#2 Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers fall short of the four-peat this season and give up their reign on top of the NFC South. They lost some key starters coming into this season. Defensive end Jared Allen and cornerback Charles Tillman both retired in the offeseason. The other starting safety Roman Harper left and went back to the New Orleans. Most importantly they lost other starting cornerback Josh Norman, who signed with Washington.
They Panthers are filling the secondary holes up with two rookie corners and pairing up safety Kurt Coleman with new starter Tre Boston. The secondary will take a hit and in this division you need good secondary play every game. The defensive front for Carolina is almost identical to 2015. The only difference is that Kony Ealy is now replacing Jared Allen as the starting defensive end. The Panthers still have one of the top linebacking groups with Shaq Thompson, Thomas Davis, and Luke Kuechly.
During the 2015 season, Carolina’s offense seemed unstoppable with quarterback Cam Newton behind center. But that offense was not even at full strength. Starting wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin didn’t play a down for the Panthers last season because he injured his ACL before the season started. In 2016, the offense is back to full strength.
The hits the Panthers received on the defensive side cost them some games and they will finish second this year. A record between 9-7 and 10-6 is probably going to be Carolina’s final record.