Panthers Receive Another Miserable Projection for 2026 Season

The Carolina Panthers won the NFC South a year ago, but you wouldn't know that based on how the team is being talked about. Typically, it's just assumed that the previous year's playoff teams will contend again in the current year. The Panthers seem to be an exception, as the team is hanging around in the 20s in most power rankings. It's not like the Panthers got worse on paper, either. The team made a couple of big additions in Devin Lloyd and Jaelan Phillips, and they drafted a couple of rookies who should make an impact immediately too. For one reason or another, though, the Panthers aren't getting much respect, and that trend continues today. Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone recently revealed his power rankings for the NFC South. Scataglia does not imagine the Panthers winning the division again, and instead predicts the team to finish third. 'One team I will not buy into for the 2026 season is the Panthers. Despite winning the division last year, Carolina didn't do anything particularly well, and despite playing the best football of his career, QB Bryce Young was largely mediocre and only threw for at least 200 yards in four of his 16 starts,' said Scataglia. It's true that the Panthers weren't elite at anything really in 2025. But they were good enough at multiple things, and when you play in a weak division, that can be good enough. Sticking with that line of thinking, even though Young didn't light it up in 2025, he did have his best-ever season, and it was good enough to get his team to the playoffs. Is it not possible that Young still has another level that he can get to? 'I would sell your Panthers stock for the 2026 season,' Scataglia added. The analyst ended up having the Buccaneers win the division with the Saints finishing as the runner-up. For argument's sake, let's say Scataglia's projection comes to pass. That would probably mean the Panthers would be forced to make some big decisions after the season. While skepticism of the Panthers is warranted, there are also reasons for optimism. This division is still extremely winnable, and every other team in the division has just as many questions as the Panthers do. The season is about to start, so we will soon have the answers to our biggest questions, one way or another. This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.