{"id":868221,"date":"2026-04-17T08:10:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868221\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:10:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:10:34","slug":"panthers-could-still-have-big-need-despite-offseason-addition-of-pro-bowl-defender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/868221\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers Could Still Have Big Need Despite Offseason Addition of Pro Bowl Defender"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2024, the Carolina Panthers <\/a>fielded one of the worst defensive units in league annals. The club wound up giving up 59 offensive touchdowns, 179.8 yards per game on the ground-including 200-plus yards on the ground in each of their final six games. Dave Canales’s club also set a dubious record in surrendering 534 points, the most in a single season in NFL history.<\/p>\n

Last offseason, general manager, Dan Morgan did his best to improve the unit He signed several veteran defensive linemen, as well as linebacker Christian Rozeboom<\/a> away from the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>. The team did improve when it came to stopping the run and the Panthers gave up 19 fewer offensive touchdowns than they did the previous season.<\/p>\n

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

However, that aforementioned run defense faded late in the season and while it finished was better, it still ranked 20th in the league and allowing 123.3 rushing yards per contest<\/p>\n

Last month, Morgan wasted little time addressing this defensive unit once again. He brought in former Dolphins’ first-round pick Jaelan Phillips<\/a> to hopefully solve the club’s persistent pass-rushing issues. He also added a former first-round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars, who is coming off a career season and was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2025.<\/p>\n

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus<\/a> acknowledges the addition of four-year pro Devin Lloyd in terms of bolstering Carolina’s linebacking corps. However, he feels that that single move may not be enough when it comes to the position.<\/p>\n

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New Panthers’ ILB Devin Lloyd could use a running mate\"DevinJacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (0) tackles Tennessee Titans<\/a> running back Tony Pollard<\/a> (20) during the third quarter in an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 41-7 [Doug Engle\/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle\/Florida Times-Union \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

“Even after acquiring one of the league’s foremost linebackers in Lloyd, Carolina needs more pop at the position after ranking no better than 25th in both PFF coverage and run-defense marks last year. Finding a starter next to Lloyd should be high on Dan Morgan’s agenda.”<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the team’s top four inside linebackers from a year ago, all who started at least three games in 2025. Rozeboom led the team with 122 tackles, and Trevin Wallace<\/a> was seventh on the club with 61 defensive stops. Claudin Cherelus<\/a> (29) and Krys Barnes<\/a> (20) also saw their share of action.<\/p>\n

\"Trevin<\/p>\n

Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace (32) reacts in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Of course, a lot of tackles doesn’t necessarily add up to standout play. Via Pro Football Focus, Rozeboom was the service’s No. 74 player at his position<\/a> this past season-earning a disappointing 48.4 grade. Meanwhile, Wallace’s 2025 grade of 55.9 put him 59th in the linebacker rankings. Finally, the marks for Cherelus (51.5) and Barnes (43.9) were below-average as well.<\/p>\n

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Barnes remains an unrestricted free agent, while Rozeboom is now a member of the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. <\/a>Cherilus started four games in ’25, and Wallace’s two-year NFL career has been plagued by injuries.<\/p>\n

Could GM Dan Morgan be seeking more linebacker help?\"Jake<\/p>\n

Oct 11, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday (11) attempts to tackle UCF Knights quarterback Cam Fancher (14) in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Panthers have the 19th overall pick in next week’s draft,<\/a> and it would be a huge surprise if they addressed the position with a first-round selection. A recent mock had the team adding University of Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday<\/a> with its second-round choice (51st overall). Or could a veteran such as ageless Bobby Wagner<\/a> factor here?<\/p>\n

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Morgan and the Panthers could use a few more pieces to elevate this defense to a higher level. More help at linebacker and a big-play safety would make a huge difference for a team that despite winning a division title this past season still hasn’t posted a winning campaign since 2017.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi as Panthers Could Still Have Big Need Despite Offseason Addition of Pro Bowl Defender<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2024, the Carolina Panthers fielded one of the worst defensive units in league annals. The club wound…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[1740,260,10628,11205,3839,5412,18517,7,212,125,2401,16251,213,570,10600,58,9737,6,109,410,250,394,10562,10627,4708],"class_list":{"0":"post-868221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-bobby-wagner","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-christian-rozeboom","11":"tag-claudin-cherelus","12":"tag-dan-morgan","13":"tag-devin-lloyd","14":"tag-everbank-stadium","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-jacksonville","17":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","18":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","19":"tag-jaelan-phillips","20":"tag-jaguars","21":"tag-kenny-pickett","22":"tag-krys-barnes","23":"tag-los-angeles-rams","24":"tag-mandatory-credit","25":"tag-nfl","26":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","27":"tag-pro-football-focus","28":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","29":"tag-tennessee-titans","30":"tag-tony-pollard","31":"tag-trevin-wallace","32":"tag-ucf-knights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116419038401500752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868221","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=868221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}