Carolina Panthers star Derrick Brown is one of the top players in the NFL.
Carolina Panthers star Derrick Brown came in at No. 5 in ESPN's DT rankings.
For the Panthers last season, Brown put up 5.0 sacks, 33 solo tackles, five tackles for loss and 11 QB hits. He played in all 17 regular-season games.
"We actively ran our running plays completely away from him," a veteran NFL assistant coach said. "That's how good he is. The only reason he's not a household name is that he plays in Carolina."
Brown enters next season with 13.0 sacks, 169 solo tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 59 QB hits. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Auburn.
At the end of June, Brown made the NFL Top 100 Players List. He came in at No. 90.
"I mean, to be within the top 100 guys in the best football league in the world, you can't hate something like that," Brown said. "But you know, now I just feel so many more team aspirations and so many more personal aspirations like, I'm glad to be a part of it."
The Panthers won the NFC South last season but lost to the Los Angeles Rams at home in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The next step for Carolina is to win a playoff game.
Even though the Panthers won the NFC South title last season, they finished with a sub-.500 record and needed help in Week 18 to win the division. Dave Canales and Co. must prove next season that they didn't just benefit from playing in the league's weakest division.
It will be fascinating to see how Carolina does in 2026. The team will no longer fly under the radar after making the playoffs last season.
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