Panthers All-Quarter Century Team: Building the best 53-man roster from the last 25 years

USA Today

5 hours ago

A few weeks back, ESPN set out to build an NFL All-Quarter Century Team. Analysts Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder constructed a full 53-man roster of the very best players of the last 25 years.
Featured on the esteemed squad, and perhaps surprisingly so, were a handful of Carolina Panthers. But what if we came up with our own all-quarter century team, one made up strictly of players who suited up for Carolina from 2000 to 2024?
Well, we did.
Here's our Panthers All-Quarter Century Team . . .
Quarterbacks (2)
Cam Newton, Jake Delhomme
We're rolling with the two quarterbacks who have led this organization to their pair of Super Bowl appearances. Every other signal-caller to take a snap in the 2000s simply didn't have enough time or success to warrant a spot.
The Panthers, over their 30-year history, have seen just one Most Valuable Player award (2015), one Offensive Player of the Year award (2015) and one Offensive Rookie of the Year award (2011)—and they all belong to Newton. Delhomme remains the franchise's second-leading passer behind Newton, with 19,258 yards and 120 touchdowns between 2003 and 2009.
Running backs (3)
Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams
McCaffrey is one of three players in NFL history, and the only one in the past quarter century, to amass a season of 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards (2019).
Smashing and dashing by his side are Stewart, Carolina's all-time leading rusher, and Williams. Like McCaffrey, Williams had himself a signature season to remember—as he ran for 1,515 yards and a league-leading 18 scores in 2008.
Fullback (1)
Mike Tolbert
The fullback position was alive and well in Carolina from 2012 to 2016. Tolbert, a two-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler with the Panthers, scored 19 total touchdowns over his five seasons in the black and blue.
Wide receivers (6)
Steve Smith Sr., Muhsin Muhammad, DJ Moore, Ted Ginn Jr., Adam Thielen, Kelvin Benjamin
Smith, Muhammad and Moore—respectively—sit first, second and fourth on the team's all-time receiving list. And for a franchise that hasn't experienced the best of luck at this position, having Smith and Muhammad on the outside and Moore in the slot ain't too shabby.
Ginn is the speedy downfield threat and return man, Thielen is our reliable possession receiver and backup slot and Benjamin—even despite an ugly divorce—can still give this group some much-needed size. Benjamin played just two full seasons in Carolina, but he was quite productive—having reeled in 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie in 2014 and 63 catches for 941 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016.
Tight ends (3)
Greg Olsen, Wesley Walls, Jeremy Shockey
If you were wondering who owns the No. 3 spot on that receiving list, it's Olsen. He totaled 6,463 yards and 39 touchdowns from 2011 to 2019.
Much of Walls' work came before the turn of the century, but his 2001 Pro Bowl campaign (452 yards and five touchdowns) gets him in. Shockey's lone season as a Panther, where he went for 455 yards and four scores in 2011, is also good enough to put him above the likes of Jeff King, Dante Rosario, Ed Dickson and Ian Thomas.
Offensive linemen (10)
Jordan Gross, Andrew Norwell, Ryan Kalil, Trai Turner, Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu, Mike Wahle, Travelle Wharton, Geoff Hangartner, Daryl Williams
These hog mollies have combined for four first-team All-Pro nods and 14 Pro Bowl selections. Kalil leads the crew with two of the former (2013 and 2015) and five of the latter (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015).
Turner deserves a little recognition too. The 2014 third-round pick made the Pro Bowl every year from 2015 to 2019.
Defensive linemen (9)
Julius Peppers, Kris Jenkins, Kawann Short, Mike Rucker, Charles Johnson, Derrick Brown, Brentson Buckner, Brian Burns, Mario Addison
Short's contributions might be overlooked as well. In addition to his dominance against the run, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle notched 27.5 sacks from 2015 to 2018.
Addison was another long-time Panther who probably should've gotten more props. He piled up 9.5 sacks in 2016, 11.0 in 2017, 9.0 in 2018 and 9.5 in 2019.
Linebackers (6)
Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Jon Beason, Dan Morgan, Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu
Perhaps the strongest position group in franchise history, the 'backers are led by the soon-to-be Hall of Famer in Kuechly—who earned five first-team All-Pro nods, two second-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections over his eight-year career. He's also the only Panther to capture the Defensive Player of the Year award (2013).
Luvu may be a surprise given his short time here, but he certainly made his impact felt. He'd be quite a chess piece on this roster—with the ability to line up as an inside linebacker, a pass rusher and a special teams ace.
Cornerbacks (5)
Chris Gamble, Josh Norman, Jaycee Horn, Ken Lucas, Captain Munnerlyn
Norman's 2015 season was as good as any we've seen from a cornerback over the past decade. His peak may have been brief, but we'll take that version of the former first-team All-Pro all day.
Our depth, Lucas and Munnerlyn, had some big-play ability. Lucas racked up 13 interceptions over four years in Carolina while Munnerlyn compiled a franchise-record five pick-sixes.
Safeties (5)
Mike Minter, Charles Godfrey, Kurt Coleman, Chris Harris, Deon Grant
Minter was no stranger to the end zone either, as he returned four interceptions for touchdowns between 2000 and 2003. That 2000 season saw him tally a career-high 125 tackles.
Godfrey had his career campaign a decade later in 2010—where he recorded bests in tackles (85), interceptions (five), passes defensed (eight) and quarterback hits (four).
Specialists (3)
Graham Gano, Todd Sauerbrun, JJ Jansen
You may look at the omission of John Kasay as a snub, but Gano was simply more reliable—especially from deep. Gano nailed 82.4 percent of his field goal tries from 40 to 49 yards and 61.5 percent from 50 or more, while Kasay hit on 77.6 percent and 50 percent from those ranges, respectively.
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