It's hard to ignore the improvements made by the Carolina Panthers' defense this season. Ejiro Evero has restored his reputation after a historically bad 2024 campaign. But one team insider believes there is still a glaring weakness that could hold them back when push comes to shove.
The Panthers gave up the most single-season points in NFL history last time out. Their run defense was abysmal, conceding more than 3,000 yards on the ground. Both statistics are now middle-of-the-pack league-wide, representing a significant step in the right direction.
Even so, another complication hasn't improved much. That, of course, is the Panthers' inability to generate sacks consistently enough.
Carolina Panthers aren't generating enough sacks, and that's a problem
This was a subject David Newton of ESPN discussed when probed about the Panthers' most surprising statistic. While the beat writer acknowledged that the defense had improved, finding a way to generate more quarterback takedowns could be the spark that propels Evero's unit to even greater heights.
"This is shocking for several reasons. First, Carolina put a lot of effort into adding talent to improve on a last-place ranking in sacks (27) a season ago and are headed for a worse year (18 so far). That's significant because sacks and pressure are key to coordinator Ejiro Evero's 3-4 scheme. But the Panthers are still much better on defense overall (16th in points allowed) and in position to make the playoffs."David Newton
Only the San Francisco 49ers rank lower than the Panthers in sacks per game. They are in the lower echelons when it comes to generating quarterback pressures. Losing free-agent signing Patrick Jones II to a season-ending back injury didn't help, but it might prompt general manager Dan Morgan to seek more reinforcements during the offseason.
Jones, Nic Scourton, and Princely Umanmielen are under contract in 2026. D.J. Wonnum is doing a lot of good work that doesn't show up on the stat sheet, so he could stick around if the money works.
Much will depend on the rookie duo's progress in Year 2, but Morgan leaves nothing to chance. If the front-office leader believes that a prolific edge rusher — be it a free-agent or draft pick — would help the Panthers take that next step, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.
That's for the future. For now, Evero will have to make do with what he has. He'll have to keep trying to find better ways to wreak havoc in opposing backfields with the options available. And if he can somehow find the magic formula, that might be enough to get Carolina into the knockout rounds.
After that, all bets are off.