The middle of the Carolina Panthers defense is, well, mid—at least according to Pro Football Focus.
Site contributor Dalton Wasserman recently ranked the NFL’s 32 linebacking corps. Carolina’s bunch, headed by Shaq Thompson and Frankie Luvu, come in at No. 16.
Wasserman writes:
The Panthers’ linebacking corps is a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation. On the one hand, they posted the third-best run-defense grade in football and finished the regular season with a league-best 159 defensive stops. On the other, their 53.0 coverage grade ranked 22nd in the NFL, and they allowed the second-most touchdowns (8) into their coverage in the regular season.
Starters Shaq Thompson and Frankie Luvu return, so things don’t figure to change much. They both put up elite 90.0-plus run-defense grades, bested only by Bobby Wagner. Luvu also offers value as an edge rusher, with his 23 pressures and seven sacks both top-five marks at the position.
The problem is that these two combined to give up over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns into their coverage last season. Cory Littleton was the best cover man in Carolina’s unit, and he left in free agency.
Thompson and Luvu are good players, but there isn’t anyone on the Panthers’ roster who profiles as a good coverage linebacker. That caps the ceiling on this unit’s potential.
That part of the field will, however, look a bit different in 2023.
For one, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will be employing a 3-4 base defense—giving the unit a fresh look on its front. So not only will the Panthers have pass rushers coming off the edge of their linebacking corps, but they’ll also look to get a little creative with a few other intriguing pieces.
The most intriguing should be safety Jeremy Chinn, whose role isn’t exactly defined just yet. His versatility, though, should allow for Evero and his staff to patch up those coverage issues from the middle of the field and use the talented fourth-year defender as a chess piece of sorts.
