Wait ’Til Next Year: Panthers Need Help for Bryce Young
- Get the best Super Bowl 59 odds at BetUS.
- The Panthers are going into 2025 with the same head coach and quarterback.
- Carolina needs to lean on the 2025 NFL Draft to improve the team’s roster.
It is odd to feel optimistic about the Carolina Panthers after a 5-12 season, but here we are. Despite being a massive underdog in the NFL lines, the Panthers upset the Falcons to end the regular season.

After briefly benching Bryce Young at the beginning of the season, the former No. 1 overall pick appears to have found his footing heading into his third NFL season.
Bryce Young’s Top Plays Of The 2024 Season 😤#KeepPounding #Panthers pic.twitter.com/Nz19U4yAMq
— 𝙐𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙖 (@UtopiaSports) January 13, 2025
“Hopefully, that allows Bryce to [say], ‘Look, we’re not looking for perfection. We’re looking for just growth and let’s go for it together. Let’s find the solutions together,”‘ Panthers head coach Dave Canales said of Young, per ESPN. “I have loved that we have kind of taken those steps together.”
Let’s dive into the Panthers and their offseason needs.
3 Things to Know About the Panthers in 2025
1. Carolina Has Prime Pick in NFL Draft
We don’t need to relitigate how bad of a trade the Panthers made with the Bears to move up to snag Young in the 2023 NFL draft. It resulted in the Panthers losing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Panthers get:
Bryce YoungBears get:
DJ Moore
Keenan Allen
Darnell Wright
Tyrique Stevenson
Caleb Williams
2025 2nd round pickThis might go down as the most lopsided trade of all time
Watch out, the Bears are BACK 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZbRk3Wunwe
— 🅱️🚂 (@blakecowellx) March 17, 2024
The good news is the Panthers once again have their first-round pick. Carolina holds the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Young’s play to close the season allows the Panthers to focus on strengthening the team’s roster at other positions. For example, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s latest mock draft predicts the Panthers will select Georgia star pass rusher Jalon Walker.
“Walker played an off-ball linebacker role in Athens and spent most of his time dropping in coverage or defending the run,” Brugler detailed. “But with his length, power and explosive movements, he is at his best rushing the passer.
“A native of North Carolina, Walker has the talent and mentality that fit what the Panthers are trying to build.”
2. Carolina Projected to Have $24 Million in Cap Space
The Panthers are unlikely to be major players in NFL free agency. Spotrac projects the Panthers will have $24 million in cap space this offseason which ranks No. 20 in the league.
CJ Stroud on Bryce Young’s success.
“That’s a brother of mine. I’ll probably watch the highlights when I get on the bus.” pic.twitter.com/aMKFpMyji7
— Michael Bell (@avl_mike) January 5, 2025
Carolina will likely need to lean heavily on the draft to improve in the NFL betting lines for 2025. The good news is the Panthers appear to have their quarterback and head coach in place heading into next season.
It cannot hurt a Panthers franchise defined by instability in recent yards to have some familiarity in 2025. Carolina could be a team to watch in the NFL odds for 2025.
3. 2025 Schedule: Carolina Faces Packers, Bills, Cowboys, Seahawks
Carolina is playing in the NFC South that appears to be wide open. The Buccaneers and Falcons were the best teams in the division but not by a wide gap, so the schedule is not as daunting as for some other teams.
Some of the better teams on the Panthers’ schedule for 2025 include the Packers, Bills, Seahawks, Cowboys, Rams and 49ers. Carolina continues to be a team to watch in the NFL betting odds next season.
Questions of the Day
What pick do the Panthers have in the 2025 NFL draft?
The Panthers have the No. 8 pick in the NFL draft.
Who will be the Panthers quarterback in 2025?
The Panthers are expected to stick with Bryce Young at quarterback.