Chris, I’m giving Dan Morgan an A this offseason so far with free agency. I’m giving him an A. I might give him a kiss. 00, OK. My man is working. I like on the cheek, man, on the cheek, yeah, yeah, you know, chef’s kiss to watch chef’s kiss. That’s the grade. It’s chef’s kiss for Dan Morgan. There’s a lot to talk about. Let’s get this sucker started. Get dialed in, Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews, locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panthers Playbook presented by Wake Orthopedics, a WakeMed physician practice. Here are your hosts, Dennis Cox and Chris Lee. Welcome back to another episode of Panthers Playbook, and that’s Chris Lee. Dennis Cox here with you. Big shout out to Wake Orthopedics, the sponsor here at Panthers Playbook. Let us know in the comment section, folks. By the way, as you’re leaving a comment about what your grade is this offseason, what’s the biggest offseason move that Dan Working in the front office have made for the Panthers this offseason. Let us know in the comments. But as you’re doing that, hit that like button and subscribe if you haven’t already and hype this video up. It helps us out a bunch. And we also want you to again, be part of this community because we’re still dropping content all throughout the offseason for each and every single one of you. But Chris, you and I last week, we had episodes where we talked about the Jalen Phillips signing. We talked about the Devin Lloyd signing, which overall, feeling happy about that. But then, oh, we got a starting center. There’s a starting left tackle for this upcoming season. No, they also added Jamison Williams to the wide receiver room. Chris, Chef Dan. Chef Boyard Dan Morgan is getting it done this offseason. Uh, absolutely cooking. You said Jamison Williams. I, I, I must have missed that. I I remember John Mechi. Oh, John Mechi, sorry, not John Jason Williams. John Mechi, my apologies, my apologies on that one. I jumped the gun. I was excited. I was excited, but Mechi, my apologies. I was like, man, I must have missed another. Chef Dan has been, um, basically Chef Boyardee, man. Like he’s been like really cooking it up. And, you know, like we said a couple of weeks ago, it really is looking like he wants to, uh, address everything he can possibly address through free agency. Um, the, the, the immediate needs so that when he goes into the draft, it’s literally just like, OK, if the best person available happens to be a linebacker, you’re gonna get paired with Devin Lloyd. If the next best person available happens to be a really good wide receiver, hey, you’re gonna get paired with, uh, you know, T Mac. If the next best person available happens to be a, a, a corner. You’re getting in there with JC and, uh, and, and Mike Jackson. It’s, it’s gonna be really cool to see how the Panthers are gonna end up looking after the draft is over. A lot of GMs will say best available, but that’s not what happens really in practice because you have to end up reaching for certain guys, mainly because you have a need at that spot. It felt like that’s kind of what Scott Federer was about. Scott Federer. Talked the big game. It was like he was, he wanted to do the splash, and there was a couple of times he, he made a few things happen, um, and there’s a few times he did a couple of draft picks that were, were decent, but I never felt this comfortable, uh, with the team, like actually feeling like they actually got better, uh, at this point in the season, um, you know, under Scott Federer or even before that, like Dan Morgan is really putting it. Uh, together in a way that like you can see the clear steps up that the Carolina Panthers are taking. If this team can remain relatively healthy, um, I, I would definitely expect, I mean, I, I, it might be really too early to say this, Dennis. This team should win at least 11 games. Oh, OK. I, hey, hey, it’s too early to say it. It’s too early to say it. You know, but like with what I’ve seen so far. Get you, get you 3 more games than what you got last year already without even what, uh, without even seeing what’s gonna happen in the draft. I at minimum, 2 more. I know the schedule is gonna be tougher and all that, but guess what? You, you added the top edge rusher in free agency in Phillips. You also added Lloyd. The top off-ball linebacker in free agency, your defense is better than what it was already. Just looking at it on paper, it’s already better. And a bunch of young guys who got a lot of reps last year who should take a sophomore step. You anticipate growth with some of these young players as well. Then also you look on the offensive side of things. Like, for example, the Rasheed Walker signing. Came out of nowhere on Friday. It’s like, oh, wait a second, we still have a need at left tackle. Josh Nimman decides to retire. They, uh, they, they, they signed, uh, Sly and the Family Stone, Stove Forsyth. Uh, they signed him, uh, to a one-year deal. It’s a, a backup swing tackle. I said