The draft was just the opposite. Carolina Panthers did not chose the crop of defensive tackles. not All the fans had a believe that defensive line was a weakness for the team last year and it was solidified after the signing of Hollis Thomas to fill the gap at NT.

From the last years defensive line there is only one solitary starter returning back. It is DE Tyler Brayton and it is said that the remaining spots will be filled with DE Charles Johnson, NT Louis Leonard and DT Tank Tyler. Leonard and Tyler were being traded for during the last years season. However, from a broader view, it appears that the piecemeal defensive line will be a headache this season for Carolona Panthers. Well, still the situation may not be so bad as the fans think of.

With that horrible 23 sack performance last season, General Manager Marty Hurney and Head Coach John Fox, were faced with overhauling the defensive line. I wouldn’t say it was a big overhaul, but they made some definite changes. First, they traded Kris Jenkins to the Jets, leaving a big hole in the DT slot. With Jenkins gone, last year’s backup Damione Lewis was left to fill the hole. Lewis has been in the league for eight seasons and hasn’t exactly lived up to the slot the Rams drafted him (No. 12 in 2001). Lewis has shown some bright spots, but there will be some questions as to how he will perform next season. Lewis will start along side big Maake Kemoeatu, and will look to both pass rush and stop the run. With the two guys Carolina has starting, Kemoeatu will be the big physical presence on the defense (he’s 6-5 and weighs 345), while the smaller Lewis (6-2, 301) will look to put pressure on opposing defenses. This combination means that the Panthers should be able to put some pressure on opposing quarterbacks, unlike last season where they had two run stuffers in Jenkins and Kemoeatu.

My original post on the Defensive Tackle Position

Now looking at DE, we all know that Peppers had a really bad season last year, and I wrote a few weeks ago that I thought the Panthers shouldn’t extend his contract just yet, but the Panthers seem to think that Peppers is going to be fine. The Panthers are in contract negotiations with Peppers and his agent, and last season’s performance is supposedly a non issue. Everything (trying to resign him, not going out and getting a big name DE in the draft or FA) points to the fact that whatever came over Peppers last season won’t happen again, and he will be back to normal in 2008.

With Peppers switching to the right side to fill the void left by Mike Rucker, second year man Charles Johnson will battle with FA Tyler Brayton, and Stanley McClover. Johnson appears to have the edge right now, and if he starts, he will be an improvement-probably not much though- over the Mike Rucker of 2007 (33 years old, Rucker had knee surgery in 2006 and just wasn’t the same in 2007). Brayton and McClover, along with Hilee Taylor, a seventh rounder from April’s draft, will be able to add sufficient depth at the position as well.

My original post on the Defensive End Position.

So with all of these changes, the Panthers will have only one player starting the same position as last season on the defensive line. By far the line is the biggest question mark for the Panthers next season, but they appear to be moving in the right direction, starting the smaller Lewis and the younger Johnson.

Overall Line Grade: B- (assuming Peppers is back to normal)

Carolina made a big splash this offseason by trading their Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins to the Jets. You can argue that this was a poor decision, with Jenkins being such a great player, but Jenkins never really performed at the level that he had in the 2002 and 2003 seasons after having back-to-back season ending leg injuries. Also the picks that Carolina acquired from the Jets allowed them to trade back into the first round and select Jeff Otah.

For most of the offseason, the defensive tackle position for Carolina looked pretty grim. With Jenkins gone, last years backup Damione Lewis would most likely fill the hole. Lewis has been in the league for eight seasons and hasn’t exactly lived up to the slot the Rams drafted him (No. 12 in 2001). Lewis has shown some bright spots, but there will be some questions as to how he will perform next season.

On the other side Carolina will start Maake Kemoeatu, a big free agent pickup by Carolina in 2006. Like some of the other big name players Carolina signed that season, Kemoeatu didn’t live up to expectations either, having a very average 2006 and a slightly better 2007 season. Kemoeatu didn’t have any sacks last season, but he is primarily a run stuffer rather than a pass rusher. With the two guys Carolina has starting, Kemoeatu will be the big physical presence on the defense (he’s 6-5 and weighs 345), while the smaller Lewis (6-2, 301) will look to put pressure on opposing defenses.

The expectation was that Carolina would try and grab a defensive tackle in either the second or third round of April’s draft to help back up the depleted DT position, but they failed to do so waiting until the sixth round to draft DT Nick Hayden out of Wisconsin. This meant that they had only four DTs on the roster. So Carolina went and picked up three more defensive ends: Ian Scott and Darwin Walker from da Bears, and Steve Williams. Walker, a starter in Philadelphia, adds the pass rush needed at the DT position, while Scott and Williams add depth. Walker will most likely share time with Damione Lewis, possibly even compete for the starting job come training camp.

While the position doesn’t have the playmakers, the Panthers have managed to deepen the position by adding Scott, Walker, and Williams. As of now, this looks to be Carolina’s main weakness on the defense.

Overall Grade: C+