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Derrick Brown has massive guarantee for 2025 Panthers defense

The Carolina Panthers' best defensive player this decade has high expectations for a unit that suffered without the 2023 Pro Bowler for the majority of 2024.
Russell Baxter|
Oct 29, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown (95) runs on to the field at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Oct 29, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown (95) runs on to the field at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers used the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft to grab Auburn University defensive tackle Derrick Brown. He was a reliable performer who missed only one game in his first four seasons in the league. He put together a breakout campaign in 2023, finishing second on his team with 103 tackles while earning an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

The 2024 Panthers ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense and rushing defense. The team allowed 534 points, the most in a single season in league annals. Carolina gave up an NFL high 35 touchdown passes. Dave Canales’s club managed to total only 32 sacks and finished with a mere 17 takeaways. A big factor in the horrendous showing was the absence of Brown, who went down with a knee injury in Week 1 at New Orleans and was done for 2024.

Recently, the five-year pro had plenty to say about this year’s new-look defense and how things figure to be much different this upcoming season.

Panthers’ DT Derrick Brown did his best Joe Namath impression

There’s a slew of newcomers when it comes to coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit. Joining Brown and A’Shawn Robinson up front are veterans Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III, and rookie Cam Jackson. Former Rams’ linebacker Christian Rozeboom is joined by edge rushers Patrick Jones II (Vikings) and 2025 draft choices Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen.

Meanwhile, the secondary has a new look as well as 2024 Pro Bowler Jaycee Horn and unsung Mike Jackson are joined by incoming safeties Tre’von Moehrig (Raiders) and rookie Lathan Ransom (4-Ohio State).

Brown apparently likes what he sees this summer, and now it has to translate to the field. It’s hard to imagine this defense being worse than it was in 2024, and general manager Dan Morgan put a lot of work this offseason into fixing what ailed the Panthers this past season. Of course, a healthy Brown is a huge step in the right direction.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.