NFL analyst asks question that will define 2025 Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers had not only the worst defense in the NFL last year, but the unit was also one of he worst in NFL history. They now own some dubious records. A vast majority of the offseason activity, both in the draft and free agency, was on that side of the ball in an attempt to fix things.

How well they did to fix that ailing defense remains to be seen. It's also part of the biggest question facing the Panthers in 2025. Just how much improved will the porous, abysmal defensive front be? That's what Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine posits is their biggest question for now.

"Without Derrick Brown for all but one game, the Panthers defensive line was a turnstile. They gave up nearly 180 yards on the ground per game and were 30th in the league in sacks with just 32 on the year," he began.

He said that while it's typical to look at a QB's weapons as their assistance, pairing a young quarterback like Bryce Young with that level of defense on the other side borders on "malfeasance" by the front office.

"The Panthers did take steps to improve up front," Ballentine went on to say. "They spent a good chunk of money to bring in Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton, persuading two young interior talents from good defenses to come to Carolina."

The lackluster edge rushing unit was bolstered when the Panthers signed Patrick Jones II and then drafted Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen in rounds two and three. "Camp and preseason reps will be crucial for the new, young defensive line. They need to be ready to make an early impact to flip the defense's fortune," Ballentine concluded.

If the effort to fix the defensive interior doesn't work, it'll be bad for multiple reasons. First, it will mean they are playing with one hand tied behind their back in 2025, and any major improvement is going to prove difficult. Second, it will hinder them for years, as they signed some interior players to multi-year, costly deals.