The Carolina Panthers were supposed to have the worst defense in the NFL this season. While there’s obviously a lot of room to improve, this unit was far from the bottom of the league defensively. One huge reason they performed better than expected was a surprisingly-respectable marriage between the pass rush up front and the group’s coverage on the back end – especially late in the season.
The traditional numbers can be deceiving. Carolina only averaged 1.8 sacks per game in 2020, but the pass rush was better than that suggests. According to Pro Football Focus, the Panthers’ pass rush ranked No. 17 in the NFL this season, led by a surge from second-year defensive end Brian Burns.
“Brian Burns has some freakish athletic tools off the edge, and he’s already developing into one of the best speed rushers in the league. He raised his pass-rushing grade from 68.7 as a rookie to 86.9 this past season. Rookies Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos both flashed promise at various points, as well.”
This defensive line looks like the team’s strongest unit on paper and considering the youth involved it should only improve with time.
Carolina also covered relatively well considering the injuries and inexperience they had to contend with. As it happens, PFF also ranked the Panthers secondary No. 17 in the league, boosted by a strong showing defending the slot receiver position.
“The Panthers rank a lot higher here than expected, largely because of their slot coverage. Carolina’s secondary ranks fourth in the NFL in slot coverage grade, and the team’s defensive backs racked up the second-most passing stops in the slot (26).”
Re-signing Corn Elder seems like an easy way for general manager Scott Fitterer to keep that trend going. He’ll have to add reinforcements in the draft for this group to take the next step, though.
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