As we make our way towards training camp, we’ll be investigating the Panthers camp battles that will be happening in the trenches during the dog days of summer in Spartanburg – while some, like the starting free safety and nickel cornerback, are easy to find, some aren’t quite so obvious and almost certainly injuries will force others into the spotlight, perhaps some that we didn’t even think about this early in the process.
Previous Camp Battle Studies:
The linebacker group in Carolina is due for it’s most major change in the best part of half a decade this offseason as the team looks to shift from the 4-3 defense they have run every season under Ron Rivera to this point towards a more 3-4 oriented defense. Additionally, with Thomas Davis now in California, the Panthers will also see someone other than Davis as the primary partner for Luke Kuechly.
It is worth noting that the latter is something the Panthers have been preparing for, as Davis’ continued flirtation with retirement over the past few years has meant that they already have an heir apparent on the roster in Shaq Thompson.
With all that said, this offseason is going to see more of a genuine competition at linebacker than any offseason in recent Panthers’ memory, so what are the battles to watch for and what might they mean for the Panthers in 2019 and beyond?
No Question: Luke Kuechly
Luke is the one absolute certainty, if healthy, of the Panthers’ linebacker group. He is the unquestioned star of the defense and even with the move to a 3-4, his role isn’t likely to see a huge amount of change – even if it does mean he lines up at a slightly different spot from time to time. He will still be tasked, along with Eric Reid on the back end, with getting everybody in position and in the right defense to counter what the offense tries to utilize.
If there is question about Kuechly going into training camp, it surrounds the transition to a 3-4 defense – while it would be a shock to see this significantly affect his game, whether there is any adjustment period early on or whether he just seamlessly transitions into the new defense might be something to keep an eye on. However, for the most part, Luke is going to be OK no matter what defense they put him in, that kind of comes with the territory when you are in the conversation as the best to ever play the position – and you’re only 28 years old.
Some Question: The Versatile Trio
Shaq Thompson, Jermaine Carter and Andre Smith are likely to have very different roles on the defense in terms of playing time in 2019, but in one way, they are very similar: all three aren’t a clear fit as either 3-4 inside or outside linebackers – as such, their role on the Panthers’ defense could be something that is quite flexible.
Given the other players on the roster, when the Panthers do go with two inside linebackers in a classic 3-4 defensive look from a seven-or-eight man box, it would be hard to imagine Shaq Thompson not filling the second inside linebacker spot next to Kuechly.
However, how he gets used when teams go to four and even five wide formations is far less clear.
One option, especially against tight ends, would be to move Thompson out to cover the tight end in space, but there is also a chance that Thompson sees some snaps as a more conventional 3-4 OLB – while he isn’t the pass rusher that Mario Addison is or Brian Burns has the potential to be, he can still get after the quarterback and would offer a more genuine threat to drop back into coverage from the edge.
This is where both Carter and Smith come in – they both showed above average ability as pass rushers coming off the edge during their limited playing time last season – albeit mostly during the preseason – and while neither are exactly proven commodities at this point, one would hope that they are able to offer more value in coverage than the average edge player.
Given that the Panthers rotate heavily on the defensive line, this therefore creates a chance for both players to not only secure their spots as the depth options at inside linebacker but also rotation pieces on the edge, giving the Panthers a greater versatility defensively.
The True Battle: Coming Down To Special Teams
Traditionally, when running a 4-3, the Panthers have carried either six or seven linebackers on the 53-man roster, but with the move to a 3-4 and a likely increase in the number of defensive linemen and edge players as a result, there is a very real chance that the Panthers carry fewer linebackers in 2019, with possibly only one other linebacker on the roster to go with the four already mentioned.
There’s certainly no shortage of competition for this spot, with Jonathan Celestin, Brandon Chubb, Jordan Kunaszyk, Jared Norris, Sione Teuhema and Antwione Williams all in the running for that potential fifth spot. Kunaszyk and Teuhema are probably more realistic options for the practice squad than the active roster, but Celestin, Chubb, Norris and Williams will likely have a stiff competition in camp to make the 53.
In this way, this is very much an open battle going into training camp – while Norris is probably the favorite going in, or at least starts highest on the depth chart, a really strong camp from any of these players could earn them a spot – particularly on special teams.
The Panthers don’t really want to use roster spots on people who aren’t going to consistently be active on game days, and with Carter and Smith acting as depth for Kuechly and Thompson, the only way for another linebacker to consistently contribute is going to be on special teams, though an excellent showing on defense might make somebody too good to risk stashing on the practice squad regardless. Norris, who spent most of 2018 on IR, was part of the linebacker triumvirate with Ben Jacobs and David Mayo that always seemed to make the roster as special teams aces the past few seasons – this year, he’s the only one of those three left.
The linebackers are one of the hardest positions to judge from superficial viewing at training camp, as so much of what they do doesn’t lead to either tackles or pass breakups, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t stuff to be looking for, and for the first time in a long time, that could actually affect how the Panthers’ linebackers are used come Week 1.
