Between their transition to a 3-4 scheme and adding a handful of fresh faces, the Carolina Panthers will have quite a new-look defensive line this season. And based off their 2023 unit rankings, Pro Football Focus likes what they’re seeing.
Tasked with positioning the league’s fronts for PFF was senior analyst Zoltán Buday. He finds a spot for the Panthers in the top half of the NFL, at No. 15:
While most of the talk has been about edge defender Brian Burns on the Carolina defensive line, interior defender Derrick Brown’s breakout season flew under the radar in 2022.
After a couple of seasons with grades in the 60s, Brown earned a PFF grade of 84.4 in his third season, seventh among interior defenders. While the rest of the defensive linemen have failed to make an impression in recent seasons, the duo of Brown and Burns puts the Panthers’ defensive line in the top half of this list.
While he won’t be lining up on that three-man front moving forward, Burns has proven to be one of the game’s most productive pass rushers. The two-time Pro Bowl starter racked up 30.5 sacks and 61 quarterback hits between 2020 and 2022.
As for the big fella who will be on the line, Brown also recorded career-highs in the more conventional box score. The former seventh overall pick notched bests in tackles (67), pressures (40), stops (31), passes defensed (seven) and even threw in his first pro interception this past season.
He’ll be joined by the likes of Shy Tuttle and DeShawn Williams, who could help keep this group in the company PFF has them in.
