Cat Scratch Reader
The Panthers defense looks to rebound from a 30-10 beating by the Cleveland Browns on Friday. Granted, this is the preseason, and the starters on defense didn’t play a ton much like the offense, but it did cause for some concern across the Panthers internet community. While we again cannot quite preview too many specific matchups due to the constant subbing in and out of starters for 2s and 3s on both sides, we can preview specific positions on the defense ahead of their 2nd preseason outing. Let’s dive right in!
Across the defense as a whole, it seems pretty clear that they lack depth at virtually every position. That was my biggest takeaway from Friday’s game. There were flashes of some younger guys and veterans who made plays, but as a whole the defense struggled in basically every facet of the game once the starters began to leave the rotation. I don’t expect this problem to get any better on Saturday. But, what we can watch out for are the guys who stand out from the rest of the pack. More on those soon, but I say as someone who has watched the preseason for years and admittedly gotten too hyped up about guys who didn’t even make the final roster, I suggest watching for the bright spots!
I know many Panthers fans did not like seeing safety Nick Scott out there opposite Tre’Von Moehrig with the starters, but I don’t think that particular battle is anywhere close to over. Demani Richardson had himself several nice tackling plays when he came in, including a sack, while Lathan Ransom got some work with the 2s and 3s as well. I would chock Scott being a “starter” up to his veteran status, and rather than focus on him getting snaps with the starters, I’d continue to keep my eye on Richardson and Ransom. Richardson excelled last preseason as well, and it seems Ransom has really started to get some attention at practice recently. Keep your eyes on those two for sure.
The Panthers had several standout performances by rookies on Friday. Firstly, second round pick Nic Scourton was graded the highest by Pro Football Focus for all of last Friday’s games, and in general got tons of praise on Twitter/X as people were breaking down film. I expect him to continue to get valuable snaps since he’ll most likely end up being a starter/three down player sooner than later on this defense. He and fellow rookie EDGE Princely Umanmielen got to play a ton of snaps opposite each other, and I expect that to continue on Saturday. On the secondary side, UDFA CB Corey Thornton once again had a standout performance, a continuing trend throughout the off-season. As a long zone corner, he has the exact tools to thrive in Evero’s zone defense, and I think he’s making a real case to make the 53 man...
