For a franchise that’s rostered a handful of premier linebackers over the years, the Carolina Panthers have gotten little in the middle of late. Nonetheless, they still have a few of the game’s best.
Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus recently ranked the top 32 off-ball linebackers in the NFL. Included on the list were a pair of Panther backers, starting with Frankie Luvu at No. 13.
Sikkema writes:
Luvu looked like he was about to put himself in the conversation as one of the best linebackers of 2022 with how he was playing early on. He was a top-tier run defender, earning an 89.5 run-defense grade.
Luvu’s positioning places him in the third tier of these ranks—alongside the likes of Chicago’s T.J. Edwards, Kansas City’s Nick Bolton, Los Angeles’ Eric Kendricks and Miami’s David Long Jr. And he got there thanks to a career year, one in which he posted bests in starts (14), tackles (111) and sacks (7.0).
Joining “Uce” was Shaq Thompson, who squeezed into the 21st spot:
Thompson shined as a run defender in 2022, earning a 90.2 run-defense grade, but his coverage grade dipped from a 72.6 last season to a 57.4 mark in 2022. His 74.3% completion percentage allowed and 64.9% open-target percentage were high.
Thompson, a fifth-tier backer on this list, remained in Carolina following what was an uncertain start to the offseason. He too is coming off one of his best pro campaigns after posting a career-high 135 tackles.
