This isn’t a new scenario for the Carolina Panthers: A slow start. A frustrated fan base. Whispers about the head coach’s future. And then, a defense that suddenly looks like the real deal.
That was the story in 2013, when the Panthers shook off a 1-3 start and roared to an NFC South title behind a suffocating defense led by a young Luke Kuechly. Twelve years later, the franchise icon sees something familiar brewing in Charlotte.
“There’s some similarities to what we have in the defensive line,” Kuechly said this week. “Up front, you’ve got a really good opportunity to be good.”
Luke Kuechly sees something special building on the Carolina Panthers' defense
The Panthers’ shutout win in Week 3 over the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t just their first victory of 2025. It was a statement from one of the NFL’s youngest defenses.
Carolina currently ranks as the fourth-youngest unit in the league. Rookies Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen, second-year linebacker Trevin Wallace, cornerback Chau Smith-Wade, and a healthy Jaycee Horn are all being asked to grow up fast alongside veteran anchor Derrick Brown.
Head coach Dave Canales made a point after Week 1’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars: he wanted more youth on the field. Since then, the snap counts have shifted dramatically.
Scourton has jumped from 27 percent of the snaps in the opener to 73% in Week 3. Umanmielen leaped from 12% to 52%. Safety Lathan Ransom went from 14% to 52% and forced a game-sealing fumble versus the Falcons.
The trust is building quickly.
“I’m really proud of the way they’re just developing and working,” Canales said. “Nic Scourton works his butt off in practice, and he gives everything he has. He’s taking to coaching. It’s a trust factor, and that trust will continue to grow.”
The Panthers are building an identity. Canales praised the team’s special teams effort last week, saying the energy and relentlessness of those units represent the standard he wants on defense.
Players like Scourton embrace that mindset. “Motor guys. We’re kind of like energizer bunnies,” the rookie said. “There can’t be any drop-off.”
Veterans see it too. “He just doesn’t stop, and we need more of that,” safety Nick Scott said of Scourton.
And for Umanmielen, the vision is simple: “We can be an unstoppable force.”
Carolina still has plenty to prove. Last season’s defense ranked dead last in points allowed with 31.4 per game. Through three weeks, they’ve cut that number nearly in half (17.7), landing in the top 10.
The question is whether this unit can sustain it, just like Kuechly’s 2013 defense did after its early breakout. “If we can be consistent like we played on Sunday, we’ve got a chance to be a really good football team,” the future Pro Football Hall of Famer said.
The Panthers may still be a work in progress. But when a franchise legend sees shades of his own dominant unit in today’s defense, it’s enough to make fans believe that something special could be taking shape in Charlotte again.