Carolina’s Defensive Revamp Takes Shape: Panthers Set to Land 43-Sack Star From Eagles
The Carolina Panthers only finished the 2024 season with a (5-12) record, but the NFC South squad is heading into the offseason with optimism and momentum that came from the last quarter of their season.
After starting off the season with blowout losses against the Saints and Chargers, first-year head coach Dave Canales made the decision to bench Bryce Young, who the Panthers drafted with the first overall pick in 2023 to be their franchise QB.
Young struggled early, but the defense was just as bad. They gave up 47 points to a Saints team that finished with just five wins.
The Panthers defense gave up more than 30 points in nine of their games in 2024 and only held an opponent to under 20 points one time, in a 20-17 overtime win over the Giants on Nov. 10.
Ultimately the quarterback position is the most important factor for the success of a NFL team — and Young eventually got a chance to start again and by the end of the season — played well enough to convince the Panthers brass that he was the starting quarterback moving forward.
In the season finale, the Panthers pulled off a 44-38 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons and Young played the best game of his NFL career. He finished the game with 253 passing yards and three touchdowns, while adding another 24 yards and two touchdowns as a rusher.
It’s obvious Carolina GM Dan Morgan will look to add weapons on the outside for Young to keep the momentum going next season. In 2024, his top WR threat was Adam Theilen —and while it’s still early —the Panthers have been a popular team when discussing landing spots for Bengals free agent Tee Higgins.
The Panthers have a decision to make at running back and could bolster the offensive line, but Morgan has to make a concerted effort to improve the defense if Carolina is going to compete to win the division in 2025.
The Carolina Panthers finished the 2024 campaign with the dead last defense in the NFL, allowing a whopping 404.4 yards per game.
TWSN predicts Carolina will target Eagles star pass rusher Josh Sweat in free agency, which would be a major upgrade to the defensive unit as a whole.
Sweat has spent his entire career with the Eagles and has 43 sacks so far. He would obviously be a massive upgrade for the Panthers in 2025.
