Author: Dallas Robinson

2) Draft a young running back. Injuries have limited Jonathan Stewart for most of his career, but he’s actually managed to play in 26 of a possible 32 regular season games overt the past two years. Unfortunately, though no longer hampered by health issues, Stewart’s play is declining — his yards per carry has dropped in each of the last three seasons, while he ranked 35th and 36th in DYAR and DVOA, respectively, in 2016.

Throw in Stewart’s contract situation — he’ll count $8.25MM against the cap in 2017 before becoming a free agent next offseason — and the Panthers need to start thinking about Stewart’s replacement. Carolina has very little depth behind the soon-to-be 31-year-old Stewart, as Fozzy Whittaker, Mike Tolbert, and 2015 fifth-rounder Cameron Artis-Payne (who has typically been a healthy inactive during his two years in the league) comprise the rest of the Panthers’ running back corps.

Carolina is highly unlikely to enter free agency in order to find a running back, although I’d be especially curious to see what Christine Michael could do in the Panthers’ power-running scheme. Perhaps if the Panthers opt to release Stewart — a move that would free up north of $6MM in cap room if done as a post-June 1 transaction — the team could start over at the running back position, and at that point, a free agent might make sense. But the draft is probably the more realistic avenue for Carolina to locate its new back.

This year’s draft is full of running backs who could be selected in the first few rounds, as Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com places five runners among his top-50 prospects: Leonard Fournette (LSU), Dalvin Cook (Florida State), Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), Alvin Kamara (Tennessee), and Curtis Samuel (Ohio State). Fournette, at No. 6 overall, is the top back in the 2017 class, and Jeremiah writes that the Tigers RB “rarely attempts to make anyone miss, preferring to punish instead,” while also noting that Fournette has improved his pass protection skills. Last month, one scout told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that Fournette is a better prospect than was Todd Gurley when he entered the draft two years ago.

The Panthers could certainly aim high and draft Fournette with the eighth overall selection — just last week, Rotoworld’s Josh Norris mocked Fournette to Carolina — but there is an inherent risk in selecting running backs early in the draft, let alone in the top-10 picks. It’s such a fungible position that, for many teams, it simply doesn’t make sense to invest prime resources when a suitable option could be found later in the draft. Plus, given the bottoming-out of free agent RB contracts around the NFL, the benefits of a first-round rookie deal don’t apply to running backs as much as they do to other, more valuable positions.

3) Sort out — and bolster — the pass rush. There’s no question that the Panthers got after opposing quarterbacks last season. Under former coordinator (and current Bills head coach) Sean McDermott, Carolina ranked second in the NFL with 47 sacks, and placed fifth in the league with a 7.3% adjusted sack rate. However, many of the Panthers’ key pass rushers are entering, or nearing, free agency, and given that the club’s entire defensive unit hinges on strong production up front, Carolina needs to address its defensive line immediately.

Let’s take a look at the current scope of the Panthers’ DL, starting on the interior: Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei form one of the more effective defensive tackle duos in the NFL, but Short is about to become a free agent, while Lotulelei will hit free agency next year after playing out his fifth-year option. Short, 28 next month, recently placed third on PFR’s 2017 Free Agent Power Rankings, and figures to be incredibly expensive on the open market. The franchise tag looms an option, but Short briefly held out of camp last year after failing to reach a long-term agreement with the Panthers. Short has maintained he would quickly sign the franchise tender if offered, but if he does stage some sort of disruption, general manager Dave Gettleman — the man who rescinded Josh Norman‘s franchise tag last year — might not put up with it.

Veteran defensive tackle Paul Soliai looks like an obvious cut this offseason, leaving 2016 first-round pick Vernon Butler as Carolina’s top reserve (or potentially a starter if Short departs) on the inside. Last year’s selection of Butler was a wise move on the part of the Panthers, as the club is now set up to withstand the loss of either Short or Lotulelei over the next two seasons. As such, the more pressing problems for Carolina exist on the edge, where the team could stand to add an extra option in the next few months.

Defensive ends Mario Addison and Charles Johnson, who respectively ranked first and fourth in sacks among Panthers defenders, are both free agents. Johnson, who re-signed with Carolina last year after being released earlier in the offseason, has already expressed interest in staying with the Panthers. Addison, meanwhile, came out of nowhere to post 9.5 sacks and grade as Pro Football Focus’ No. 16 edge defender, but played on fewer than 500 snaps and will be 30 years old when the 2017 campaign begins, meaning he’s probably not cut out to be a full-time starter. Kony Ealy, another defensive end, is entering the last season of his rookie deal and will become a free agent in 2018.

All of which to say that the Panthers need to invest in their edge rush, both in the near term and for the future. Free agent defensive ends that may interest Carolina could include Jabaal Sheard, Datone Jones, and veteran Dwight Freeney, but those options are only on the table if the Panthers don’t think they can land a top-notch defensive end in the draft. At pick No. 8, Carolina should see at least one of Stanford’s Solomon Thomas, Alabama’s Jonathan Allen, or Tennessee’s Derek Barnett on the board, and should probably pounce.

Despite the Panthers’ poor 2016 record, the club is still very much a 2017 contender, and should be able to paper over many of the holes listed above (at least for the time being). Michael Oher and Daryl Williams represent a viable tackle combination, Jonathan Stewart can probably produce for at least one more season, and Carolina can hold onto Kawann Short for one more year via the franchise tag. As such, the Panthers should be able to truly employ a “best player available” strategy when the eighth pick rolls around in late April.