The Carolina Panthers raised a few eyebrows when they selected athletic but raw linebacker Trevin Wallace at No. 72 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Most fans thought general manager Dan Morgan should have gone in a different direction, and his performances did nothing to diminish the concerns as a rookie and over the early stages of 2025.
Then, everything changed.
Wallace has come to life over the last two games. The second-level presence appears fast and explosive, thriving with extra responsibilities on his shoulders. Ejiro Evero gave him the green dot, and the light came on.
The green dot is a significant duty. They are the defensive play-caller — the man tasked with getting the calls into his teammates and making sure everyone is at the correct spot pre-snap. It's not for everyone, but it seems to be bringing the best out of Wallace.
Trevin Wallace has come to life as the Carolina Panthers' green dot linebacker
Evero is suitably impressed. The defensive coordinator was gushing in his praise of Wallace heading into Week 7 against the New York Jets, highlighting his comfort level, overall command of the schematic concepts, and ongoing maturity as reasons behind his surprising resurgence.
"The thought process was always to graduate Trevin [Wallace] to become the green dot. But we didn't want to rush the process, giving him time to grow as an NFL player, and he's really sped that time clock up. I think he's very clear, he's very commanding, he says the call more than one time, right? So it's like he repeats it over and over and over till the ball is snapped, and so I just think though, the complete command and his growth and maturation as a player, has allowed him to really excel at that job."Ejiro Evero via Panthers.com
Sometimes, all a player needs is one spark to ignite the fire within. Giving Wallace the green dot was precisely that, and it's also allowed Christian Rozeboom to play with a lot more freedom as a sideline-to-sideline force alongside him.
Morgan was a phenomenal linebacker — a College Football Hall of Famer and a ferocious force at Carolina's second level. He saw something in Wallace that others didn't. It's taken time, but it's starting to look like the front-office leader might be onto something.
Two games don't make a season. Wallace knows that things can turn sour quickly in the NFL. But at long last, there is finally some momentum to build upon.
If the same trend continues, the Panthers will have solved one of their most glaring flaws without even trying.