Jan. 31, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET
The Carolina Panthers will have to keep investing into the edges of their defense.
Pro Football Focus contributor Ryan Smith has offered up solutions to each NFL team’s biggest weakness heading into 2026. And for the Panthers’ feeble pass rush, Smith suggests selecting Auburn University’s Keldric Faulk—a projected first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
He writes:
The Panthers fielded the league’s lowest-graded pass rush in 2024 and responded by targeting defensive linemen with two of their first three 2025 draft picks. Despite the investments, this season didn’t go much better. They ranked 31st in PFF pass-rushing grade (60.5).
With no other real glaring need, the Panthers would be wise to continue stockpiling talent along the defensive line and see how the young players develop. Keldric Faulk remains a work in progress as a pass rusher (66.0 PFF pass-rush grade in 2025) but is stout against the run (85.5) and would make an immediate impact on early downs in the NFL.
Carolina, in addition to that rough pass-rushing grade, also ranked 31st in pressure rate (16.5 percent) this past season. The unit, even while helping push the Panthers to their first NFC South title since 2015, would finish 2025 with the third-fewest sacks (30).
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Although the front office did invest both of their Day 2 picks from 2024 into a pair of outside linebackers, Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen, the defense will need more firepower. That could come in the form of a 6-foot-6, 285-pound Faulk—who, despite totaling just 10.0 sacks over three collegiate campaigns, brings some intriguing upside into the pros.
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