WHAT WENT RIGHT IN 2025
As mentioned, Scourton and Umanmielen received a lot of playing time.
Scourton played 67.83 percent of the defensive snaps after becoming a starter midway through the year, while Umanmielen clocked in for a more typical rookie amount of 21 percent of the snaps. It will pay dividends moving forward.
Overall, the defense was tied for 28th overall in the league though with 30.0 sacks. Scourton led the defense with 5.0 sacks, tied with Derrick Brown, but was the only outside linebacker on the field with 4.0 or more. Wonnum clocked in with 3.0 sacks total, while Umanmielen added 1.5 by season’s end.
Where the unit really shined was as ball hawks. Wonnum, Scourton, and Umanmielen either forced or recovered a fumble this season, with Wonnum’s fumble recovery coming off a Brown forced fumble that gave the Panthers a huge Week 13 win. Wonnum also added an interception early in the season.