There was a lot that went wrong for the defensive unit of the Carolina Panthers this past season. The team couldn’t stop the run, allowing the most rushing yards in the league. It also couldn’t stop the pass, allowing a league-high 35 scores through the air. When it was all said and mercifully done, Ejiro Evero’s unit gave up the most total yards in the NFL, and Dave Canales’s team surrendered a single-season league record of 534 points.
The area that’s been problem plagued the past two seasons has been the inability to consistently put the heat on opposing quarterbacks. In 2023, the Panthers finished with an NFL-low 27 sacks. This past season, that total creeped up a little bit (32), which was still tied for the third-fewest in the league.
This offseason, the club added former Vikings’ outside linebacker Patrick Jones II, who finished with a career-best seven sacks in 2024. Keep in mind that Jadeveon Clowney and A’Shawn Robinson were the club’s co-leaders this past season with 5.5 sacks.
University of Georgia standout Jalon Walker has been a popular pick for Carolina in mock drafters this year when it comes to the eighth overall pick. However, Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News has general manager Dan Morgan bypassing defense in Round 1.
Instead, he has the Panthers (who have 9 picks in this draft) getting some help in the second round (57th overall) with University of Mississippi prospect Jared Ivey. “The Panthers need to upgrade their pass rush big-time,” said Iyer, “and Ivey gives them a high-floor building block.”
As usual, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com went a little deeper. “Despite consecutive seasons of production in opponents’ backfields, Ivey’s strengths and weaknesses converge for a feast-or-famine playing style. His rush is segmented and leggy with average short-area closing burst for an edge rusher. He lacks anchor and contact balance to command the point.
“On the other hand, Ivey is surprisingly slippery, using his stride, length and upper-body swivel to shapeshift and circumvent blocks. He needs to play with a little more edge but has enough disruption potential to become a rotational 4-3 defensive end with sub-rush potential inside.”
Of course, the forecast wasn’t finished when it came to Carolina addressing this crucial area. Morgan has a pair of fifth-round picks work with, and Iyer chose two more edge rushers in Femi Oladejo (UCLA) and Antwaun Powell-Ryland (Virginia Tech) at Nos. 140 and 146, respectively. All told. Iyer has one-third of the club’s nine selections addressing this major shortcoming. It’s an aggressive strategy that could pay off big time.
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