Panthers' big ticket free agent signing ranked on lower end of NFL starters at safety

As the late, great Bill Walton used to say - never mistake action for achievement. That may be the trap for the Carolina Panthers and the work they have done this offseason to reshape their roster. On paper, the Panthers appear to have scored upgrades at all three levels of their defense, including their biggest investment - giving a three-year, $51 million deal to former Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig.

The contract includes $34.5 million in guarantees - but it's far from guaranteed that Moehrig will have as big of an impact as the size of the deal suggests. While Moehrig is a clear upgrade over Xavier Woods, that's a low bar to clear and also applies to practically any starter at this position.

Moehrig should provide more punch against the run - but overall he's still considered only an average starter, according to Pro Fooball Focus. In their new rankings of the top 32 safeties in the league, Moehrig only comes in at No. 28.

"Moehrig was consistent during his four seasons in Las Vegas, earning PFF overall grades between 67.0 and 71.0 in three of his four campaigns. Most recently, he stood out with his play against the run, posting an 87.5 PFF run-defense grade in 2024, which ranked sixth among 93 qualifying safeties."

Average is a serious step up over what the Panthers have done at safety in recent years, but it's also not good enough to win them any playoff games - not if they're safisfied with average results here or at any of the premium positions.

Moehrig will be most vulnerable in coverage, where PFF only gave him a 54.4 grade last season. That ranked 122nd out of 171 qualifying safeties.

That problem may only be doubled down by Carolina's safety pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Lathan Ramsom also earned high grades against the run at Ohio State, but he only got a 66.5 grade in coverage for 2024.

That's probably why the Panthers are so interested in Julian Blackmon, who would provide better coverage skills and complement what Moehrig and Ransom bring to the table.