Madden 20: Carolina Panthers Player Ratings, Roster, Depth Chart, Salary Cap, Free Agents & Needs – Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, Luke Kuechly & more

The Carolina Panthers have come oh-so-close to a Super Bowl since their inception in 1995. They’ve won 6 division titles and went to the Super Bowl in 2003 and 2015 only to be stopped by the Patriots and Broncos.

That 2015 side was a special team that went 15-1, but since
then the Panthers have been very up and down. In 2018 they went just 7-9 thanks
in part to a terrible shoulder injury to quarterback Cam Newton.

They enter 2019 in a highly competitive division with a team that has talent but more than a few holes. Can you take over and finally bring the ultimate glory to the Panthers?

Team Rating

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The Panthers come into franchise mode with a 79 OVR rating.
Which puts them 7th, tied with the likes of Baltimore, Seattle, and
Pittsburgh.

Carolina are a very balanced side, with a 81 rating on both
offense and defense. That offensive score sits 11th in the league,
tied with three others so they are fairly average there. The defensive score is
on the higher side of the scale though. It comes in 5th and is tied
with five more.

On the face of it that makes the Panthers fairly average,
but there are very few teams as well-rounded and balanced as the Panthers are.

READ MORE: Ultimate
franchise relocation guide

Luke Kuechly, Middle Linebacker (98 OVR)

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Age: 28

Development Trait: Superstar X-Factor

Contract: 3 years/$40.16 million

2019 Cap Hit: $9.96 million

Best Stats: Play Recognition (99), Awareness (99),
Pursuit (97), Tackle (96), Hit Power (94), Block Shedding (89), Acceleration
(89), Speed (86)

The Carolina Panthers picked Luke Kuechly 9th overall in the 2012 draft and have been richly rewarded for it. Kuechly came
straight into the starting lineup as a rookie and was a dominant force, racking
up 165 tackles and 2 interceptions as he won Defensive Rookie of the Year. In
2013 Kuechly had 166, 4 interceptions and claimed Defensive Player of the Year
as well as his first of 5 First Team All-Pro berths.

In Madden 20 Kuechly is a superb player. He has elite play
recognition (99) and awareness (99) to diagnose plays. His
tackling (96) is amazing and his hit power (94) can force
fumbles. His zone coverage (83) is elite for the position too.

Christian McCaffrey, Half Back (91 OVR)

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Age: 23

Development Trait: Superstar X-Factor

Contract: 2 years/$10.19 million

2019 Cap Hit: $4.7 million

Best Stats: Agility (97), Juke Move (93), Acceleration
(92), Spin Move (91), Elusiveness (91), Carrying (89), Short Route (82), Catching
(81)

Christian McCaffrey was taken 8th overall by the
Panthers in 2017. As a rookie he took just 117 carries for 435 yards, a poor
3.7 yards per carry average, but he caught 80 passes for 651 yards and 5
scores. In 2018 McCaffrey exploded though. A 5.0 yards per carry saw McCaffrey
hit 1,098 yards and make 107 catches for 867 yards as he found the endzone 13
times.

In Madden 20 McCaffrey is an elite back. His catching (81) is the best at his position while his route running (82 short, 75
medium)
is stellar too. McCaffrey has the tools to shake defenders with his
juke move (93), stiff arm (91) and elusiveness (91).

READ MORE: Best
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Gerald McCoy, Defensive End (86 OVR)

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Age: 31

Development Trait: Star

Contract: 1 year/$8.44 million

2019 Cap Hit: $8.44 million

Best Stats: Strength (92), Play Recognition (92), Tackle
(91), Awareness (88), Hit Power (85), Pursuit (84), Power Moves (84),
Acceleration (83)

Gerald McCoy was the third-overall pick for the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in 2010 and has been a superb player since. In 9 seasons with the
Bucs he amassed 54.5 sacks, 140 QB hits, and 79 tackles for loss. In the
offseason he was cut for cap reasons and quickly signed with the Panthers so he
could get some revenge twice this season.

In Madden 20 McCoy can still get it done. His strength (92) and power moves (84) will be a problem for a lot of offensive linemen.
His play recognition (92) and awareness (88) will keep him in the
game while his tackling (91) and block shedding (85) means he
will make plays.

