Ejiro Evero, Panthers defense must get back to basics in injury-filled season

Despite finishing fourth in total defense in 2023, the Carolina Panthers were expected to take somewhat of a step down on that side of the ball this season. And, uh, they’ve gone down . . . way down.

With the organization’s focus turned mainly towards their struggling offense during the offseason, there was an understanding that the defense could take a hit or two. The unit would proceed to lose two key contributors in Brian Burns and Frankie Luvu as well as two former second-round picks in linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos and safety Jeremy Chinn.

Much of the money that would have been allocated to keep those defenders around was then utilized on the offense. Carolina dished out the dollars to fix their weak interior, signing guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to long-term deals worth a combined $153 million.

On paper, the moves seemed reasonable. The Panthers were able to fortify a huge weakness from last season while expecting the brilliance of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to patch up the losses in his personnel.

But after a 1-4 start and a litany of injuries to key starters, the latter has not happened.

The Panthers, through five weeks, have allowed the most points and the fifth-most yards in the NFL. They’re 27th against the run, 23rd against the pass and 28th in Expected Points Added (EPA) per play.

Their big-play department, much like it did in 2023, has lacked as well. Carolina has amassed the second-fewest amount of sacks (six) and sits in the middle of the pack in takeaways (five).

In other words, it’s one of the worst defenses in franchise history thus far—and there are no signs of that changing.

At least some slack should be given, as the group has already lost Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown and team captain and longtime linebacker Shaq Thompson for the rest of the campaign. But there’s a serious issue in the lack of fundamentals, and that comes back to Evero and his staff.

The interior defensive linemen have struggled to display active hands, generate pressure, maintain two-gap discipline and stop the run. Tackling has been a problem as well, especially from the secondary.

Preseason acquisition and starting cornerback Mike Jackson has been hit or miss in some games this season. Safety Nick Scott has missed multiple assignments, including issues with zone transitions and taking pass-offs—one of which resulted in a touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears.

Xavier Woods, one of the better free safeties in the league, continues to be streaky as a tackler too—electing to go for big hits instead of applying proper technique as a tackler in space.

Again, there’s much to be said about the lack of health and the lack of talent. Some may argue that general manager Dan Morgan and his predecessor Scott Fitterer have failed to give the Panthers and Evero enough depth.

Yet, the fundamentals must be better—regardless of who’s on the field. While Evero garners clout from across the league for putting his players in the best places to succeed, he has not done so this year.

This is not to say Evero is a bad defensive coordinator. With semi-NFL-caliber talent, this is a much better unit.

But 2024 will continue to be a long season of constant inconsistencies on defense if the basics aren’t ironed out.