PFF provides scorching placement for Carolina Panthers secondary

The Carolina Panthers had a pretty bad secondary last year. Despite having two solid cornerbacks, their safety depth chart was abhorrent. And because of their inability to stop the run, teams opted to pass less often against them, so the overall stats don't tell the full story.

Still, having two respectable cornerbacks like Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson is something some NFL teams can't claim. Unfortunately, that doesn't matter very much since they're not elite and there are virtually no other good secondary players. At least, that's what PFF claims, ranking the secondary 30th among all NFL teams.

"The Panthers have a few strong pieces in the secondary but lack depth behind top cornerback Jaycee Horn. Mike Jackson is an underrated corner, and safety Tre’Von Moehrig brings experience from his time in Las Vegas," PFF's John Kosko wrote. "However, the team is relying on several players with limited playing time to step into major roles. Expecting significant contributions from undrafted second-year safety Demani Richardson and 2025 fourth-round pick Lathan Ransom could prove challenging."

The Panthers do have a lot of question marks back there, but the cornerback tandem is pretty good. Horn is a lockdown corner who just got a huge extension, and PFF actually graded Jackson slightly higher last season. Still, the lack of safeties beyond Tre'von Moehrig, who was graded decently by the outlet, is concerning.

The biggest issue in 2024 was the inability to defend the run, so Carolina went all-out rebuilding the defensive line all the way across. It might've come at the cost of the secondary, though, so the problems might reverse in 2025.