Panthers’ projected defensive depth chart after 2023 NFL draft

Defense wasn’t the primary focus for the Carolina Panthers during the 2023 NFL draft, as they were quite busy securing the face of their franchise. Nonetheless, they did make a handful of intriguing additions to that side of the ball last weekend.

So, in turn, let’s make some adjustments to our projections for their defensive depth chart.

Defensive line

The Oklahoman

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string
DE	Derrick Brown	Henry Anderson	Raequan Williams
NT	Shy Tuttle	Marquan McCall	John Penisini
DE	DeShawn Williams	Bravvion Roy	Jalen Redmond

Last weekend didn’t do much to alter this group. The only addition to the front was Redmond, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Oklahoma.

In the middle

The Register Guard

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string	4th string	5th string
OLB	Brian Burns	Marquis Haynes Sr.	Amaré Barno	Kobe Jones	Travez Moore
ILB	Shaq Thompson	Kamu Grugier-Hill	Chandler Wooten	Bumper Pool
ILB	Jeremy Chinn	Brandon Smith	Arron Mosby	Austin Ajiake
OLB	Frankie Luvu	Yetur Gross-Matos	DJ Johnson	Eku Leota

With Chinn expected to pick up more looks closer to the line of scrimmage, he can slot into the middle at times. The versatile Luvu, who has chops as a pass rusher, should also move around a bit—between the inside and out.

As for their raw third-round pick in Johnson, expect defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and his staff to bring the athletic 6-foot-4, 260-pounder along a bit slowly out of the gate.

Secondary

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string	4th string	5th string
CB	Jaycee Horn	CJ Henderson	Stantley Thomas-Oliver III	Rejzohn Wright	Mark Milton
CB	Donte Jackson	Keith Taylor Jr.	Herb Miller	Colby Richardson
SS	Vonn Bell	Eric Rowe	Jammie Robinson	Nico Bolden
FS	Xavier Woods	Sam Franklin	Myles Dorn

There may not have been 144 guys better than Robinson out of the draft, but there are a few he’ll be looking up at here. His experience and hard-nosed attitude, however, may earn him some early snaps from the slot.