The Panthers defense will get a chance to get right or show us where improvements need to be made, as we answer your questions in this week’s fan mailbag!
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of our weekly Panthers mailbag for everyone! To recap, this is our response to Brian Asks, a place where you can ask all your questions, and see them answered later on in the week in this post.
This week, I asked for your questions about the Panthers defense, and they came in droves! The Panthers lost LB Shaq Thompson for the season to an Achilles, and are all but sure that Josey Jewell will also miss this week’s game. This becomes a huge opportunity for some young depth players to step up at that position, and we’ll get to see Ejiro Evero respond to another rash of injuries with his personnel. Let’s dive in!
Good_Ol_Boy: A) Do you think our first round pick should be on the defensive side of the ball next draft?
B) With so many gaping holes in the defense, which position would you target first?
- Theoretically, yes. But this is under the impression that Bryce Young’s time in Carolina hasn’t come to a close. I personally think they’ll stick with him (and probably Dalton) next season, which would leave the door wide open for defense. Corner, safety, linebacker, edge, even interior Defensive Line would all be fine picks in the top 10ish of the Draft.
- My personal preference would be Edge, but I could be talked into the interior of the defensive line as well. Either way, both would attack the biggest weakness of the defense, the trenches. Unless Evero gets hired away (or fired), I would expect him to return next season and he schemes the defense well around his secondary.
e4*: Will this week’s matchup against da’ Bears be a low scoring affair?
I think it will actually see a fair amount of points scored, though that Bears defense has definitely kept them on the other side of some more losses this season. The Panthers offense just seems to be so much more cohesive and I expect them to have a decent plan to combat the Bears. But a high scoring affair could also mean one of the teams scores a lot of points, not necessarily both.
KeepPounding88: If you had to guess today, what is the exact draft position you think we’ll end up with?
4th overall pick is my guess, though at this juncture there isn’t much spacing separating #1 from #5 or 6.
Hythloday: What are your expectations for Trevin Wallace?
How much will getting Wonnum back soon help alleviate the other recent losses?
Thoughts on Jayden Peevy so far and his long term potential?
- I actually expect this game to go real bad for him, even if he gets a decent amount of tackles at linebacker. I really like him too, but going from rookie depth pieces who gets a few snaps here and there to being “green dot”, AKA the guy calling the plays and dictating the pace/urgency, could be a lot for him against a pretty talented Bears offense. I’d love to be wrong, but I won’t be surprised or disappointed in him if he struggles. He’s a 3rd round pick with all the physical tools in the world to succeed as a linebacker and this experience should be valuable.
- Hard to say. Wonnum was never really a 1A or 1B rusher in Minnesota, he was a part of a really great rotation. It may help his production if he returns alongside Amare Barno at the same time, but I don’t expect a significant uptick in pass rush productivity when he returns. I’ll believe it when I see it.
- He leads the team in sacks, which is a start. He’s two years into his NFL career and has found himself a spot in Carolina’s defense. My long term outlook however is a consistent rotational guy at best, but that is a very good find considering he was a 2022 UDFA that didn’t catch on even in Carolina in 2023.
BlueCatAZ: Shaq has the most tackles on defense, and probably led the defense in tackles last year before his injury. Yet, it always seems like the defense gets better without him on the field. How does that make sense?
Shaq only played in 2 games last season for a new defense. This year he only played in 4. I don’t think its an addition by subtraction situation as much as Evero’s defense starting to click more last season as time went on. And this season, Shaq was probably the best interior linebacker, but his talent has been run support in recent seasons. and there wasn’t a whole lot of competition there. The defense still isn’t good at stopping the run consistently regardless I don’t think its the defense getting better without him, even if his talent is on the decline.
erickbuck: With Dane Jackson supposedly coming back in the nearish future, how do you want to deploy him and Mike Jackson on the defense?
