The Carolina Panthers secondary has been a weak point for the roster several seasons now. Part of that is by design: the defense has been built from the trenches outward and less emphasis has been placed on the third level in general. Even still, the unit performed well below expectations last season. According to Pro Football Focus, not a single Carolina player ranked among their top 100 defensive backs in 2018.
Safety Eric Reid earned their highest grade but still only ranked No. 110 overall. At the bottom end, safety Mike Adams had a gruesome 45.3 rating, ranking him No. 230.
In-between, the trio of the inconsistent James Bradberry, aging Captain Munnerlyn and streaky Donte Jackson all didn’t grade out well, either.
Reid is ranked far too low from where we’re sitting. The rest of it is tough to argue with, though. Letting Adams and Munnerlyn go were both necessary moves. Now they’ll have to go out and find upgrades, either in the draft or in free agency.
As it happens, another special name just hit the market in what’s already a dazzling free agent class at safety. Adding a player like Eric Weddle to play center-field could help turn around this entire unit’s performance.
