What is the Carolina Panthers’ secret weapon in 2021?

Every NFL team has underrated players and under-the-radar contributors that help them compete from week to week.

Bleacher Report has identified one secret weapon for every team in the league this year. For the Carolina Panthers, they chose offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

“He is a proven offensive mind who has already turned one relatively average passer into a champion and bona fide star. . . While Burrow showed last season that he wasn’t a one-year wonder, Brady did the same. He coaxed a solid campaign out of journeyman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 3,733 yards and posted a 92.1 passer rating.”

The relationship between the offensive playcaller and the starting quarterback is an extremely important one, but the Panthers have only had half of that equation working in their favor. Still, despite Teddy Bridgewater’s issues in the red zone and on potential game-winning drives, Brady was a hot commodity in the offseason head coach search, scoring at least five interviews around the league.

There’s a good reason why Brady drew so much interest. In his first season calling plays at the pro level, he showed a great deal of promise. Brady’s offense is creative, diverse and well-suited for the modern game. While he proably called too many first-down runs that’s also true of just about every offensive coordinator outside of Kansas City and Buffalo.

For Brady to take that next step, he’ll need to get the Panthers to improve their efficiency in the red zone. That may be a tall order given Sam Darnold’s history inside the 20. According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold has the NFL’s lowest passer rating in the red zone over the last three years.

Even if Darnold continues to flounder in Carolina, there’s a decent chance Brady will get even more interest as a potential head coach candidate in 2022.