5 Carolina Panthers players who didn’t meet expectations in 2021

Derrick Brown – Carolina Panthers DT

The future is still very bright for Derrick Brown, who just finished his second season in the NFL. However, many thought his sophomore year would be a lot more promising than it eventually became.

Brown was drafted No. 7 overall in 2020 with expectations of being a Pro Bowl-level run stuffer. But so far, hasn’t reached those expectations.

Many were expecting him to have a breakout year but his stats were almost similar to last season. This is solid if not spectacular, which is not what many anticipated following his exceptional college career at Auburn.

Brown had three sacks and 41 total tackles, which were more than last year, but he had nine quarterback hits, which were three less than his rookie season.

In Week 12, Brown was even benched after a poor performance, which seemed to light a fire under the formidable defensive tackle down the stretch.

The fact that Brown had no restrictions this season and was given the entire keys to the defensive front, makes his performance undesirable. He hasn’t yet taken that next step and if fails to do so again next year, the talk of potential bust might begin to creep in.