Stunning Carolina Panthers position group named biggest strength

The Carolina Panthers easily had the worst defensive line in the NFL last year. All the way across, it was bad. Jadeveon Clowney was the best edge rusher, and he failed to record six sacks. The interior was so much worse, though.

Pretty much every single IDL earned a horrible season grade and helped them give up the most rushing yards (cumulatively and per game) in the NFL last year. It was so bad that a ton of the offseason activity centered on the interior of the defensive line. They signed two IDLs and drafted another. That, and a key player's return, apparently means the interior defensive line is now the team's greatest strength.

Panthers' defensive interior is somehow the team's biggest strength

Derrick Brown is a borderline All-Pro level talent, but even he wasn't enough to make the Panthers' defensive line that good in 2023. He was sorely missed in 2024, but his return alone isn't enough to make the 2025 interior that strong.

Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine thinks he is, though. "The Panthers had one of the worst defensive lines in the league last season, but the interior has a chance to be legitimately scary for opposing offenses this season. For one, they will have Derrick Brown back," he said.

Brown was in the top 20 in both pass-rush and run-stopping win rate in 2023, his last real NFL season. After being officially cleared for football activities in training camp, the outlook is so much brighter in Carolina.

Ballentine finished by saying, "The Panthers doubled down on building an elite interior defensive line in free agency, too. Signing Tershawn Wharton gives them an ascending pass-rushing defensive tackle, while Bobby Brown III should improve the run defense at nose tackle."

Now, they have a more-than-competent unit up front on defense. Is that enough to make it the team's biggest strength? That still seems a little far-fetched when they have a really good QB room, a deep WR room, a stout offensive line, and a deep backfield.