The Carolina Panthers have a long way to go before they’re ready to compete with contenders like the San Francisco 49ers and the world champion Kansas City Chiefs. Looking ahead towards next season, Carolina might be one of the worst teams in the league, at least according to ESPN. They have ranked the Panthers No. 27 in their way-too-early 2020 power rankings.

That’s what happens when you finish 5-11 and have a ton of roster holes to fill and questions to answer. That said, we really don’t know what this Panthers team is going to be like under new coach Matt Rhule.

He faces a significant challenge trying to rebuild a team on the fly. However, that’s one of the best qualities Rhule brings to the table. In his previous stops at Temple and Baylor, he turned around two awful college programs and molded them into strong ones in just a couple of years.

Even if Rhule’s rebuilding wizardry translates to the pro level, he’s going to need a lot of help from his front office if this team is going to be competitive again anytime soon.

The 2020 free agency period and the upcoming NFL draft will be critical in determining how fast he can turn things around.