Jan. 24, 2026, 11:14 a.m. ET

The Carolina Panthers may be able to address one of their biggest weaknesses with one of the open market’s top players.

Pro Football Focus NFL analyst Mason Cameron recently identified the best landing spots for the best free-agent defenders. He connects the Panthers to linebacker Leo Chenal, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cameron writes:

After playing a limited role as a situational run-stuffing and blitzing linebacker to start his career with the Chiefs, Chenal is ready to take on a full-time role elsewhere. He has posted a 70.0-plus PFF run-defense grade in each of his first four seasons. But, it’s his improvements in coverage — headlined by a career-best 72.6 PFF grade in 2025 — that should make him an enticing option.  

The Panthers’ linebacking corps failed to produce a single player with a PFF overall grade above 55.0. Adding Chenal to headline the group as the new green-dot communicator would project well for a defense that ranked 23rd in EPA per play allowed this past season.

Carolina, going into 2026, is facing some uncertainty in the middle of their defense with starting inside linebackers Christian Rozeboom and Trevin Wallace. Rozeboom, like Chenal, is also ticketed for free agency while Wallace, who underwhelmed in his sophomore campaign, sustained a season-ending shoulder injury for the second time in as many years.

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Chenal, who’ll be entering his fifth NFL season, amassed 58 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks and an interception in 2025. PFF graded the 25-year-old out at an 82.0 overall defensive mark, which ranked 21st amongst all inside linebackers with at least 100 snaps.

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