Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown (95) on the field before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

NFL analyst says Carolina Panthers' defense still needs a lot of work

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 10:30 AM ET

The Carolina Panthers had easily the worst defense in the league last season. In NFL history, no team has ever given up more total points (17-game schedule hurts the Panthers), and they yielded 35 touchdown passes and 3,000 yards rushing. It was awful. There's nowhere to go but up.

The Panthers know that and invested based on that. They're getting Derrick Brown back, which is a huge boon alongside the other newcomers. Even Brown, who has been borderline All-Pro-caliber at times, can't fix everything, one NFL insider said.

Analyst thinks Derrick Brown alone can't save Panthers defense

Derrick Brown is healthy. Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown, Christian Rozeboom, and Tre'von Moehrig are all new starters from free agency. Lathan Ransom, Princely Umanmielen, and Nic Scourton figure to play a lot as rookies. It's still a bad defense.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe said, "Defensive lineman Derrick Brown has somewhat quietly been a high-impact player for a few years, and judging by conversations with those around him this season, it doesn’t sound like there’s any dropoff in sight."

The insider added, "Brown has continued to impress this summer and should be a force, although the rest of that Panthers defense continues to need a lot of work." Brown's return will help, but it's easy to forget that in 2023, when Brown had a historic year, the Panthers' defense was bad, and it still couldn't stop the run.

In 2023, the Panthers yielded the fourth-most points per game. They allowed over 122 rushing yards per game, good for 10th-most in the NFL, and that was with Brown setting the DT tackle record. The secondary, which yielded under 175 passing yards per game, kept them afloat, but that run defense was still abysmal with Brown having a career season.

So while getting him back is going to be huge, it's really up to the new arrivals and rookies to change the perception of this defense. If they can raise the level of play, then Carolina might just have a mediocre or bad defense instead of the league's worst, and that could be a big difference-maker in 2025.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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