Cam Newton, Quarterback (84 OVR)

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Age: 30

Development Trait: Superstar X-Factor

Contract: 2 years/$44.3 million

2019 Cap Hit: $23.2 million

Best Stats: Break Sack (95), Throw Power (93), Play
Action (93), Throw On Run (88), Short Accuracy (88), Acceleration (88),
Awareness (88)

The Panthers picked Cam Newton #1 in 2011. Cam started from
week 1 and threw for 4,051 yards and rushed for a massive 706 yards and 14
touchdowns as he claimed Offensive Rookie of the Year. Over the years Cam has
run less, but he is still a constant threat on the ground. Cam claimed MVP
honors in 2015 with 3,837 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and an extra 10 scores
on the ground.

In Madden 20 Newton is a dual threat quarterback. He has good throw power (93) and can dominate with play
action (93) while his acceleration (88) and speed (85) will force defenses to account for him. His accuracy (88 short,
84 medium, 82 deep)
isn’t ideal but you can certainly work with it.

READ MORE: 7 tips to
improve your offense

Full Roster & Depth Chart

QB
OVR
SPD
THP
SAC
MAC
DAC
Cam Newton
84
85
93
88
84
82
Will Grier
64
78
86
81
76
77
Kyle Allen
52
82
83
75
65
67
HB
OVR
SPD
CAR
SFA
ELU
JKM
Christian McCaffrey
91
91
89
77
77
93
Jordan Scarlett
64
90
90
69
69
77
Reggie Bonnafon
59
88
82
61
61
75
FB
OVR
SPD
CAR
RBK
Alex Armah Jr
67
82
77
58
WR
OVR
SPD
CTH
SRR
MRR
DRR
DJ Moore
81
93
86
84
81
82
Curtis Samuel
78
95
83
80
79
77
Chris Hogan
77
88
89
79
80
79
Jarius Wright
75
90
82
78
79
80
Ray-Ray McCloud III
67
90
84
77
71
69
Brandon Zylstra
63
85
79
69
71
68
TE
OVR
SPD
CTH
SRR
RBK
Greg Olsen
89
84
93
84
52
Chris Manhertz
73
78
74
53
71
Ian Thomas
73
83
79
71
53
Marcus Baugh
62
79
71
58
59
JJ Jansen
47
63
60
45
54
OL
OVR
PBK
RBK
LBK
IBL
Matt Paradis
88
86
82
85
88
Trai Turner
83
79
84
87
87
Taylor Moton
79
81
83
76
80
Daryl Williams
79
84
84
77
81
Greg Little
65
71
69
80
77
Tyler Larsen
64
65
71
74
76
Greg Van Roten
62
67
68
54
79
Dennis Daley
60
62
65
79
77
Dillon Gordon
58
65
65
78
76
Kofi Amichia
58
66
61
76
78
Showing 1-10 of 11
Row count:Go to page:
DE
OVR
SPD
STR
PMV
FMV
BSH
Gerald McCoy
86
69
92
84
71
85
Kawann Short
85
70
91
89
69
91
Vernon Butler Jr
69
66
83
72
59
69
Efe Obada
66
85
75
62
70
64
Destiny Vaeao
65
66
84
69
59
58
DT
OVR
SPD
STR
PMV
FMV
BSH
Dontari Poe
78
73
94
78
57
72
Kyle Love
69
57
85
75
60
61
OLB
OVR
SPD
TAK
BSH
PMV
FMV
Mario Addison
76
79
79
67
68
82
Brian Burns
75
88
75
66
54
79
Bruce Irvin
74
86
80
75
73
55
Marquis Haynes
67
82
76
64
57
72
Christian Miller
64
77
76
68
58
68
MLB
OVR
SPD
TAK
BSH
MCV
ZCV
Luke Kuechly
98
86
96
89
72
83
Shaq Thompson
78
85
87
80
48
55
Jermaine Carter Jr
64
83
79
71
61
66
Andre Smith
62
84
82
69
45
58
Jordan Kunaszyk
62
81
81
69
52
60
CB
OVR
SPD
MCV
ZCV
PRS
Donte Jackson
81
96
81
76
78
James Bradberry IV
79
91
80
78
81
Ross Cockrell
73
89
72
74
79
Javien Elliott
66
89
65
69
77
FS
OVR
SPD
PRC
ZCV
TAK
Tre Boston
79
87
80
84
74
Colin Jones
69
89
64
71
68
SS
OVR
SPD
PRC
ZCV
TAK
Eric Reid
76
87
78
79
67
Rashaan Gaulden
67
86
65
75
71
Natrell Jamerson
63
92
58
67
70
K
OVR
KPW
KAC
Graham Gano
79
99
85
Joey Slye
68
98
71
P
OVR
KPW
KAC
Michael Palardy
79
92
88

The Panthers roster has a lot of
talent across the board.

