{"id":841000,"date":"2026-03-29T14:35:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T14:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841000\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T14:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T14:35:05","slug":"carolina-panthers-come-in-just-shy-of-perfection-in-pff-free-agency-grades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841000\/","title":{"rendered":"Carolina Panthers Come in Just Shy of Perfection in PFF Free Agency Grades"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL offseason continues. While the player moves have slowed down, there are still a lot of deals to be made.<\/p>\n

Gordon McGuinness <\/a>of Pro Football Focus has taken a look at each team\u2019s \u201cmajor\u201d free-agent signings and not only assigned each transaction a grade but gave out one for the team\u2019s effort as well. When it comes to Dave Canales\u2019s defending division champions<\/a>, general manager Dan Morgan\u2019s work to date <\/a>adds up to a A-minus for the Carolina Panthers.<\/p>\n

McGuinness\u2019s focused on three players in terms of the Panthers\u2019 major signings. The \u201cdeal\u201d grade is based on whether the team made a \u201csmart investment\u201d or \u201coverpaid\u201d via PFF\u2019s projected contract for the player.<\/p>\n

Onward. The Panthers inked much-needed edge rusher Jaelan Phillips<\/a> to a four-year, $120 million deal (below average), linebacker Devin Lloyd <\/a>to a three-year, $42 million contract (good), and center Luke Fortner<\/a> to a one-year deal that could be worth up to a reported $4.75 million (above average).<\/p>\n

\"Jaelan<\/p>\n

Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett (15) throws the ball as Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips (50) attempts to block during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Panthers added a proven pass-rusher in Jaelan Phillips<\/p>\n

The Panthers have totaled a combined 89 sacks since 2023, the worst in the league, so getting a prove pass rusher was a priority. \u201cThis deal grade could change depending on the guarantees,\u201d explained McGuinness, \u201cbut the contract is a big risk for the Panthers, given how much time Phillips has missed in his career because of injuries. At his best, he can be a top-15 to top-20 edge defender in the NFL. He ranked tied for 26th in PFF overall grade at the position last year but played fewer than 500 snaps in each of the previous two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Devin<\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2026; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (0) runs on the field before an AFC Wild Card Round game against the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Pro Bowl LB Devin Lloyd was a bargain pickup<\/p>\n

Lloyd is coming off a Pro Bowl campaign <\/a>in which he came up six of the Jaguars\u2019 31 regular-season takeaways (and 1 more in the playoffs). \u201cAfter two years as a good linebacker,\u201d said McGuinness, \u201cLloyd became one of the game\u2019s best in 2025 by producing an 85.2 PFF run-defense grade and a 78.9 PFF coverage mark. Carolina lands a much-needed playmaker over the middle after placing 29th in PFF overall grade at linebacker, and to add Lloyd below market projection is terrific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Luke<\/p>\n

Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) looks to pass as center Luke Fortner (79) blocks in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Carolina may have gotten a super steal in Luke Fortner<\/p>\n

With the departure of Cade Mays to the Lions, Morgan found a proven center who spent 2025 in the NFC South. \u201cFortner is coming off the best season of his career to date<\/a>, earning a 72.5 PFF pass-blocking grade and allowing just 11 pressures from 442 pass-blocking snaps. He also set a career high with a 65.3 PFF run-blocking grade and could step in and start in the middle of the Panthers\u2019 offensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three aforementioned moves may very well add up to huge things for Canales\u2019s club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL offseason continues. While the player moves have slowed down, there are still a lot of deals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":841001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-841000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}