Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers With Three Players in PFF Top 101 from 2016

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:37 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brandon Croce/FanSided via Cat Crave

The Carolina Panthers had a down year and that was evident in Pro Football Focus’ Top 101 players from 2016.

Pro Football Focus released their Top 101 players from 2016, which ranks based on their performance from only that season. The Panthers only had three players on the list with Luke Kuechly the highest at 48th. This was a significant drop from his ranking of third in 2015.

PFF wrote about the Panthers starting middle linebacker:

Only missed time keeps Luke Kuechly this far down the list, as for the second season in a row he missed games for the Panthers. Kuechly only played 656 snaps in 2016, but still posted the second-best grade among all linebackers, earning a mark of 92.9. The only player ranked above him earned a suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy (Chicago’s Jerrell Freeman). Kuechly is the league’s best coverage linebacker, able to influence plays through recognition and quick action that most linebackers never get close to, and his absence was a big hole for Carolina.

Best performance: Week 3 vs. Vikings, 91.9 grade

Key stat: Kuechly missed only four tackles in 104 attempts.

After Kuechly, is defensive tackle Kawann Short who was one spot behind him at 49. Similar to the Panthers’ linebacker, he also dropped from his ranking of 30th in 2015.

The last player on this list for the Carolina Panthers was Greg Olsen, who finished 58th. However, he moved up from his ranking of 67th last season. Pro Football Focus wrote about Olsen:

Greg Olsen remained the Panthers’ best receiving weapon, even if the team’s offense and QB Cam Newton, in particular, weren’t nearly as successful this year. Olsen was one of only two NFL TEs to record over 1,000 receiving yards in the 2016 season, racking up 1,073 from his 80 receptions, catching 65.6 percent of balls thrown his way. Olsen was sure-handed and reliable as ever, but just didn’t get the play from his QB that he did a year ago.

Best performance:Week 5 vs. Buccaneers, 95.9 grade

Key stat:Olsen dropped just two passes from 122 targets and 82 catchable passes.

Overall, the Panthers saw their performance dropped based on Pro Football Focus’ grading system. In 2015, the Panthers had nine players in the Top 101 and had three inside the Top 10. Quarterback Cam Newton saw the biggest drop from his ranking of eighth to not making the list for 2016.