The Carolina Panthers broke a near decade long playoff drought last season and seem poised to enter the 2026 season with both momentum and an improved roster. One of the biggest aspects of that roster improvement was the development of now second-year players Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen and the marquee free agency signing of Jaelan Phillips. Together they were going to form the core of the best pass rushing group this team has seen in years. No wonder, then, that fans were devastated when
Scourton tore his ACL in training camp. Scourton was a breakout player as a rookie and was set to start this season. All of those hopes now rest on Umanmielen, who most had pegged as a rotational player with some promise.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and that promise has been flashing as realized talent on the field. Through two preseason games, Umanmielen has constantly stood out as one of the better players on the Panthers defense. Panthers fans even voted him as the most impressive player they watched in the otherwise disappointing loss to the Buffalo Bills in the first week of the preseason.
While he may not be putting together eye-popping stats, he has been frequently in position to or inches away from making big plays in the backfield. He isn’t Julius Peppers in year six in the NFL, he is a second year player who saw limited playing time as a rookie. Nearly there is a sign a of progress at this point in his career.
If you don’t trust your own eyes then consider trusting Pro Football Focus and his own teammates. Umanmielen was the second highest graded Panthers defensive player last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars and has been described by Phillips as “the best pass rusher on [the] team.”
Carolina would obviously be better off if Scourton were still on the field, but they may be in better shape than we all thought with Umanmielen stepping up for his own potential breakout year.
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