Derrick Brown has gotten off to a great start for the Carolina Panthers
This offseason was huge for the Carolina Panthers, they hired a new head coach, Matt Rhule, to a huge contract — 6-years, $70 million — and he brought with him a whole new staff. On the offensive side of the ball he brought in Joe Brady, (who helped lead LSU to a national title and one of the most prolific offenses that college football has ever seen) and on the other side of the ball, Rhule brought along Phil Snow from Baylor to coach alongside him in the NFL.
Not only did the defense get a new coach, but they also have a ton of new faces. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Panthers did not select one player who plays on the offensive side of the ball. Loading up on defense may not be a strategy everyone agrees with, but it appears to be paying dividends early for Carolina, especially their first pick, Derrick Brown.
Brown was a highly-touted, highly-rated prospect coming out of college and deserved to be drafted number 8-overall by the Panthers. In college he was a force to be reckoned with, opposing linemen didn’t stand a chance with his strength and ability to push the pocket. Not only was his tape impressive, but he was productive as well: 54 total tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, and 4.0 sacks in his final season at Auburn.
One would assume that it would take time for Brown to get acclimated into the NFL game. It would be understandable that it takes time for him to be able to dominate the line-of-scrimmage (LOS) as he did in college, but nope, that’s not the case. From his first game as a Panther he was tossing offensive linemen to the side and in his last game against the Charger’s weak offensive line, the young man feasted.
Let’s get to the tape, shall we?