The offense is led by quarterback
Cam Newton (93 throw power, 88 short accuracy) but it will run through
running back Christian McCaffrey (97 agility, 93 juke move) who is a big
play threat any time he gets the ball.

The Panthers have some speedsters
on the outside with DJ Moore (93 speed, 88 spectacular catch) and Curtis
Samuel (95 speed, 83 catching) while Greg Olsen (93 catching, 84
speed)
remains a threat at tight end.

The offensive line isn’t great,
but the pairing of center Matt Paradis (86 pass block, 82 run block) and
right guard Trai Turner (84 run block, 79 pass block) are your best blockers
so try to run behind them more often than not.

Defensively the Panthers are a
perfect user team thanks to their star middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (96
tackle, 89 block shed)
. In front of him the Panthers have a stout defensive
line featuring Gerald McCoy (92 strength, 85 block shed) and Kawann
Short (91 strength, 91 block shed).

The edge rush will come from Mario
Addison (85 acceleration, 82 finesse moves) and Bruce Irvin (88
acceleration, 73 power moves)
while Shaq Thompson (87 tackle, 86 acceleration) is a solid partner for Kuechly in the middle.

The Panthers secondary is a little
thin, but cornerback Donte Jackson (96 speed, 81 man coverage) is a nice
player and the safety pairing of Tre Boston (89 acceleration, 84 zone coverage) and Eric Reid (91 acceleration, 79 zone coverage).

READ MORE: 7
tips to improve your defense

Salary Cap

The Carolina Panthers come into
franchise mode with 55 players on the roster and $23.5 million in cap space.
That means you only need to cut 2 for the regular season so creating extra cap
space isn’t going to happen. However, the $23.5 million in space means you can go
out and make a move if you want to, just try to hold on to some cap space as
you will need it to re-sign some key players.

Impending Free Agents

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The Panthers have 22 players on
their roster that are entering the last year of their contracts. That is a big
chunk of your roster and it includes some important players that you will miss
when they are gone. The likes of Gerald McCoy could be allowed to walk
due to his age but you will need to replace him. Who are the players that you
should prioritise re-signing after season 1?

James Bradberry IV, Cornerback (79 OVR)

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The Panthers have just 4 corners on
their roster and three of them are impending free agents. That means you
absolutely have to retain #2 corner James Bradberry. His speed (91) and
man coverage (80) will keep him competitive and at 26 he can still improve.

READ MORE: Fastest
players in franchise mode

Tre Boston, Free Safety (79 OVR)

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Tre Boston is a very solid free
safety, something that can be very hard to find. With good speed (87) and
zone coverage (84) he can make plays while his catching (75) and
hit power (88) will create turnovers. Boston is just 27 and has star development
so he can still improve too.

Retaining him and Bradberry will
at least keep the secondary respectable while you try to draft or sign some new
talent to take it up a notch.

Daryl Williams, Left Tackle (79 OVR)

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Another mid-20’s player you need
to hold on to is left tackle Daryl Williams. The Panthers offensive line needs
an upgrade, but Williams is a strong (87) player who is well balanced
between run (84) and pass (84) blocking. If you find an upgrade
at left tackle you can slide Williams into the huge hole at left guard, but
re-signing Williams means you aren’t desperate to take a tackle high in the draft
and can take aim at the best player available instead.

Shaq Thompson, Middle Linebacker (78 OVR)

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Thompson is a nice second
linebacker next to Kuechly. He has good speed (85) and tackling (87) but
his coverage skills are not great (55 zone, 48 man). However, a nice
tactic here is to control Thompson while letting Kuechly work. Thanks to his
athleticism he is a very good user linebacker and shouldn’t be too expensive to
retain.

READ MORE: Achievement
& trophy guide

Roster Needs

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The Panthers are set at a couple
of key Madden positions like quarterback, running back, and middle linebacker,
but around that the roster does need some improvement.

The offensive line needs a new
left guard in the worst way, while Greg Olsen is now 34 and will need a replacement
soon. There is also very little depth behind Christian McCaffrey so adding
another back would help you lighten his load and lessen the injury risk.

Defensively the Panthers are
pretty thin despite a few stars. They need better edge rush to contain and
attack quarterbacks, and the secondary is paper thin.

Finding a top cornerback should
be your prior in the offseason, be that via trade, free agency, or the draft.
But you shouldn’t stop at adding 1. You should look to take someone who can
start and then find another two that can be role players. You need to fill out
that depth chart because you’ll be playing with 3 on the field most of the
time.

Only once that position is fixed
should you be hunting after improvements at the offensive line and edge
positions.

Running backs are pretty easy to
find late in the draft so you shouldn’t need to invest too heavily there.

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