Former Panthers QB Cam Newton gets disrespected so badly by ESPN that there should be an apology

ESPN disrespected former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton so badly this week that there should probably be an apology.

Newton's no stranger to over-the-top criticism -- he's dealt with a ton of it throughout his career. But the disrespect from ESPN this week, which dates back to Newton's time at Auburn, is just wildly nonsensical.

ESPN ranked the top 25 college football players of the 2000s and Newton came at No. 3.

That in itself isn't absurdly disrespectful. It's the fact ESPN has former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield at No. 2.

(Former Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh came in at No. 1 in their rankings.)

Excuse me? They think Mayfield should be ranked above Newton? That's such a silly notion that I had to finish laughing before I could start typing this.

The argument for Newton above Mayfield isn't complex -- Newton was simply the better player.

Newton led Auburn to a national championship in 2010 with a head coach in Gene Chizik that would be fired two years later (Chizik hasn't been a head coach since). And that's not even the most impressive part of Newton leading the Tigers to a natty 14 years ago.

The 2010 Auburn offense, outside of Newton, was a who's who of players you've never heard of.

No skill position player from the 2010 Auburn squad, outside of Newton, was selected in the NFL draft. The only offensive players (aside from Newton) that were drafted were offensive tackle Lee Ziemba and backup offensive tackle Brandon Mosley. And they barely saw any NFL action during their brief pro careers.

Newton literally carried Auburn's offense in 2010 (which was No. 7 in scoring in the nation). It's not a stretch to suggest that Auburn would've gone 5-7 in 2010 without Newton on the roster.

Mayfield, meanwhile, had an insane amount of talent at his disposal during his time at Oklahoma. He played alongside future NFL Pro Bowlers like running back Joe Mixon, tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and center Creed Humphrey. Mayfield, who played under Hall of Fame coach Bob Stoops, also played with future NFL players like running back Samaje Perine, wide receiver Hollywood Brown, running back Trey Sermon, and wide receiver Dede Westbrook.

So who was the better player? The quarterback that carried a team void of NFL talent to a national championship or the quarterback couldn't win a natty with a team loaded with NFL talent?

Seems like an easy call to me. It should seem like an easy call for ESPN, too.

Newton deserves to be recognized as the best college quarterback of the 2000s. It shouldn't even be a debate. And it certainly shouldn't be Mayfield.

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