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Roster challenges await the Carolina Panthers in the offseason. And heavy pressure comes in the form of the 2025 NFL Draft if the team is going to have a chance to show signs of life this season. And here is one free agent who can help fill the Panthers’ biggest offseason need.
For a team that finished 5-12, the Panthers of course have holes to fill. And the most important need comes from the center point of the defensive attack, according to pantherswire.com.
“I think you go interior d-line, you go outside linebacker, you go safety,” said Dan Morgan, the general manager of the Panthers. “And then, obviously, we need another corner. So there's a lot of holes to fill. It's not gonna happen overnight. But I think as we move through free agency and we move through the draft, I think things will start to kinda come together.”
Therefore, Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams should be the target.
Panthers need to sign Eagles DT Milton Williams
This is not necessarily a home-run pick. But that’s only because one player won’t make that big of a difference. However, Williams is a beast when it comes to rushing the quarterback. His drawback in run defense.
Williams graded out with a 90.4 in the pass rush. That made him No. 2 among 219 interior defensive players. However, he had a 43.1 run grade, ranking him at No. 167.
But it’s hard to pass up a guy who disrupts a passing offense as good as any interior defensive lineman in the game.
Williams helped his payday with a tremendous performance in the Super Bowl. He became the first interior lineman with two sacks and a forced fumble in the Super Bowl. On the NFL’s biggest stage, Williams showed out and then some, according to nbcsportsphiladelphia.com.
“It was fun to be a part of, for sure,” Williams said. “I ain't never been a part of a performance that dominant. I feel like I'm still dreaming a little bit. That was the biggest stage you can get on. I told my mom, ‘You dream of winning the Super Bowl, but winning it like that is like not real.'”
A third-round pick in 2021, Williams has 14/5 career sacks along with 29 tackles for loss and 34 quarterback hits.
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“The real football knowers, the football watchers, film watchers, they know what I've been doing since I got here,” Williams said. “Constantly getting better and better every year. Get on the biggest stage I want to perform and most importantly win. I didn't really care how many sacks or whatever, but you want to make your impact known in the game.
“My pops always says make them call your name, make them say your name, get some conversation going about it. Yeah, man, it was fun. It was fun to be out there.”
The Panthers would have to shell out to get Williams. He will command a three-year deal worth $21 million per year, according to Pro Football Focus.
“A rotational interior defender with serious pass-rush juice is often the profile of a player who does very well in free agency,” PFF wrote. “And Williams has limited tread on his tires, given he's never eclipsed 50% of defensive snaps played in a season despite playing at least 36% in every year since his debut. Leave it to the Eagles to get a new deal done, but if not, don't be surprised when Williams makes a major splash in March.”
Would Milton Williams fit with organization?
That’s a surprisingly important question to answer. Panthers head coach Dave Canales seems set on getting guys who fit the team’s scheme, according to Sports Illustrated.
“We have a vision for what a high-level nose tackle looks like in our defensive scheme,” Canales said. “We have a vision for what we're going to ask this tight end to do. Because of the vision, the clearer we can see this person making that transition, then the more confidence we have.”
The Panthers posted a terrible defensive season in 2024. They surrendered an NFL-record 534 points. Granted, the extra game played into the new record. But still the Panthers couldn’t stop a rolling tomato on a plate of molasses last season.
