The Carolina Panthers can’t feasibly have a worse defense than last year. It’s the return of Derrick Brown, the star DT who went down in Week 1 and missed the rest of the season. In 2023, the Panthers had a mediocre defense, but it got much, much worse in 2024 when Derrick Brown was lost to injury. When Shaq Thompson went down with an Achilles injury three weeks later, the Panthers were without two of their best players and leaders on defense.