3 reasons Panthers DE Brian Burns is destined for greatness in 2021
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers have more talent around Brian Burns
The Carolina Panthers made some useful additions on the defensive side of the football in free agency, which should further boost their chances of making some noise in 2021. This was a unit that came on leaps and bounds during the second half of last season and if the new recruits all hit the ground running, they might end up being a top-10 defense when it’s all said and done.
Carolina is clearly building around their young core, with Burns the most important piece of the puzzle. However, what was glaringly obvious in 2020 was that there needs to be another stout pass-rushing presence opposite the player to take some of the attention.
Haason Reddick could be just what the doctor ordered.
The edge rusher notched 12.5 sacks for the Arizona Cardinals last season before deciding to link up with his former college coach Matt Rhule once again on a one-year deal. If Reddick can reach this level of production with the Panthers then a big payday will be coming his way next spring and nobody is going to benefit from this more than Burns.
Couple this with a more consistent presence at middle linebacker in Denzel Perryman in addition to the signings of DaQuan Jones and Daviyon Nixon to potentially slot next to stud defensive tackle Derrick Brown, and it’s not hard to see why Carolina’s defensive front could be an area of real strength next season of everything clicks into place right away.