EDGE
Last season, Carolina finished second in sacks behind the Steelers. That potent pass rush was perhaps the only consistent element for a defense that otherwise seemed out of its league. The 2019 season was an eternity ago though and the pass-rushing arsenal is nearly as bare as cornerback.
Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin were the team’s starters at EDGE last year, but they both signed with other teams in free agency. On the bright side, that means more playing time for Brian Burns, who we are predicting will develop into one of the game’s top-10 edge defenders this year.
The downside is we have no idea who will start on the other side. Weatherly would be our best guess, but he’s been a career backup and it’s unlikely they see him as a long-term starter to pair with Burns.
You can go ahead and forget about the Panthers getting Chase Young. Unless they can convince Ron Rivera to part with the No. 2 overall pick, it’s not happening. Trading up for Young would not be a good idea, in any case.
The Panthers have shown a lot of interest in second and third-tier edge prospects, though. They have conducted video meetings with Florida’s Jonathan Greenard, Mighigan State’s Kenny Willekes, NC State’s James-Smith Williams and Stanford’s Casey Toohill.