The Carolina Panthers will have not one, but two decisions to make on fifth-year options this offseason—and neither should be particularly difficult.
Pro Football Focus salary cap analyst Brad Spielberger recently predicted each impending yay or nay for the 2020 draft class. So, where does he see the Panthers going with theirs?
Well, he gives a yay to defensive tackle Derrick Brown—the seventh overall selection from that spring.
Spielberger writes:
Brown took a major step forward in 2022, finishing the season as one of just six interior defenders with 75.0-plus grades as a run defender and pass rusher, and joining elite company in that club: Dexter Lawrence, Chris Jones, Aaron Donald, Quinnen Williams and Cameron Heyward.
Brown’s 31 defensive stops and 10 tackles for loss or no gain were both top-15 marks at the position in 2022. This will be an easy decision for Carolina, much like it was last offseason with edge defender Brian Burns.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder had a career campaign—posting highs in combined tackles (67), quarterback hits (12) and passes defensed (seven). Those 67 tackles, in fact, now stand as a single-season franchise record for a defensive tackle.
Carolina will also have to address the option for cornerback CJ Henderson, who likely won’t meet the same fate as Brown.
The Jacksonville Jaguars traded Henderson just a year after using a top-10 pick to draft him, and it’s not hard to see why. Henderson logged a career-high 765 snaps in 2022 but earned a second consecutive sub-50.0 coverage grade.
With Donte Jackson extended last offseason and 2021 No. 8 overall pick Jaycee Horn starting to look like a potential star, it’s hard to envision the team exercising Henderson’s option.
Henderson, who was drafted ninth overall by Jacksonville, has played in 27 games for the Panthers between 2021 and 2022. He, however, has yet to live up to that billing—even with the opportunity he got after Jackson was lost for the season.
Decisions on the group’s fifth-year options must be made on May 1, the Monday right after the 2023 draft.