Carolina Panthers Week 2 depth chart still has Trevin Wallace, Nick Scott starting

To say that the Carolina Panthers stumbled out of the gate to start the 2025 NFL season would be the understatement of the year. It might be more accurate to say that they fell directly on their face right into a pile of horse manure, then they tried lighting the manure on fire in an effort to get it off.

There's plenty of blame to go around, but a handful of individuals stood out as having particularly bad games. If we take head coach Dave Canales and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero out of the equation, then the Panthers' worst performer was inside linebacker Trevin Wallace.

Wallace wound up posting the worst PFF grade for the team this past week, and that's really saying something. He was integral in the team's run-defending issues, and had great trouble covering Jacksonville's tight ends. Even though he was clearly their weakest link, the team's updated depth chart still has Wallace in the starting lineup for Week 2.

The depth chart also still has Nick Scott starting at safety next to Tre'Von Moehrig, who had a pretty bad debut himself.

Panthers Week 2 defensive depth chart

Panthers depth chart — Panthers.com | Panthers.com

Needless to say, this is asking for more trouble.

However, it is fair to point out that there really isn't much of a solution on the roster as far as the linebacker problem goes. The absence of Josey Jewell was felt really sharply in Week 1, and as yet the team hasn't signed any proven options to replace him.

At least at safety the Panthers have one promising option on the bench in rookie Lathan Ransom. Head coach Dave Canales told reporters earlier this week that he's been pushing the defensive staff to play the rookies more, which is pretty revealing as far as the internal dynamics of this team goes.

Yes, the coaching staff utterly failed in Week 1 and a lot of players had horrible performances - but the front office deserves at least as much blame as anybody else for this failure. The Panthers know that they need more help on the edge or they wouldn't have discussed trading for Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson - and they have to know they need help at linebacker and safety, too.

Time is rapidly running out for them to do something about these three roster holes, which will sink this ship if things don't turn around immediately, starting this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Aug 2, 2025; Charlottle, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers team manager Dan Morgan during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Panthers Week 2 defensive depth chart

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