Carolina Panthers Don't Need to Worry About Jaelan Phillips' Low Sack Totals

The Carolina Panthers just committed $30 million to an edge rusher who had five sacks last year. Odafe Oweh, who had 7.5 sacks last season, agreed to a $20 million salary. Trey Hendrickson, with four sacks in just seven games, probably won't massively eclipse Jaelan Phillips' deal.

Did the Panthers overpay? Phillips now ranks eighth in terms of salary for edge rushers. Hendrickson might push him down to ninth, but he's likely to stay in the top 10. So, yes, the Panthers did overpay a little bit.

Even though his sack totals aren't overwhelming (28 in 63 games/43 starts), it may not matter, and it probably won't make the Panthers look foolish for signing him for so much money.

Jaelan Phillips gets pressure like few others

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips (50) tackles Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Sacks are the ultimate goal of pressure, but no one gets a sack every play. The Panthers don't necessarily need someone to get some pressure on the quarterback. In 2025, they were 31st in pressure rate, last in knockdowns per attempt, and 27th in hurries per dropback.

Yes, they need to get the quarterback on the ground, but they firstly need to start generating pressure. While Phillips doesn't have elite sack numbers, he does have elite pressure metrics, and that's why he was so sought after.

Jaelan Phillips was EDGE8 in true pressure rate, Panthers fans. Heads into the prime of his career. https://t.co/n9QAH8qlEq
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) March 9, 2026

Jaelan Phillips ranked eighth in true pressure rate, an adjusted way of measuring how often an edge rusher really does get pressure on the quarterback. For context, his true pressure rate was better than:

Myles Garrett
Nik Bonitto
Brian Burns
Josh Sweat
Jeffery Simmons
Cameron Jordan
James Pearce Jr.
Montez Sweat
Maxx Crosby
Chase Young

All those players finished with double-digit sacks. Myles Garrett set the single-season record for sacks. Phillips got more pressure than him. Of course, the Panthers want sacks, but they badly need pressure, too.

Even in the less advanced look at the metric, 18.8% of Phillips' rushes ended in pressure. That was the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. Only Will Anderson, Nik Bonitto, and Micah Parsons had a higher rate.

Jaelan Phillips generated pressure on 18.8% of his pass rush snaps in 2025

That was the 4th-highest rate among players with 250+ pass rush reps, behind only Will Anderson Jr., Nik Bonitto, and Micah Parsons 💪 https://t.co/LdRUMyU6Z3 pic.twitter.com/jGIX1fHqr1
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) March 9, 2026

That's the sort of thing that transforms defenses. He will create pressure, making life easier for everyone in coverage. It will also free things up for both Derrick Brown and Nic Scourton, and it is easy to envision all of their sack numbers going up.

Last year, DJ Wonnum got pressure but never really landed sacks. He did help lead to others getting sacks, so imagine that effect but multiplied exponentially because Phillips is significantly better than Wonnum.