'Surprisingly polished' edge rusher named Panthers' top candidate for defensive award

The last time the Carolina Panthers were relevant was because of their defense, all due respect to Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey. Those two were/are special playmakers, but the best player on the team in those years was middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who came into the NFL out of Boston College as a fully-bloomed superstar.

Kuechly won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in his first season and continued to dominate up until his sudden retirement due to concussions. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions like Derrick Brown and Brian Burns the Panthers have rarely seen any defensive rookies perform at a high level in the 13 years since Kuechly's arrival.

Carolina's front office has to hope that dynamic will change this year - because a lot is riding on how well their second and third-roun draft picks play. That would be Princely Umanmielen from Ole Miss and Texas A&M's Nic Scourton, who one analyst at Pro Football Network sees as the Panthers' best candidate to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

"It’s a close call, but Scourton gets the narrow edge from me. With 15 sacks in his last two collegiate seasons, Scourton is surprisingly polished for someone who’s just 20 years old. He’s sturdy, physical, and has a deep pass-rushing arsenal to work with. If he cracks Carolina’s starting lineup, he could make some serious noise."

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas A&M defensive lineman Nic Scourton (DL65) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For all but a handful of blue chip prospects in each draft class, it's almost impossible to predict how any NFL player is going to perform in Year 1. Scourton could wind up better than Julius Peppers, or he could flame out before his rookie contract is even over. At this juncture there's just no way to know.

To start out, Scourton will likely be joining Umanmielen as a rotational edge rusher playing behind projected starters Patrick Jones II and DJ Wonnum. The sooner that Scourton and Umanmielen can break into the starting lineup, the better.

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