When the offseason began, the Carolina Panthers were honestly disrespected. Their Super Bowl odds were the same as the awful, three-win Tennessee Titans . The Panthers are the reigning champs in a weak division, so a playoff berth is very plausible, much more so than Tennessee.

The Panthers didn't let that bother them, though. They simply went to work to prove those odds wrong. They had a brilliant free agency, signing Jaelan Phillips, Rasheed Walker , and Devin Lloyd.

Then, Carolina had a strong draft, picking Monroe Freeling , Lee Hunter, Chris Brazzell, Zakee Wheatley , and Sam Hecht . The Panthers are so much better now than they were at the end of the regular season.

Don't believe us? Just look at those aforementioned Super Bowl odds.…