As recently as 2018, the Panthers arguably had the best linebacker room in the NFL. That might as well be ancient history, though. Going into the 2020 season, Shaq Thompson has graduated from behind the third-best on the roster to the No. 1 option.
As you might expect, this unit’s esteem has taken a serious hit thanks to Luke Kuechly’s early retirement. According to Pro Football Focus, Carolina’s linebacker corps only ranks No. 26 in the league going into 2020.
“Thompson is a solid coverage player who takes on plenty of responsibility within Carolina’s scheme; he plays under control — and has missed only 42 tackles in his five-year career — and he wins with quickness in the run game where he’s graded at 70.0-plus in all but one year of his career. Tahir Whitehead takes the first crack at replacing Kuechly after two years in Oakland in which he graded in the 50s. Whitehead hasn’t posted a coverage grade above 60.0 since 2015, though he has graded well in the run game in two of the last three years.”
It’s going to take time to rebuild this defense no matter what, but it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to use the No. 8 overall pick on Isaiah Simmons. Not only would he have radically improved the linebacker group, his ability to play multiple positions would have given defensive coordinator Phil Snow more options. Until Derrick Brown develops into a superstar or Simmons turns into a bust, we’re going to die on this hill.
The good news is there is some depth behind Thompson and Whitehead. Jordan Kunaszyk looked promising during the preseason last year and there are a few undrafted free agents that also have potential.
The wild-cards here are Jermaine Carter Jr. and Andre Smith, who have served as the top backups the last couple of seasons. It’s tough to say how much playing time Matt Rhule will give them if things go bad.
Another unkown is how many snaps Jeremy Chinn will put in at linebacker. He projects as a safety, but he should be lined up all over the place to take advantage of his skill-set.
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