How Lee Hunter is Poised to Steal Bobby Brown’s Job with Panthers

On Day 2 of this year’s NFL draft, Carolina Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan swung a deal with the Minnesota Vikings, moved up a couple of spots in the second round and selected massive Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter.

The addition of the 6’3 1/2”, 318-pound prospect should provide defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero with quite a chess piece to pair with defensive tackle Derrick Brown. In 2024, the Panthers allowed an NFL-worst 179.8 yards per game on the ground. That was with the 2023 Pro Bowler going down for the season in an opening week loss at New Orleans.

Panthers’ GM Dan Morgan continues to bolster the defensive line

Lee Hunter — Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last offseason, Morgan signed experienced free agents such as Tershawn Wharton (Chiefs) and Bobby Brown III (Rams) to bolster a defensive front that included veteran A’Shawn Robinson (now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Carolina improved to 20th in the NFL in rushing defense (123.3), but struggled against the run during the second half of the season.

As for Bobby Brown, he appeared in all 17 games and the playoff tilt vs. his former team for Dave Canales’s club, but made only five starts. Neither he nor Wharton were very effective, however the former Chief basically missed half of the season and actually saw more defensive snaps (405) in eight fewer games than Brown (351) via Pro Football Reference.

Former Rams’ DT Bobby Brown III has been a disappointment in Carolina

Ben Solak of ESPN has placed Bobby Brown, as well as 13 other players, on his hot seat for the 2026 season. The addition of Hunter could make life very difficult for the Super Bowl LVI champion.

“Brown just does not have the range that modern defensive tackles need to create plays,” explained Solak. “He’s late getting off blocks and struggles mightily when tasked with beating reach blocks laterally. He doesn’t eat up the space a nose tackle needs to occupy to survive.”

On the other hand, the former Red Raider has impact defender written all over him and that could start with slowing down opposing runners. All told, Carolina’s new-look defensive unit slumped after a decent start this past season. The Panthers wound up surrendering a disappointing 144.8 yards per game on the ground in its final 10 regular-season outings.

Panthers’ rookie DT Lee Hunter could make an impact as a rookie

🚨Panthers select Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter at 49 overall.🚨

6’3” 1/2, 315

82 Production score among all DT, via https://t.co/92Jnt1F9g6 (best among all IDL)@997thefox • #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/2Gyoh0Cagc
— John Ellis (@1PantherPlace) April 25, 2026

“Hunter has moments of remarkable first-step quickness and up-field disruption for a player carrying 320 pounds,” added Solak, “and he still has plenty of room to grow in his frame. Hunter, Derrick Brown and Tershawn Wharton will almost certainly be the primary rotation of defensive tackles this season, with Brown once again struggling to see more than 40 percent of the snaps in a given game.”

Here’s something else to ponder. Just over a year ago, Morgan used a fifth-round pick on University of Florida defensive tackle Cam Jackson. He saw very limited defensive snaps (85) in nine regular-season outings. Could Bobby Brown be in danger of being released just one season into a three-year deal?

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