Long-time NFL vet shares bold statement on the Carolina Panthers' potential

Tershawn Wharton has plenty of playoff experience, and he sees the Panthers as a team that opponents are not going to want to face.

Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (99) runs on to the field before the game at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The only Carolina Panthers player who was around the last time they made the NFL playoffs was forever long snapper JJ Jansen, who will be playing his 274th career game for Carolina the next time that he takes the field.

Outside of Jansen, the little playoff experience that is on this roster comes mostly in the form of the free agents that they signed this past offseason.

At the top of the list is defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, who spent the last five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, making several deep runs into the postseason and winning a couple Super Bowls.

Wharton knows a dangerous team when he sees it, and he says that when the Panthers are at their best, opponents will not want to face them, per Joe Person at The Athletic.

“Letting them understand that a lot of people probably don’t think it can happen. But to get that faith and that belief is one thing in this league, just to understand that we can do it,” Wharton said Wednesday. “I feel like when we play our best, nobody wants to see us.”

These Panthers might not look dangerous to a Super Bowl contender on paper, but try telling that to the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, both of whom lost to Carolina this season despite being favored by over 10 points.

The truth is that Wharton is right - and if the Panthers do sneak into the playoffs they could be a scary dark-horse kind of team that could take a high seed by surprise.

Based on the way the seeding is falling in the NFC, Carolina would likely be in the fourth seed in the Wild Card round, which means they would host the No. 5 seed at Bank of America Stadium, where they're 4-2 this season.

Right now that fifth seed is held by the Seattle Seahawks - and it will likely be either them or the LA Ram in that spot when the playoffs begin.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) leaps over Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 7, 2025. The Jaguars defeated the Panthers 26-10. | Corey Perrine / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

- Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI -

Carolina Panthers get big bump from bye week in NFL power rankings

All the ways the Panthers can dethrone the Buccaneers in NFC South

Where the Panthers need to improve most to make the NFL Playoffs

Carolina Panthers three-round 2026 NFL mock draft: The first edition