Chart Reveals Most Troubling Fact About Carolina Panthers' Defense

The Carolina Panthers once again had one of the worst pass rushe s in the entire NFL. They were second-to-last in sacks despite drafting two edge rushers and signing a third.

The alternative to being unable to get pressure with the standard rush is to bring extra rushers on a blitz. The Panthers did this about as much as the average NFL team, indicating that they did at least try to get pressure.

Unfortunately, they were highly unsuccessful when they did do that, and it illustrates the worst part about this defense.

The Carolina Panthers were absolutely awful at blitzing

Carolina Panthers safety Tre'von Moehrig (7) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

According to a new chart, during the 2025 NFL season, the Panthers blitzed roughly 27% of the time, which is more than 14 teams in the NFL. They were middle of the pack in frequency.

Being middle of the pack in pressure rate when blitzing would be appropriate and nice, but the Panthers weren't there. They were about the third-worst team in that area.

The Seahawks don't blitz very often. But nobody gets more pressure when they do decide to blitz. pic.twitter.com/yoPt8aZfYO
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 21, 2026

Only the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins were worse at getting pressure when blitzing. Fortunately, Ejiro Evero was wise enough not to overcompensate by blitzing all the time to try and get pressure because that would've left his coverage players with no help and no pressure.

No matter what the Panthers tried, they just could not get to the quarterback. This isn't a flaw in coaching but rather in roster design and execution. The Panthers just simply didn't have the guns to get to the QB.

How can they fix this problem in 2026? Evero could come up with more exotic blitz packages to up the success rate when blitzing, but he's a longtime defensive coach. A total reinvention there is unlikely.

The easiest way is to just get better players. If the Panthers had players that could consistently win off the edge, this wouldn't be a problem. Nic Scourton had a good rookie year and is still very young, so he could be one.

The Panthers still need more, so drafting an edge would be wise in the first round. They also need to get linebackers who can blitz more effectively. Neither Christian Rozeboom nor Trevin Wallace were any good there.

Doing those two things will help, and it will probably transform this defense.

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