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Cam Newton missed the last two games of 2018, then had surgery on his throwing shoulder.
He’s expected to make a full recovery, but the Panthers drafted West Virginia’s Will Grier in
the third round as an insurance policy. Even if Newton is healthy, the offense will run through
Christian McCaffrey. He was electric last year, rushing for 1,098 yards and setting the record
for receptions by a running back (107). Entering his third season, he’s bulked up (a photo of
his biceps went viral over the summer) and could be in line for an even bigger workload. The
Panthers added Chris Hogan (35 catches, 532 yards for the Patriots) to bolster the receiving
corps. He was Tom Brady’s security blanket and will be valuable on third downs in Carolina.
The Panthers also signed DT Gerald McCoy from Tampa Bay. At 31, McCoy is still
productive: He had six sacks last year. And they signed DE Bruce Irvin (61/2 sacks with the
Raiders and the Falcons) and drafted Florida State DE Brian Burns in the first round. All three
will help a pass rush that ranked 27th in the league in sacks.
The Bucs led the league in passing yards per game (320.3), thanks in large part to
attention if the Bucs are to get back into contention.
They do have one of the better linebacking units in the league to help with the rebuild.
Lavonte David is a tackling machine, and the Bucs drafted LSU’s Devin White fifth. The two
could easily be in the NFL’s top 10 in tackles, but it won’t be enough to right this ship in 2019.
who averaged 6.3 yards per carry as a senior. With their playmakers healthy, the Falcons
will win at least three more games than they did in 2018.
WR
Mike
Evans
QB
Cam
Newton