Sure, everyone knows that Cam Newton is the most valuable Panther. After him though, that is where things get a little grey. This list will explain who I believe the most valuable players on the team are. I am assigning player value according to several key characteristics in a similar format to the yearly league wide rankings provided by Grantland.
- Performance. You can't be valuable if you don't perform.
- Salary. How much you get paid for your performance is the most important element. I will be factoring the salaring ranking on the Panthers and in the league only for 2014. Obviously, salaries change every year and this changes the player value year to year. Paying Cam Newton the 18th highest salary in the league in 2014 is way more valuable than he will be in two years when he is being paid top 5 in the league unless his performance jumps to top 5 in the league as well.
- Age. A 31 year old running back on the back side of his career is obviously not a priority in terms of value. Especially when he is the 9th highest paid RB in the league. We are looking at you Deangelo.
- Awards. It never hurts to go to the Pro Bowl once in a while.
1. Cam Newton. Cam will count 7 million against the cap, which is the 18th highest paid QB for 2014 and is the fifth highest paid Panther. He is only 25 years old and might be entering the prime of his career. As we all know with Cam, his passing stats have never told the whole story. In 2013, he ranked 16th in completion percentage, 15th in yards, 12th in Touchdowns, and 16th in passer rating. He added 585 yards rushing and 6 rushing touchdowns that tremendously increases his value. His awards include the 2011 Offensive Rookie of the year and Pro bowl births in 2011 and 2013. This team would look entirely different on the field without Cam Newton.
2. Luke Kuechly. Luke is a very close second place. We are blessed to have a top 5 linebacker as the leader of our defense. The things that make him most valuable are that he is only 23 years old and still playing on his rookie contract. Luke will count 3.4 million against the cap this year which ranks 8th on the team and 46th in the league. Luke has also already received the 2013 Defensive rookie of the year and the 2014 Defensive player of the year awards and his first of many Pro Bowl births in 2014. In 2013, he finished fourth in the league in tackles.
3. Thomas Davis. Thomas is the first of several surprising spots on this list. Thomas played exceptionally well last year and should have been recognized for it with a Pro Bowl birth. Thomas will count 3.4 million against the cap which ranks 9th on the team and 47th in the league. I would gladly take Thomas Davis over half of the 46 linebackers in the league that are paid more than he is. Davis may be 31 years old, but since so many of his prior seasons have been lost to knee injuries, he should remain effective for several more years. What Thomas lacks in awards he more than makes up for with his leadership and locker room presence on our team. In 2013, he finished 18th in the league in tackles.
4. Ryan Kalil. Kalil is a four-time Pro Bowl selection and will be taking on more of a leadership role in 2014. Kalil has become the leader of our Offensive line and without him, we would be in bad shape with the huge influx of rookies and undrafted free agents thrust into starting roles the past several years. Kalil counts 7.2 million against the cap which makes him the fourth highest paid Panther and ranks as the second highest paid center in the league in 2014. If Kalil was surrounded by veteran lineman like Jordan Gross and Travelle Wharton his value would not be this high, but considering who he will be surrounded by this year, Kalil is invaluable.
5. Greg Olsen. Much like Kalil, Olsen will be taking on more of a leadership role in 2014. With the entire receiving corps being replaced, Olsen will need to be a constant security blanket for Cam and a mentor to the younger tight ends and receivers of the future. Olsen is a model teammate and player, but the only problem I have is his current salary. Olsen will count 7.8 million against the cap which makes him the third highest paid Panther and also ranks as the third highest paid tight end in the league. In my opinion, that does not match up with his production. In 2013, he ranked 5th in receptions, 7th in yards receiving, 8th in Touchdowns, and has never been thought to be a top 5 tight end. Olsen has never been to the Pro Bowl and probably never will be. He does everything well, but won't produce the highlights or 16 touchdowns a year that other tight ends will. But, what he lacks in stats and awards, he makes up for in leadership and character.
6. Kelvin Benjamin. SURPRISE! I know, I was too. This is a complete prediction spot, but I think KB will lead almost every receiving statistical category for the Panthers in 2014. If he does, he will do so counting only 1.4 million on the cap which ranks him as the 18th ranked Panther and the 72nd highest paid receiver. If he is as good as we hope, we will be able to enjoy #1 receiver production on a rookie contract for the next several years. You can not put a value on how good it feels to finally have a possible heir-apparent to agent 89. This organization unsuccessfully drafted for years trying to find our next top wideout. It is just icing on the cake that Cam has adopted him as his new big little brother. I could get used to these highlights for years to come.
7. Charles Johnson. I love home grown talent and all, but Marty Hurney put us in a bind with this one. CJ has been great for us, but maybe not 16.4 million per year great. Johnson is the highest paid Panther and ranks as the second highest paid defensive linemen. In 2014 his salary would rank as the 10th highest paid Quarteback salary. He will earn more in 2014 than Tom Brady (14.8), Matt Stafford (15.8), Joe Flacco (14.8), and Tony Romo (11.7). Over the past 3 years in the league, his sacks ranked 11th (11 in 2013), 6th (12.5 in 2012), and 21st (9 in 2011). CJ is an anchor on our line and has produced well, but for 16.4 million a year I would expect him to be the best defensive end on the team, which he was not last year.
8. Mike Tolbert. The tolldozer has become a fan favorite and a great teammate over the last few years. I did not expect as much production or entertainment when he was signed as a free agent in 2012. You could argue that he has been the best free agent signing in the Ron Rivera era. In the past two seasons, Tolbert has accounted for 14 Touchdowns which is better than Deangelo Williams (11 TD's) and Jonathon Stewart (2 TD's) combined. But, while D-Will and J-Stew are being paid 6 million and 4.5 million, respectively. Tolbert counts 3.35 million against the cap, which ranks as the 10th highest paid Panther and the second highest paid Fullback in the league.
9. Antoine Cason. I am again predicting value here, but I think Cason will be our Mike Mitchell signing of 2014. Cason will benefit from the best front seven in the league in front of him and as we have seen so far in training camp, he has the ability to be a ball hawking corner. What really gets him on this list is that he will be our #1 corner this year while only counting 635K against the cap, which ranks as the 42nd highest Panther and 130th highest paid in the league for cornerbacks. If he stays healthy and plays as our best corner, we will have gotten one heck of a bargain. Then we can watch his stock rise in the offseason and be signed away by the Steelers, because we have no cap room.
10. Greg Hardy. You should not be surprised at this ranking. Last year, Hardy would have easily made the top 5 when he only counted 1.35 million against the cap and produced 15 sacks, which ranked as the second highest in the league among defensive linemen. This year we get the domestic violence offender counting 13 million against the cap which ranks him as second on the team and fourth highest paid in the league among defensive linemen. After his breakout 2013 season, I also expect opposing teams to shift more help towards his side which will result in fewer than the 15 sacks he had last year. Personally, I think this will be Hardy's last year with the Panthers. A looming suspension, a black eye for the Panthers publicly, and a personality that suffers an inflated sense of worth spells doom for any future contract negotiations. The Panthers will probably offer him a show me contract in the area of 3-4 years for 6-8 million annually. However, that would be nowhere near the money we gave Charles Johnson and nowhere near what he would get on the open market. With extensions to Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly much higher priority, the money just won't be there for a max contract like Charles Johnson got. Young guns Kony Ealy and Mario Addison may also will make it easier to swallow losing Hardy This looks like a Peppers 2.0 situation that ends his run with the team in 2014. So enjoy 'The Kraken' while it lasts, we may not get to see it in the black and blue for too much longer.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts and what your ranking would look like in the comments.