The Carolina Panthers should have an above-average defense this year, assuming their new crop of cornerbacks isn’t a bust. If their pass rush picks up where it left off in 2020, it might even be a little bit scary.
On paper, Carolina’s defensive line is the strongest unit on the team heading into the 2021 season. Inside, they have a developing star in Derrick Brown and a quality veteran in DaQuan Jones. On the edge, their projected starters are Brian Burns and former Cardinals outside linebacker Haason Reddick, who at just $6 million might be the gem of the team’s free agent class.
Burns certainly seems excited to pair with Reddick. Here’s what he said about it at OTAs, per Pro Football Focus.
“Haason Reddick is gonna make me go even harder because there’s going to be a little competition now in the room for who’s going to get the sack the fastest. And also, he’s just going to take a lot of attention off of me … [the offensive line] is going to have to pick their poison.”
As we were reminded a couple times late in the 2020 season, even all-time great offenses and GOAT quarterbacks can be neutralized by a multiple-threat pass rush.
In their December meeting, the Panthers squeezed Packers MVP Aaron Rodgers down to just 143 yards and sacked him five times. In the Super Bowl, the Bucs punished the Chiefs’ alien QB Patrick Mahomes, posting three sacks, 10 quarterback hits and picking him off twice.
Building an intense pass rush like that is a cumulative effort and all the pieces matter. Reddick and Burns lined up for different squads last year, but if you put their numbers together they would have totaled 21.5 sacks and 37 QB hits. Any reasonable team would be happy to get that kind of production from their edge duo.
Watching Carolina’s young pass rushers pin their ears back and go pile on a quarterback should be among the most-exciting things for fans to look forward to this season.
