The Carolina Panthers bouncing back from their Super Bowl hangover season was always going to be about doing a better job of surrounding Cam Newton with talent.
After upgrading the offense with a series of moves, highlighted by the drafting of a pair of dynamic playmakers in Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel, head coach Ron Rivera is hoping the ball can come out of his star quarterback's hands more efficiently.
"There are some things we want to do in terms of getting the ball out of Cam's hands and putting it the in hands of the playmakers," Rivera said in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, according to Conor Orr of NFL.com.
"And those two young guys, they're not going to be just the primary targets. We've got a tremendous slew of targets on our team, starting with Jonathan Stewart, and being able to run the ball. One thing we found in 2013, 2014, and 2015, we went around and looked at what we did running the football, and how much that translated to victories for us.
McCaffrey and Samuel joining the Panthers' offense gives Newton a wide range of passing-game options, each bringing a different skill set to the table.
In the end, there's a clear focus on not having the entire weight of the offense fall on Newton's shoulders.
"Greg Olsen, getting vertical and making plays for us. Finding the seams in the defenses," Rivera said. "Then Kelvin Benjamin, with his size, and Devin Funchess. We've got what we feel like has the potential to be an explosive offense. And yes, a lot of the idea is to take the pressure off our quarterback, and take some of the hits off of him as well."
Due at least in part to the deficiencies in the receiving corps and on the offensive line, Newton stumbled to his least productive season to date.
The 28-year-old even approaching the level of play he enjoyed en route to MVP honors the season prior, throwing for 3,837 yards, running for 636, and racking up 45 total touchdowns, would give Carolina every opportunity to make a quick return to title contention.
