Panthers DC Ejiro Evero makes bold claim about developing young players

If the Carolina Panthers defense is going to get better anytime soon, they're going to need some of their key younger players to develop and make an impact right away. Most of all that means getting second and third-round draft picks Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmieln on the field so that they can learn the ropes and start making a difference.

The first test of this defense didn't go so well. Carolina was not only the worst pressure team in the league in Week 1, their run defense was just as bad as it was last season. Head coach Dave Canales told reporters earlier his week that he's been pushing the defensive staff to play younger players more, which is an interesting comment.

Here's what defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero had to say about developing the young guys while speaking in a Zoom call with reporters earlier today.

Panthers DC Ejiro Evero doesn’t want to get into specifics of who might play more Sunday. But he said he is “on board” with being a developmental staff and using young players. pic.twitter.com/sSEiaIVkvN
— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 11, 2025

It's a nice thought, but in practice this is not what he did in the season opener. To be fair, Scourton suffered a collapsed lung only a few weeks ago, but he was only on the field for 18 defensive snaps (27%), while Umanmielen was only out there for eight (12%). Safety Lathan Ransom only saw nine.

Those three rookies are going to be a big part of this defense some day - assuming that they weren't terrible picks to begin with. The sooner that the Panthers' staff starts getting them real playing time, the better.

Whatever the disconnect is between what Canales wants and what Evero is doing, the Panthers had better figure it out fast. A loss on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals would do incalcuable damage to this team's confidence, not to mention their playoff odds.

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