Panthers may have overlooked 'star' at transformative position
· Yahoo Sports
The Carolina Panthers might have themselves a star that no one—well, almost no one—is talking about.
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NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks bucked that trend on Friday, as he highlighted the league's top "star" defenders. He writes that these "multi-faceted" players—thanks to their "alpha dawg mentality", coverage skills and pass-rushing skills—have helped defensive coordinators deploy more three-safety looks to combat today's pass-heavy offenses.
Brooks ranked who he believes are the top five such presences, and has Carolina safety Tre'von Moehrig rounding out the bunch at No. 5:
The 6-2, 202-pound box-area bandit emerged as one of the league’s most dynamic multi-level defenders last season, his first with the Panthers after spending four years with the Raiders. Moehrig's versatility, instincts, awareness and physicality were showcased in a scheme that allowed him to line up all over the field. He took snaps on the defensive line (102 as an on-ball linebacker) and at inside linebacker (276), strong safety (205), free safety (160) and slot cornerback (322). As an ultra-aggressive defender with a knack for making plays in the backfield on blitzes or run-throughs at the line of scrimmage, Moehrig led all defensive backs with 51 stops (tackle that results in a successful play for the defense), tied for second with three sacks and ranked fifth with 14 QB pressures last season, per Next Gen Stats.
Moehrig joined the Panthers on a three-year, $51 million deal last spring. Along with his 3.0 sacks, his 14 tackles for a loss in 2025 also marked a new career high.
Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero certainly valued Moehrig's stardom throughout the campaign. Outside of being pulled at the end of three blowouts and serving a one-game suspension, Moehrig played in every single defensive snap for the unit this past season.
Joining Moehrig on Brooks' list is Philadelphia's Cooper DeJean, Los Angeles' Derwin James, Houston's Jalen Pitre and Seattle's Nick Emmanwori.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers S Tre'von Moehrig named top 'star' in transformative role