Xavier Woods - Carolina Panthers S
Much has been made about the Carolina Panthers' historically bad defense in 2024. Dan Morgan took the blame, acknowledging that he did not do enough to give defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero the personnel needed to implement his scheme effectively. The general manager also plans to be aggressive in pursuit of improvements.
Carolina's defense needs help at all three levels of the field. The defensive front is devoid of talent or depth. The second level needs reinforcing. The secondary performed relatively well in difficult circumstances, but the safety unit needs a makeover.
The Panthers will never get a better chance to achieve this objective. All the main guys are out of contract. Sam Franklin Jr.'s special teams prowess should be enough for another deal. The rest have their respective futures hanging in the balance.
Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott will be moved on with little fanfare attached. Xavier Woods is also out of contract, but he could be the most likely to stick around if the money works for all parties.
The former sixth-round pick's been an ever-present over the last three years. Woods lacks positional sense and discipline on occasions, but he's never found wanting for effort. He secured three interceptions and 119 tackles throughout the campaign, so a good replacement needs to be found if the Panthers part ways.
Shy Tuttle - Carolina Panthers DL
If the Panthers want to get serious on defense, a change of approach is needed in the trenches. This is an area where Carolina came unstuck time and time again. Ejiro Evero felt the wrath of fans — many of whom were less than enthused by Dave Canales' decision to retain the defensive coordinator.
One of the biggest flaws from Evero's standpoint is the team's failure to stop the run throughout his tenure. Derrick Brown going down with injury after just one game didn't help, but it's not like the run defense was stellar even before the Pro Bowler went to the shelf.
Carolina gave up 179.8 yards per game on the ground in 2024. Their problems started upfront. Evero's insistence to keep deploying Shy Tuttle at the nose tackle position was once again his undoing.
Tuttle is a high-effort guy. However, he is not suited to be a defensive anchor in Evero's 3-4 front. It's that simple.
He gets pushed off the block constantly and cannot absorb double teams effectively. The Panthers need to adjust accordingly and find someone who can handle these key traits with more effectiveness.
What that means for Tuttle's future remains to be seen. Carolina would be taking on $6.1 million in dead money with a pre-June 1 release. But they can move this money around and make it work if cutting the cord is the decision.