Carolina’s offseason defensive makeover already has a headline endorsement. Devin Lloyd, the Panthers’ marquee linebacker addition, checked in at No. 10 on ESPN’s ranking of the league’s top linebackers, a list built from the votes of coaches, executives and scouts. For a defense trying to push Carolina back to the playoffs a second straight year, it is an early sign the front office spent well.
The ranking rests on a turnover-heavy 2025. Playing 15 games for Jacksonville, Lloyd piled up 81 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defended, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown. The signature number was five interceptions, tied for the second-most in the NFL, and the signature moment was a 99-yard pick-six off Patrick Mahomes on Monday Night Football in Week 5. ESPN pointed to a rare statistical double: five interceptions plus five tackles for loss, a pairing no other player in the league reached in 2025 and one not seen from a linebacker since Shaquille Leonard in 2019. He turned those five picks into 135 return yards. A former first-round pick out of Utah in 2022, he timed his best football to arrive right before free agency.
That free agency landed him in Carolina on a three-year contract signed in March. The one open question scouts raised is how he handles a larger leadership role. In Jacksonville, veteran Foyesade Oluokun handled much of the defensive communication, but the Panthers came away impressed with how Lloyd ran the huddle during offseason work.
Lloyd is not the only piece Carolina added. The Panthers landed edge rusher Jaelan Phillips on a four-year, $120 million deal, bringing in one of the top pass rushers available in free agency. Phillips, the 18th overall pick by Miami in 2021, tallied 26 sacks over 55 games before a 2025 deadline trade sent him to Philadelphia. Cornerback Jaycee Horn also returns after a five-interception season that earned him a second Pro Bowl nod. Carolina’s defense finished 2025 ranked 16th overall, 20th against the run and 15th against the pass.
