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Realistically, how much better do you expect the defense to be this season? Am I right to assume that the success or failure of the Panthers is going to depend on how well the defense performs? — Clarence, Forest City, NC
It’s a little early in training camp to be this kind of reductive, but the point mostly stands.
It’s also reasonable to think they’re going to be a significant amount better, though that project isn’t complete by any means. They’re thin in a few spots, and have gotten thinner with the absence of Josey Jewell (who continues to experience concussion symptoms), but they’re far more stable than they were last year, from front to back.
For starters, they have seven or eight actual NFL defensive linemen on the roster right now, at a position where they usually keep six. They didn’t have that many last year.
And yes, one of them, the biggest one, is Derrick Brown, working his way back from last year’s knee injury. Derrick’s still easing his way back and expecting him to walk back in Week 1 and be back to the 103-tackle monster he was in 2023 is probably unfair. He’s a large human coming back from a serious injury, and hasn’t had the benefit of a full offseason of being well. Besides, that was one of the great individual seasons we’ve ever seen here, so expecting him to save things single-handedly isn’t fair.
The good news is it doesn’t depend solely on him. By adding Wharton and Bobby Brown III to a mix that already included A’Shawn Robinson, a solid core is being established. With some holdovers and some rookies added to the mix, it’s a much deeper group.
With those guys hopefully stabilizing the run defense, it just creates a more sound foundation for everything behind them. By adding three significant pieces at outside linebacker (veteran Patrick Jones II and rookies Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen), the pass rush should improve as well. That creates a better environment for some young defensive backs to succeed, led by a Pro Bowler in Horn and a tone-setter in the run game in Tre’von Moehrig.
Put it this way, the league average in points per game last year was 22.9, and if they’d have allowed that in each game coming down the stretch, they’d have beaten the Chiefs and tied the division-winning Bucs. Coupled with the strides they made on offense, that’s something.
So this year’s team doesn’t have to pull a 2002-level turnaround (when a Dan Morgan-led defense went from 31st in the league in 2001 to second in a year). They just have to normalize results to become more competitive as a team.
When they’re playing the way they want to, they run well (behind a big ol’ offensive line) and take care of the ball. That’ll help a defense, too.
So it’s complicated, but it’s also obvious they need to perform better on that side of the ball. That’s not the only place they need to improve, though.