Carolina Panthers May Actually Need Another IDL Opposite Derrick Brown

Tons of NFL mock drafts have given the Carolina Panthers Peter Woods. On paper, this doesn't seem like the smartest way to spend that 19th overall pick. The Panthers invested heavily in the interior last offseason.

They have superstar IDL Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown, Turk Wharton, 2025 rookie Cam Jackson, and A'Shawn Robinson on the interior. That group helped pave the way for an improvement from 2024 to 2025.

However, many of those players underwhelmed, and Robinson may be cut. Plus, Brown graded out decently well but far from elite in 2025. Do the Panthers actually need another IDL in the draft?

Do the Panthers need to invest in the interior again?

Carolina Panthers defensive end A'Shawn Robinson (94) looks on before the game | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Perhaps Tershawn Wharton will improve, but he had a pretty disappointing first season in Carolina. The Panthers IDL earned a 43.0 PFF grade, which is a major dropoff from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs.

A'Shawn Robinson is on the final year of his contract, and cutting him would save $10.5 million. That's more than the Panthers currently have available, making his release feel almost inevitable. He was solid, too.

The most unfortunate part is that Derrick Brown was not as impactful as we might've thought, at least according to the PFF grades. If Brown's not the All-Pro-level player (he probably is, regardless of what the grades say), then the interior is actually not in good shape.

And Brown was the 17th-best IDL by PFF grade in 2025. That's good, but it's not great. It's not the sort of grade that suggests Carolina can ignore the position group and expect high-level performance next season.

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Carolina Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown (95) during pregame warm ups before the NFC Wild Card Round game | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

"After missing the majority of the 2024 season with a torn meniscus, Panthers stud Derrick Brown returned to the field in 2025 and looked to take his rightful place as an elite defensive tackle. It didn’t take long for him to remind the NFL why he was a top-10 pick in 2020," PFF's Thomas Valentine wrote.

He continued, "Brown finished the season with 34 run stops, the second-most at the position, and a 65.8 PFF run-defense grade. He also had a career-high six sacks, tied for the 14th-most among defensive tackles, to pair with 39 pressures."

Those numbers are, again, good without being great. Brown had a very good year, but he's one player and his 72.9 overall grade isn't exactly game-wrecking.

It's still probably much smarter to address the truly gaping holes (linebacker and edge rusher) in the first and second rounds of the NFL draft, but do not be surprised if the Panthers end up with a highly-touted IDL early on this spring.