Ranking the 2015 Impact of the Carolina Panthers' Free Agent Signings so Far

When training camp kicks off for the Carolina Panthers this July, there will be some new and unfamiliar faces fighting for spots on the team. Gone are long-term contributors like Greg Hardy and DeAngelo Williams, and in are players like Ted Ginn, Michael Oher and Alan Ball.

Every team sees turnover every season, and while the Panthers have seen less movement than most, there still will be an adjustment period as new players slide into new roles.

Thanks to a lack of salary cap space, the Panthers haven’t exactly made a huge splash in free agency. They’ve been focusing on the bargains and second-tier of free agents, trying to fill in the gaps without breaking the budget. That leaves them without a signing they can really hang their hat on—it’s all small nudges and shifts toward a winning season, rather than a new player who will radically rewrite the team’s fortunes.

All in all, the Panthers have made seven signings or re-signings this offseason, ranging from bringing in new starting tackles to shoring up the rotation on the defensive line. Some moves will significantly alter Carolina’s strategy going forward, while others just involve making sure it has enough warm bodies to make it through an entire NFL season.

Which moves will help propel the Panthers back into the playoffs, and which will be forgotten by the time opening day rolls around? That’s the question we’re here to answer as we sort the wheat from the chaff to rank the impact of Carolina’s free agent period. We’re looking at playing time, scheme fit and general talent to get an idea of which players will provide the biggest impact in 2015 and beyond.

7. TE Ed Dickson

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Re-signed to a three-year, $6.8 million contract, per Aaron Wilson.

Dickson started 10 games for the Panthers last season as Carolina used a variety of two-tight-end sets. This isn’t a sign that he brought a lot of value with him, just that the Panthers stubbornly continued to stick him out there despite a lack of on-field production.

Dickson was targeted just 17 times last season, according to Pro Football Focus, and came down with ten catches for 115 yards. That’s not a lot of production, but that would be fine if Dickson were primarily a blocking tight end. That’s the idea, at least—Dickson was used more as a blocker than a receiver in 2014, staying in to block on 68.6 percent of his snaps.

The problem is, Dickson was a net negative as a blocker as well, according to PFF’s grades. Dickson scored a -5.7 as a run blocker and a -5.9 as a pass blocker. That’s the second-worst pass-blocking grade among qualified tight ends, and it's in the bottom 20 for run blocking.

Those are the sort of numbers you accept if the player is making an impact in the passing game like Jordan Cameron or Coby Fleener but not for someone you’re primarily employing to block.

There’s no doubting Dickson’s athleticism, but he’s just not a player who should be starting. With the problems the Panthers had in pass protection last season, it makes sense that they’d use Dickson as an extra blocker often, but the signing of Michael Oher and the probable use of a draft pick to shore up the offensive line might mean the Panthers could slide away from Dickson more in 2015, experimenting with more three-receiver sets or two-back sets. That would be a net gain for the team.

6. DT Colin Cole

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Re-signed to a one-year, $1.05 million contract.

For the third straight season, the Panthers have signed Cole, one of their rotational defensive linemen, to a one-year deal. The Panthers needed to add depth to their line, as all of their backup defensive tackles were pending free agents this offseason.

Re-signing Cole and Dwan Edwards fills that need adequately, even if the two mid-30s defensive tackles aren’t exactly going to develop any further. When you have the likes of Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei as your starters, all you need are solid veterans to give them a breather every now and again.

It was fairly easy to rank the two returning defensive tackles. The Panthers gave Edwards a longer deal than Cole, with more money per season. Edwards played more snaps in 2014 than Cole did and was more effective on those snaps, grading out higher in every aspect of his game.

Cole shouldn’t see extensive action in 2015 unless there’s an injury to a starter, but he’ll serve as rotational depth. He’s a solid run-stuffer, as far as backups go. The Panthers like his veteran presence, which is why they keep re-signing him. He’s a stop-gap, but it means the Panthers don’t need to address the position in the draft.

5. DT Dwan Edwards

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Re-signed to a two-year, $4 million contract.

Edwards is nothing more than rotational depth behind Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short on the defensive line. This is the same role he’s played for the last two seasons, coming in to give the starters a rest before heading back to the bench again.

Edwards, who will turn 34 in May, is definitely on the downside of his career and isn’t particularly good at any one thing at this point. He actually received the third-most snaps of any Panthers defensive lineman last season, but that’s more due to injuries suffered by Lotulelei than Edwards' actual skill. 

Edwards rated out negatively in both run defense and pass rush last season, though he did tie Charles Johnson for the team lead in quarterback hits with 11.

Edwards’ major benefit at this point in his career is his ability to give Short or Lotulelei a breather without opening up a massive void at the position. His contract is low enough that it doesn’t cripple the team, and he’s a savvy veteran whose instincts and experience, at this point, somewhat compensate for his declining physical talents.

He’ll continue on as a rotational defensive tackle, as he’s the best backup the Panthers have at the moment.

4. S Kurt Coleman

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Signed from Kansas City for a two-year, $2.8 million contract.

