Panthers fans have had about as brutal of an offseason as any fanbase in the NFL. Certainly no team has undergone more dramatic changes.
The tectonic shifts began when Matt Rhule was hired to replace Ron Rivera, followed by the shocking retirement of Luke Kuechly. After that, the team lost half a dozen more key defensive players to free agency. Then one of the franchise’s most popular players – Greg Olsen was released. So were Eric Reid and Cam Newton, rather unceremoniously. In other words, if you felt emotionally tied to pretty much anybody on the roster outside Christian McCaffrey, it’s been rough.
Carolina fans who need something to feel good about going into 2020 should look to last year’s first-round pick Brian Burns for hope. Burns has been named the Panthers’ breakout candidate of the season by Gary Davenport at Bleacher Report.
“Like many of the young players listed in this piece, Carolina Panthers edge-rusher Brian Burns had a respectable rookie season in the NFL. The 6’5″ 250-pounder tallied 7.5 sacks and 23 pressures in 478 snaps in 2019. But the 16th overall pick in last year’s draft is going to be asked to do much more in 2020. As a rookie, Burns was a complementary pass-rusher. But with Mario Addison now in Buffalo, Burns is going to be tasked with leading one of the most impressive position groups on the team.”
Correct.
Well he didn’t set the world on fire like Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa, Burns flashed often enough in year one to make us feel great about his future in the NFL. Improvement will come for Burns with more playing time now that Addison and Bruce Irvin are out of the picture and the Panthers have a coach who will have no choice but to eschew Rivera’s preference for giving snaps to experienced players over younger ones.
10 sacks a season is a basic, common goal for elite pass rushers once they become accustomed to the speed of the pro game and it’s a good target for Burns. Pressures are the more important number, though. If he boosts his pressure rate it should have a profoundly positive affect for the pass rush.
We know Burns can win with speed. Now, he’s got to work on adding strength. After a year in an NFL weight room, we should expect to see a slightly heavier, more powerful version of him on the field next season.
