know, I know. The injury concerns are still there, but when this young man is on the field he’s still a game-changer. I would argue that when healthy, he’s one of the top cornerbacks in the entire league. If he’s able to stay on the field, he’ll be a big part of this thing that Dan Morgan is building for a long, long time.