With Luke Kuechly gone, the best defensive player on the Panthers roster is now DT Kawann Short, who has been one of the league’s most underrated defensive linemen for a long time. Last season, he sat out 14 games due to a shoulder injury. If Carolina’s defense is going to be anything but a total disaster, they need him healthy in 2020.
Is Short still among the top players at his position, though? Let’s find out. Here are the top 10 interior defensive linemen in the NFL right now.
10. Jurrell Casey
It’s rare for defensive linemen to play as well as Casey has for as long. He came into the NFL as a third-round pick by the Titans in 2011. Since then, Casey has played 139 regular season games, totaling 51 sacks and 115 quarterback hits. A model of consistency, Casey hasn’t had less than five sacks in a season since 2012. Casey was recently traded to Denver.