that when he was, he was signed. I’m like, he’s a backup tackle and that’s OK. You still need to have depth on your offensive line. So you have a backup swing tackle. Well, you still need to address that starter. So what does Dan Morgan do? He gets one of the top guys at left tackle, but signs him to a one-year deal, a one-year deal that benefits both the player and the team. Because if it doesn’t work out for the team, guess what? It’s only a one-year commitment. But at the same time, at the same time, That player wants to get that next big contract. You hopefully are going to get his best play and his best level of, of competition. That is what you’re gonna get from Walker at left tackle. So it’s a win-win on both sides because if he goes out there and balls. Out for you as a left tackle, he gets paid this offseason. And what do you get for this upcoming year while Iki Kwanu is still getting healthy? You get a left tackle that balls out for you for this upcoming season. Same thing with Fortner as a center, one-year deal. It’s the same type thing. It’s beneficial to both sides. I like the fact that Dan Morgan is able to find those guys in the, I guess you can say for lack of a better term, in the margins to fill out the roster and still maximize what your potential can be. And not only that, it’s also the, the players that are returning as well, like Travis Gibson. I thought that when he, uh, was acquired, I think he was acquired on the waiver wire, uh, they signed him off the practice squad, OK, um, and like I felt like he came in. And he made a difference, man. Like he, he looked better than, you know, some of the guys who were signed uh to bigger contracts. Um, and I think he could be a, a, a good depth piece behind what’s uh already there if he ends up making the roster. And, you know, he doesn’t necessarily have to make the roster because, you know, they’ve, they’ve really done a great job at, uh, at filling out that position. Uh, here in the offseason, and then you have James Mitchell. I, I liked him. Thought he was decent, um, you know, in his times, uh, that he was able to be called up, made a couple of plays here and there. He’s a good blocker, uh, good depth piece. Again, somebody who doesn’t have to make the roster, but if he does, you feel good about him. And even guys like Claude and Cheerless, Thomas and Kon, my core special teamers brought those guys back too. Isaiah Simmons, LeBrian Ray, uh, Robert Rochelle, uh, of course, you know, JJ Jansen has to be there. And I’m cool with the parting with Ayshaun Robinson. I’m cool with that, you know, it’s like they’re just to save some money and, um, you know, restructure, a, a deal or two here or there, uh, to make sure you can bring in these guys, like, you know, I’m, I’m really comfortable with where the team is at right now, um, you know, it, it feels really good. I, I do want to see. A little bit more, um, competition in the wide receiver room, in the linebackers room, I’m sorry, in, in the, in the running back’s room, excuse me, uh, and I think from there I feel a little bit more complete, and then we didn’t even bring up Kenny Pickett, uh, we talked about him a little bit last week, but like as I’ve slept on him, on it a little bit. I like it a lot more. I think initially I didn’t like it as much. I was still harboring some feelings from, um, you know, that fake slide in the ACC championship game. Against Mike Forrest, let’s harboring some feelings about that. Hey, if Kenny Pickett performs his best, if he has to go in there for Bryce Young, if he performs his best at Bank of America Stadium, hey, that’s a good thing. Yeah, do a fake slide there. It has worked for him at the same spot before. Yeah, maybe it has, uh, but here’s the thing as well, when it comes to, you mentioned, uh, running back, wide receiver, they did add Mechi into the room, which I think puts a lot of stress in terms of, you wanna talk about competition, maybe not for obviously Tyrell McMillan, Jalen Coker. But you anticipate the emergence or at least the growth of Jimmy Horn Jr.s sixth-round pick from last year. Who’s that put stress on? Xavier Ligette puts stress on Xavier Ligette. Hey, we signed somebody who has a rapport and history with Bryce Young from their time at Alabama. Hey man. You need to perform better. Oh, and they also are bringing back David Moore. They’re also bringing back Bryson Tremaine as well. There’s, there’s now after those top two guys, the McMillan and Coker, there’s a bit of a logjam right there. It doesn’t mean they still can’t add to that mix, but there is a little bit of a logjam. But it’s also interesting that you bring up running back, Chris. Don’t you think you bring up running back. Because, um, Rico Dowdell, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, is, uh, he’s, let’s say he’s not afraid to be, uh, open about his feelings from his time with Carolina. Let’s just, let’s just go ahead and, and say that he is not afraid. I love it, by the way, you know, I, Chris, you’ve