Return of Turk Wharton complementing Derrick Brown
The Panthers have a reasonable idea of what they're getting from Derrick Brown every week.
And now that Tershawn Wharton is back and healthy again, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has new ways to deploy them. They have few physical similarities — Brown is listed at 6-5, 320, to Wharton's 6-1, 280 — but a common intensity.
"One guy that's twitchy and a penetrator, Derrick's very twitchy as well, but he's got that size and mass to really absorb blocks and play physical and downhill, and so they're a really good complement," Evero said. "I think where it really stands out is affecting the pass rush as well, where you have the ability to have Derrick power rush and have a Turk really get on the edge and penetrate and so it was good to see him play well the other day, starting to come back to life after those couple of weeks off and did a really good job on the pressure to get the sack and so yeah, it's definitely good to have those two guys in there."
Wharton was extremely active in last week's win over the Packers. He had seven tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits in his most extensive action of the season.