Coleman served just as a rotational safety for the Chiefs last season, but he had a very solid season. He tied for the team lead in interceptions with three, despite playing only the fifth-most defensive back snaps. Mostly rotating in behind Eric Berry and Husain Abdullah, Coleman was very strong in pass coverage and as an emergency fill-in starter.

The logical hope for Panthers fans is that Coleman could come in and immediately replace the aging Roman Harper at the strong safety spot. Coleman is capable of playing both safety positions, but I’m not sure his ideal role is as a starting strong safety in the Panthers’ scheme.

The Panthers like playing Harper up against the run a lot; 39.4 percent of Harper’s snaps came in run defense. While Coleman is capable of doing that, he just had arguably a career year playing mostly deep safety; only 16.4 percent of his snaps came on running downs. It’s not quite a square peg in a round hole, but it’s also not the best use of Coleman’s talents.

If anything, Coleman would be better suited battling Tre Boston for the free safety role to replace Thomas DeCoud. That would be a better use of his talents, overall. If the Panthers keep him mostly in pass coverage, they’ll get the most benefit out of him.

3. CB Alan Ball

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

There’s some confusion as to whether or not ex-Jaguars cornerback Alan Ball has actually signed a contract. The National Football Post reported that Ball and the Panthers had come to a one-year, $2 million deal, but other sources, including ESPN, say they are still in the process of negotiating.

Assuming the Panthers come to terms with Ball, which seems more likely than not, he should see plenty of playing time.  Ball might have been Jacksonville’s best defensive back in 2014, which may sound like damning with faint praise, but it’s actually a complement.

He’s a pressing cornerback, much more comfortable on the outside than in the slot, with the toughness to support in the run game as well. His 2014 numbers were depressed somewhat by a season-ending bicep injury, but if he can regain his 2013 and earlier form, he could be a starting cornerback for Carolina.

“Could” is, of course, the operative word. In nickel sets, the Panthers would likely use Ball and Josh Norman on the outside, with Bene Benwikere moving into the slot. The question is whether Ball or Benwikere would be the starter when the team uses just two cornerbacks.

I think that’s a question that would be answered in training camp and would be one of the more interesting position battles of the year. Either way, you’ll see plenty of Ball in 2015—assuming the contract gets finalized.

2. WR/KR Ted Ginn

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Signed from Arizona to a two-year, $4.2 million contract.

Ginn’s arrival makes him the second-most talented receiver on the team, just ahead of Jerricho Cotchery in my book. You can argue back and forth over who should be the starter and who should be the backup, but I think in the long run, it would be a moot point. I expect the Panthers to use an early draft pick on a receiver like Ohio State’s Devin Smith or Florida State’s Rashad Greene to shore up the position. 

That would leave Ginn as, at best, a third deep option. He had some chemistry with Cam Newton back in 2013, catching 36 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns.  The touchdowns were a career high, and the other stats were his highest since Miami tried him as a starter in his first three seasons. If that chemistry returns, you could see Ginn as an intriguing deep threat in three- or four-receiver sets.

However, Ginn’s a receiver in name only. Where he’ll provide the biggest impact is the return game, where he’ll instantly take over for Philly Brown as the primary kick returner. Ginn no longer has the spark he had earlier in his career, but he’s, at worst, average at the position and should shore it up quite nicely. He still has quite a bit of speed, so this is a low-risk, high-reward signing.

1. OT Michael Oher

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Signed from Tennessee to a two-year, $7 million contract, per Aaron Wilson.

Michael Oher’s signing immediately makes him the best offensive tackle on Carolina’s roster. This is not a good thing, because that has more to do with the talent of the tackles last season than Oher's disappointing production, but an improvement is an improvement.

There’s no denying Oher’s raw talent, but he’s been less and less effective each season in the NFL. In his first two seasons, he looked like Baltimore’s left tackle of the future, but he’s seen his pass protection grades consistently drop from year to year. He bottomed out last season with Tennessee, with Pro Football Focus giving him a -20.2 overall grade in just 11 games.

That’s still better than outgoing left tackle Byron Bell, but it’s not exactly a promising future. The best thing about the deal is the relative lack of guaranteed money in 2016, meaning the Panthers could cut Oher after this season if and when he doesn’t work out.

The problem is, there wasn’t really a better option out there for the Panthers in free agency. Oher is probably an improvement over the in-house option of Nate Chandler, but that’s not a hard bar to clear either. The Panthers could have splurged and tried to bring in Jeremy Parnell, but he got a huge contract from Jacksonville.

Really, the best hope for Oher working out will be if he can move back to right tackle, with a draft pick like Stanford’s Andrus Peat or Miami’s Ereck Flowers coming in and taking over the blind side immediately.

Oher’s presence is an improvement over the Panthers’ 2014 production at tackle, making him the player who will have the most impact in 2015.  As for which free agent will be the best, Panthers fans are stuck looking at Ginn or Ball, because we’ll likely be talking about finding yet another offensive tackle at this time next season to replace Oher.

All stats courtesy of Spotrac.com and Pro Football Focus, unless otherwise noted.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.  He’s been covering the San Francisco 49ers, and is now adding weekly Carolina Panthers coverage.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.