1. Carolina Panthers
Cam Newton is a bad man. As long as the Panthers have Newton under center, this division belongs to the Panthers. He has proved it for the past three seasons. Last season he even lead them to their second ever Super Bowl appearance. The Panthers won 15 games last season and although they will win the division, they won’t win 15 games this year.
They get Kelvin Benjamin back from injury, but they still need more receivers to step up to help this offense. They also need a running back to have a break out year. Keep an eye out for Cameron Artis-Payne to have a big impact.
Defensively, their front seven is one of the best in the NFL. Where the Panthers have to worry is in their secondary at cornerback. Josh Norman is gone, but he was a one hit wonder. They still need to find out how good their corners are though. Their team depth chart has two rookies, Daryl Worley and James Bradberry, as its starters. If they can have average seasons the Panthers defense will still be a championship caliber defense.