known me for a long time now. You, you for like for about 5.5 years, you and I have been doing radio and podcast, television, all these things together, uh. Yeah, we’ve been doing that for 5.5 years, but we’ve been talking for 6 years. We’ve known each other for 6 years. What’s my level of petty, Chris? What’s the scale? Yes. OK, that’s the level. That is the level of petty. What is my level of petty? What can it reach, uh, whatever the highest on the scale is, that’s why I was asking what the scale is, whatever it is, if we’re going 1 to 10, you’re going to 100, you’re going to, uh, 11. If it’s going to 1 through 100, you’re going to 110. That, that’s the level of petty. So when I see, when I see. Rico Dowd will be petty. I’m like. OK. It does a little bit. I know it’s directed at the Panthers. It’s not the, it’s not the thing, oh, he’s being petty towards the Panthers. That’s not what I’m saying. But just the level of pettiness, I have no problem with people being petty is all I’m gonna say. But he has been open in his feelings about how the Carolina Panthers offense was running this past season in terms of not having much. Input, for example, remember that big 53 yard run he had against the Miami Dolphins, and he’s like, hey, I see something here. Let’s run it. And they did, and he pops off that big play. And he’s like, yeah, last time I had any input on the offense showing this. Hey, it’s hard to get going when you run the same play 75 out of 100 times, which you and I, Chris, were like, might not be wrong. We kept, I kept bringing up the, uh, the Buccaneers, uh, game at home, that first drive where, uh, Rico, uh, having a little bit of shoulder issues, reaching inside of his shoulder pad, forced, um, uh, uh, Dave Canales to like have Rico kind of sit out just a second, so he had to call something different for Chuba Hubbard, and I said that that drive was the best drive he has called the entire season. Uh, as far as the run game is concerned, because it was so much variety. Me and you, we’re not football savants. You played football in, in college, um, you know, at, at, um, at a, at Shenandoah, at a 3D3 school, but me and you aren’t like these like next level football brains that have done it at the highest NFL level, right? But me and you can even look at, uh, the, the, the plays and see like, It’s the same thing over and over again. So, once we see variety, like we saw in that first drive versus the Bucks at home, it’s like, oh, this is cool, you’re doing power, you’re doing zone, you’re doing counter, you’re doing jet sweep, you know what I’m saying, you’re doing toss, like you’re doing all these different things, and it worked, and for some reason, Dave Canales couldn’t do that all season. And we’ve been talking about this, and Rico Dowdo comes out and essentially confirms all of what we’ve been saying. Yeah, that’s 100% was. I remember that game. I turned to you when they ran a counterplay. I was like, Chris, they just ran a counter. Like, like, uh, they just ran a counter. We haven’t seen a counter all season, I feel like, because it was, it was that different. Exactly. It was that different. It was like, well, wait a second. Like what, what a counterplay? Who would have thunk it? I think this is part of the reason why. Brad Idzik taking over as the play caller, where you’re gonna have that continuity? Because let’s. Let’s go back to what it was the last couple of seasons. Brad Izzik as the offensive play caller, comes up with the offensive game plan for the week. That’s his job. That’s his role. But when it gets to game day, obviously, Dave Canales has a large input in that as well. But when it gets to game day, all right, Dave, you call the plays. Even though he put the game plan together, Idzik puts the game plan together. All right, now Dave has to go call the plays. So Brad Idzik might have in his mind. An idea of what he wants to potentially build off of over the course of the game. Stuff you run in the 1st quarter into the 2nd quarter is setting you up for a 3rd and 4th quarter success. That’s the intent, that you’re building on a game. It’s the game within the game. But then Canales is like, well, that didn’t work and just immediately might divert and just do something completely different. So the stuff that might be built up during the week or anticipated by Brad Idzik in in regards to what he wants the game plan to look like, the play caller might just see something different and, and divert. So I think Brad Idzik being that play caller on top of being the game planner for the week, should, should hopefully, Chris, open things up for the entire offense. Not just Bryce Young, but the offense as a whole. Pole. That is something I think was very much needed. And like you said, Rico Dowdell’s basically saying the things that we have been talking about when it came to the offense for the Panthers. I mean, and, and there’s other times that things kind of leaked out a little bit, uh, that maybe we weren’t supposed