Starting at the quarterback position for the Carolina Panthers is Cameron “Cam” Newton, and he just might be the most overlooked and underrated quarterback in all of professional football.

Newton who is still young at the age of 26, is 6’5’’ and weighs 245 pounds. He has an 85.5 career passer rating and has thrown for 90 career touchdowns and rushed for 36. Newton has averaged 28.75 touchdowns per season over the course of his first four years in the league. With what are dominant statistics for a player his age, why would he be left out of the conversation of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks?

The answer is simple: He plays for the Carolina Panthers.

When compared to other teams, the Panthers look like nothing on paper, a blank sheet. The Seattle Seahawks have a shotgun arm in Russell Wilson and a strong run game in Marshawn Lynch. The New England Patriots have Tom Brady, arguably one of the most dominant quarterbacks to play the game, and his favorite target, tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Green Bay Packers confide in Aaron Rodgers. Enough said.

In Newton’s four years with the Panthers, he has not had a 1,000 yard rusher to support his passing game. Not a single running back on this squad has even reached 900 yards with Newton at the helm. Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, coming off a wonderful rookie season, is out for the season with a torn ACL. Aside from Pro Bowler tight end Greg Olsen, Newton has no one to throw to and no one to hand it off to.

Even with the offensive struggle, this team is 6-0 and is in first place in the NFC South Division. Newton is accountable for the entire Panthers’ offense, coming up with 76 percent of their offensive yards, and seven of eight touchdowns.

Cam Newton has become a much visible role model as a team captain than the Carolina fans have ever known before. In his rookie year, it felt like he had this hero complex that told him he could do everything. It’s ironic that he’s now basically being asked to do it all. Still, Newton sees the benefit of bringing the team together.

This QB is a dangerously smart rusher. Newton has the third spot in NFL history when it comes to notching two passing touchdowns and a rushing TD in a single game; he has fourteen. The top two spots belong to Steve Young and Fran Tarkenton respectively. Cam Newton is also outpacing running back Jonathan Stewart in yards per attempt (YPA) and touchdowns.

The original main concern with this quarterback in his early years was his highly questionable decision-making. Recently, Newton has cut down considerably on bad decisions. The exception being Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Newton threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. His total QB rating increased to a 60.7 after he went 20 of 31 for 315 yards and two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6. In addition, he rushed seven times for 33 yards, and was able to run for a touchdown.

After extending Newton’s contract to five years at $103.8 million, head coach Ron Rivera told ESPN, “It is satisfying [Cam’s production]; Cam is one of those guys we truly believe in. We believe he is the face of the franchise. That’s why we made the commitment we did going into training camp with him.”