4 Panthers primed for breakout 2022 seasons
If the Carolina Panthers are to make some real noise in the immediate future, they’ll need a breakout campaign or two. In fact, how about four?
Here are the four players who are most likely to take their game, and hopefully their team, to the next level with a standout season in 2022.
DE Yetur Gross-Matos
AP Photo/Adrian Kraus
When linebacker Haason Reddick left for the Philadelphia Eagles this spring, he also left a huge void off the edge in Carolina. So how will defensive coordinator Phil Snow look to replace his team-leading 11.0 sacks?
Well, it’ll be by committee—with the 24-year-old Gross-Matos in the mix.
Now, the 2020 second-rounder’s pass-rushing prowess isn’t exactly one of his premier strengths. Gross-Matos, even at Penn State, has established himself more as a reliable disruptor against the run. (Just look back to what he did in Buffalo this past season, for instance.)
But—as we look back to his age as well—Gross-Matos just turned 24 in February. The 6-foot-5, 259-pounder is still growing into his frame and his skill set, and should keep doing so with greater opportunities ahead.
TE Ian Thomas
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
It feels as though the Panthers, or at least their fans, have been waiting for Thomas to break out forever now. And with Ben McAdoo now installed as offensive coordinator, 2022 may finally be the time.
The 2018 fourth-round selection, like Gross-Matos, hasn’t exactly lit up box scores with traditional production. Valued most recently for his blocking, Thomas has amassed just 802 receiving yards and four touchdowns through his four pro campaigns.
But McAdoo, a former tight ends coach himself in Green Bay for six years, doesn’t take the pass-catching aspect of the position lightly. During his four years as head coach and offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, McAdoo has utilized his tight ends well through the air—with the two most notable examples being Evan Engram in 2017 (64 receptions, 722 yards, six touchdowns) and Larry Donnell in 2014 (63 receptions, 623 yards, six touchdowns).
Thomas has never gone for more than 333 yards in a single season. McAdoo’s presence and the soon-to-be 27-year-old’s new contract, however, may be two decent enough signs that the Panthers will make an honest effort to help push him past that mark.
LB Frankie Luvu
AP Photo/Darryl Webb
Also headlining that aforementioned sans-Reddick committee will be Luvu, who inked on for a pretty sweet extension of his own this offseason.
2021 saw “Uce” primarily earn that keep on special teams, where he corralled the team’s only AP All-Pro votes. But that opening off the edge, in addition to the two-year deal, will give the Panthers license to use his startling ability to break into the backfield.
Luvu racked up 11 pressures over 71 attempts this past season—good enough for a 15.5-percent success rate. And while his is a sample size relative to the names you’re about to see, he bested the following (all men with at least 10.0 sacks) in that category: T.J. Watt, Matthew Judon, Joey Bosa, Harold Landry III, Robert Quinn, Markus Golden, Chandler Jones and Reddick.
CB Jaycee Horn
AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
A broken foot prevented a quick breakout for Horn during his rookie campaign in 2021. Prior to missing the team’s final 14 games, the eighth overall pick allowed just one reception on five targets in 95 coverage snaps and looked every bit of the future shutdown corner Carolina drafted him to be.
So, unlike the three players we just listed, it’s not really about shifting his game into the next gear or seizing a new opportunity for Horn. The talent and the stage are both already there.
2022 is just a matter of staying on that stage for Horn—whose elite athleticism, dogged work ethic, unquestioned confidence and overall knack for the game have him marinating as a future star not only for Carolina, but amongst the very best of the NFL for years to come.
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