to see, like, after a, uh, a flea flicker in the rain from the twenty-yard line in Tampa Bay, uh, the TV cuts to Bryce Young talking to Andy Dalton on the sidelines and says, And it looks like his, his mouth is saying, I don’t understand why we call these plays, and you could tell the frustration, and we’ve been saying that, you know, there’s a disconnect between Bryce Young and, uh, Dave Canales and oil and water, Chris, oil and water, oil and water, and, and hopefully, um, you know, with Brad Izik in there. You got oil and oil, and hopefully Brad Idzik is, is, uh, is coconut oil. That’s a carrier oil, if you know that from any type of oil concoctions. A lot of times you just can’t mix oils together either. You need to carrier oil to help, uh, mix everything together. And I, I hope that, uh, Brad Idzik is coconut oil to help bring everything together and blend it smoothly, so things can work in the best way possible. Um. And it’s just further proof also that not only Dave Canales, but we’ve said this about Iiro Everro, seemed to be a little bit rigid in certain ways in the way that they use folks and not using folks to their, their highest capabilities or really trusting people at certain parts of the game. So, uh, that’s the next step for the coaching staff to take. We’ve talked about that, and hopefully, uh, all of this opens it up, but Rico Dowdell is right there confirming to all of us what we’ve been saying and what we’ve been seeing ourselves. Uh, and that’s one of the things that needs to get better. All around, when you talk about Darryl Bevel coming in, uh, with Dave Canal stepping back and not calling plays and giving it to Brad Idzik with all of the, uh, free agency signings. This has been a stellar last 30 days for the Carolina Panthers. All in all, I can’t wait to see what happens with the draft. I can’t wait to see how the team starts shaping up, um, in OTAs and minicamp and also training camp. This is gonna, this is, uh, this is gonna look really amazing, and this team is gonna take the next step, uh, from where they were. It, it’s just because I feel like the team and the culture is starting to really come together. I agree. I agree. And talking about that offensive improvement, again, Isaac taking over, Bevel coming in. Panthers last year, 27th in points per game, 27th in yards per game, 26th in yards per play, 25th in the NFL in 3rd-down conversion. Granted, they were 8th-best in 4th-down conversions. Obviously, you know, weren’t afraid to take shots on 4th down. Red zone scoring percentage in terms of touchdowns, they were 14th in the NFL, so middle of the pack. Yards per rush, 19th in the NFL. Yards per pass, 28th in the NFL, 19th in completion percentage. This is something, like this is a bottom, this is a bottom third of the NFL offense. Look at every single category. This is a bottom third of the NFL offense. You can’t convince me otherwise. You can’t look at those numbers and, and just watch the games that we saw last year and tell me that, that, that offense wasn’t bottom third in the NFL. That offense needs to take a massive jump. It’s like, much like we saw the jump from the 2024 defense to the 2025 defense. You need to see that level of jump from the offense this year. Like he can’t be 25th, 26th, 27th in a lot of these major categories and expect to go win the division again. You can’t. If, if the offense just jumps to the middle of the road, like, you know, you were just saying like the defense just did, uh, from 2024, 2025, they get to like 1415, 2016 in those different categories. That you named off and the defense can take a step into the top, uh, like 8 of the league, that’s definitely going to be worth a few extra wins right there, you know, like that’s literally all they need to do. It’s not like this team needs to go from bottom 3rd to top 3rd in offense. Just hit that middle, hit that middle area, and the defense can take that next step up into the, into the top 3 of the league, and then you’re talking about a completely different, uh, you know, complexion for the team right now. I mean, look at last year, the defense, 16th in the NFL in scoring. 16th. So again, that’s dead middle of the league. Yards, uh, yards allowed per game, 16th in the NFL. You go to rushing, uh, yards per rush, 20th in the NFL. Yards per pass attempt, 21st in the NFL. Opponents on 3rd down. They were 30th in the NFL. Their 3rd-down defense could be a lot better. Red zone scoring defense in terms of touchdown percentage, they were 15th in the NFL. So again, you’re floating right there in the middle of the pack in terms of a defense last year. It’s funny, you finished basically 500. You were 8 and 9 last year. But I will say this for the defense. The defense needs to take a jump as well. When you have a, a top 10. In the NFL or top 8 in the NFL paid edge rusher. You have a top 6 in the NFL paid interior defensive lineman. You have a top 4 paid off, off-ball linebacker in the entire NFL. You have a top 4 paid corner paid