2025 Carolina Panthers Projected Finish, Key Signings & Fantasy Stars

In the fifth of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Carolina Panthers.

Key Off-Season Acquisitions

The Panthers have acquired four key players on defense in the National Football League offseason. They are defensive tackles Bobby Brown and Tershawn Wharton, safety Trevon Moehrig, and outside linebacker Patrick Jones.

Moehrig, a native of Spring Branch, Texas, signed a three-year deal worth $51 million on March 12. He has spent the last four seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. In 2024, Moehrig had 104 combined tackles (64 solo tackles and 40 assisted tackles), five tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits, two interceptions for 28 yards, 10 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one sack.

Wharton, from St. Louis, Missouri, signed a three-year deal worth $45.05 million with the Carolina Panthers. He spent the last five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and played in the Super Bowl for the championship winning Chiefs in 2024. This past season, Wharton had 29 combined tackles (18 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles), seven tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks, two pass deflections and one forced fumble. The two pass deflections came in a 22-17 Chiefs win over the Atlanta Falcons on September 22 and in a 27-20 Chiefs win over the Las Vegas Raiders on October 27. The forced fumble came in a 26-25 Chiefs win over the Cincinnati Bengals on September 15.

Jones, from Chesapeake, Virginia signed a two-year deal with the Panthers worth $15 million. He had spent the last four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2024, Jones II had 39 combined tackles (20 assisted tackles and 19 solo tackles), seven sacks, nine tackles for a loss, 12 quarterback hits and one forced fumble. The forced fumble came in a 23-17 Vikings win over the San Francisco 49ers on September 15.

Brown, a native of Bruce, Mississippi signed a three-year deal worth $21 million on March 14. He spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, and won a Super Bowl in 2022. This past season, Brown had 44 combined tackles (28 assisted tackles and 16 solo tackles), four tackles for a loss, one quarterback hit, and one pass deflection. The quarterback hit came in a 27-24 Rams win over the San Francisco 49ers on September 22, and the pass deflection came in a 13-9 Rams win over the Arizona Cardinals on December 28.

Fantasy Stars

There are no Panthers ranked in the top 10 in any fantasy position.

Projected Finish

The Panthers have the capability of getting better as long as Canadian running back Chuba Hubbard of Edmonton, Alberta continues to make progress. Hubbard had 1195 rushing yards last season and 10 touchdowns. Carolina made some key acquisitions on defense which should keep them in third place in the NFC South, but not enough to contend with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a division title.