Derrick Brown named Panthers' 'make-or-break' player for 2025 season
Derrick Brown named Panthers' 'make-or-break' player for 2025 season
The hopes for this year's Carolina Panthers might hinge on a big return.
Pro Football Focus contributor Dalton Wasserman recently named each NFL team's "make-or-break" player for the upcoming campaign. To qualify as such, a player would have to have the power to single-handedly make or break the success of his team in 2025.
Wasserman tabs defensive lineman Derrick Brown, who was one-and-done in 2024, for the Panthers:
Carolina's defense was futile last season in many facets, but the unit played at a historically poor level against the run. Part of that stemmed from star defensive tackle Derrick Brown suffering a season-ending injury in Week 1.
Brown placed second among all interior defenders in 2023 with an elite 90.0 PFF run-defense grade. His presence in the middle makes the entire unit better. The Panthers acquired several pieces on the defensive line to improve their run defense, but Brown's return to his 2023 form would make the biggest impact.
Along with that 90.0 run-defense grade, Brown amassed a whopping 103 tackles—an NFL single-season record for a defensive lineman. Those results, which also included 2.0 sacks and an interception, help send the former first-round pick to his first career Pro Bowl.
This past year, however, wasn't as kind to Brown—who missed 16 of Carolina's 17 games after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in their opener. The Panthers went on to allow the most points ever as well as a league-worst 179.8 rushing yards per game.
Brown, who has yet to fully participate in offseason workouts, was asked when he hopes to get back on the practice field.
"Hopefully, very close," he replied. "I expect to be out there in training camp. Load management, and hopefully in the next few weeks, I get cleared. So that's the goal and then at that point, it's just getting back in football shape and being able to go out there and play with the team."
Panthers veterans are set to report to training camp on Tuesday, July 22. So hopefully for Carolina and their defense, their 6-foot-5, 320-pound wrecking ball is back in working order by then.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
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