in the NFL. You have a top 6 safety paid in the NFL, and you have 2nd and 3rd-round picks at edge rusher as well. Yeah, your defense better be a lot better. Your defense better be a lot better. That’s all I’m gonna say. When you have that high a paid at edge, interior D-line, off-ball linebacker, safety, and corner. Here, here’s something else that I pay off. I’m really looking forward to, uh, with Ahaan not being there, I’m looking forward to see how somebody like Cam Jackson or like, uh, the LeBron Rays of the world potentially, uh, take the next step. Um, with that hole being there because like the times that Cam Jackson had, uh, reps in games, I felt like he produced. Remember he did block a field goal attempt at Tampa Bay, and I mean, that’s a big man. He’s, he’s not only just large, he’s tall for an interior defensive lineman. So, like, I’m, I’m excited to see how other People can grow that maybe didn’t have all the opportunities they should have had last year. I’d like to see Turk Wharton actually slide out to where Asshaun Robinson was playing as opposed to paying nose. Now, I think, because I think that’s, I think that actually would maximize what Turk Wharton would be. Obviously, he has to stay healthy, but I think that would actually maximize him. But does Bobby Brown the 3rd that you signed to a big deal, that kid is a big guy like him. Jackson, go, can those guys play that interior nose tackle position? We shall see, but that’s over time. But Chris, overall, this offseason, if you’re a Panthers fan, in my opinion, you should be excited. The fact that this team is saying we want to win right now and we are making moves to win right now without sacrificing the future to do it. That is the thing. Dan Morgan hasn’t sacrificed the future to have this team win right now over the next couple of years. That should have you excited. What do you feel like is missing right now? I know I said my, my piece with it, and I, I have a little bit more to add to it. What do you feel like is missing right now that they could potentially get, excuse me, in the draft and the undrafted free agency market? I still think. I still would like to see an upgrade at free safety, whether that’s Lathan Ransom starting or you draft somebody. I think free safety would be a big upgrade as well. I think that could really round out that defense even further. On the offensive side of the ball. Where’s the speed? I still want to see where, where’s the speed coming from. Maybe that is Jonathan Brooks, cautiously optimistic, crossing my fingers on Jonathan Brooks. That dude has all the potential in the world. I just hope that knee holds together. That’s really it. That’s it. That’s, that’s the only thing. We all see, we all saw the talent in that little flash we saw him play a couple of years ago. We saw the flash of talent, but he just, it just really just comes down to health in that regard. I want to see where’s that speed? Where’s that game breaker on offense? The guy that Dan Morgan talked about that could take a five-yard catch and turn it into a fifty-yard game. That, that still is missing from the offense. I, I think that Jimmy Horn could potentially be one of those guys if you put him in one of those in, in position to do that and, and trust him and call more for him, um, but you’re right, there, I’m, I was gonna say on each side. Where is your home run hitter? I know Devin Lloyd can has that potential to be a home run hitter. I love somebody else there next to him that could do that too, whether it’s linebacker or at safety, whatever that is, like a ball hawk. Somebody that can, you know, like Devin Lloyd is out there and he’s got a People worry this person can just roam and go, you know, make things happen, wherever that’s gonna be. I, I wanna see that happen through the draft. Um, and, uh, same thing on offense, uh, just somebody who can, who can just make some lemonade out of lemons on, on offense, uh, and, and give the Panthers that, that home run capability, uh, out there. That’s gonna open up things for other people and I’m excited to see maybe what, uh, Trevor Aan is able to do, uh, with more reps. I think if you get him out in space, give him a few more reps, I mean, there’s times that he, he looked decent running the rock, he just only got like, you know, 2 or 3 attempts. So, um, looking forward to see how, how many more people are just going to be unlocked for this Carolina Panthers offense and on the defense as well. Should be exciting. Should be exciting. We’ll get to get ready for the draft coming up as well. We have all those conversations coming up. Chris, I’m excited about this offseason, and it only can get better with the draft, which is, by the way, only about a month away. about a month away. Let’s go. Another chef’s kiss to Dan Morgan. Another chef’s kiss to Wake Orthopedics, a sponsor here at Panthers Playbook, and a chef’s kiss to you, folks. Like, subscribe, comment, hit that notification bell. We’ll see you guys next week. Hype.