I think you deploy Dane Jackson as more of a rotational guy until he gets his feet wet for live game action. You can use him to spell Jackson when he’s being targeted a lot, which has happened in every game. Unless one of them has talents at nickel corner, I think you just keep deploying Troy Hill there and let those two share snaps at the second outside corner position. I’d imagine giving Jaycee Horn a breather is something they can do now with Dane coming back.
Senanima: Do you pay Horn this year or nah?
I am an unapologetic Stan for Jaycee Horn. He was my pick for the Panthers the year they drafted him and I maintain he is a top CB in the league. However, common sense dictates they don’t really have a reason to pay him now until the season concludes. The argument could maybe have been made prior to the season, but they picked up his 5th year option. He’s a Panther in 2025, unless they decide to pull a Brian Burns with him.
right_turn_clyde: Outside of OLB (pass rusher) what positions on the defense do you think are the most important to address now and in the off-season? IMO, we are going to need a difference maker at NT if we’re going to continue to play a 3-4 base defense.
I don’t really know what you can address NOW with this team. The trade deadline approaches in a few weeks, and aside from Scott Fitterer, most teams expected to pick in the top 10 of the following draft don’t make any marquee moves to acquire new high end players. We may see one go away in a trade, but I don’t see them trading for any major names. We might see another CJ Henderson type situation where a forlorn player with upside gets traded to the Panthers though. I think the approach to this off-season, loading the trenches, is the way to attack next off-season on the other side of the ball. Pass rushers, defensive line, linebackers, get them all. A nose tackle would make a lot of sense as well.
bolshy: Will Shaq play another down as a Panther?
I actually think he does, but that’s the rare optimist in me. He’d need to come back on a pretty cheap deal. His cap hit was just over $6 million this season, though about half of that came from restructuring in 2023. The Panthers linebacker room is super thin, so unless he can’t come back or wants to go elsewhere, I think he will be back.
Scorpion Races: How many games left until “bad” Andy Dalton makes his appearance?
How many seasons does Andy Dalton have left in the tank? How many is he under contract for?
How many wins will the Panthers have if they’re looking to draft at number 7?
What’s the plan if Andy Dalton gets injured? Might as well “go there” because the defense is losing players left and right. Shaq’s done for the season and Josey is unknown… and if the answer is Bryce Young, will Diontae Johnson demand to be traded?
Does Diontae Johnson hang around for another season because he’s got a QB that can throw him the ball?
When are we going to see Brooks?
Does Chuba still get the most carries?
Will the Panthers ever be able to stop the run?
- I don’t see “bad” Andy making an appearance, but I could see team’s catching onto the Panthers pass concepts and knocking his yardage total back down to Earth.
- This is the last year of Dalton’s deal. I have no idea how many more years he plays, I think how this season plays out will give us a better idea of that.
- Bryce Young is the plan at this moment. I don’t think Diontae will demand to be traded if that happens, hopefully we don’t have to find out.
- He’s on the last year of his deal looking to get paid. He either sticks around because the Panthers gave him a long-to-mid term extension or he’s gone.
- Optimistically, within 4 weeks. Realistically, after the bye week in week 11.
- I’m guessing you mean when Brooks returns, my guess would be yes, though maybe it curves off towards the final weeks of the season.
- I don’t expect them to figure that part out this year.
Deej_93: Not that I’m mad about signing Farley….but with all the injuries at LB- Why do you think we haven’t signed any LB’s? Damien Wilson, Shaq Leonard, or Zach Cunningham are all available and worth taking a flyer on IMO. I also would not be mad if we brought back Marquis Haynes
I think its a scheme thing with Evero, and this isn’t a season where they need to find stop-gap duct tape as nobody expects the team to go make a playoff run. They have conviction with Wallace, and Claudin Cherelus did fine in his preseason snaps alongside him. I think this is the week where they gauge where the LB room is at and make adjustments as needed going forward.
dayneb12: A key position weakness in last year’s game was the safety play. Do you see Demani Richardson and/or Russ Yeast see some more snaps next week?
I think Demani may get an opportunity, but I wouldn’t expect anything wholesale this week. Should be Xavier Woods and Nick Scott, with a peppering in of some depth guys here and there.