With their season over, the offseason is officially underway for the Carolina Panthers front office. Soon, behind closed doors in Bank of America Stadium, they will break out microscope to analyze every single detail of the roster before building a plan for the offseason before the quickly approaching Free Agency period arrives.
In a new series that’s going to continue over the next few weeks, we’ll take a similar approach to roster evaluation to identify the rising stars on the roster who look to factor
heavily into the Panthers plans in 2026 and beyond. With that in mind, there’s no better place to start than with the youngest player on the Panthers roster: outside linebacker Nic Scourton.
Selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Scourton was set to be a key rotational player behind free agent acquisition Pat Jones II. After an unfortunate season-ending injury to Jones, Scourton found himself thrust into a starting role.
Scourton did not take the role lightly, maintaining a workman-like mindset that stood out on the field and in press conferences. When he believed some of his teammates weren’t taking the work seriously, he had no fear in calling it out.
When prompted in November, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero compared the young defender to Kansas City Chiefs linebacker George Karlaftis while trying to describe the rookie’s play style. While Evero wasn’t speaking in terms of statistics, two months later that comparison seems to have been prophetic as their production profiles were eerily similar:
Karlaftis’ 2022 season: 730 snaps in 17 games, 33 combined tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 11 qb hits, 0 forced fumbles, 7 passes defended
Scourton’s 2025 season: 717 snaps in 17 games, 47 combined tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 9 qb hits, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defended
A welcome comparison to a the former first pick who has made a solid career for himself so far by putting pressure on quarterbacks and stopping the run for multiple Super Bowl teams. The hope for Scourton, though, is that he’ll be able to surpass this comparison as a pass rusher while maintaining the production against the run. Scourton may not threaten to lead the league in sacks year over year, there’s nothing in his profile that would suggest he couldn’t flirt with double digit sacks..
Scourton has had several flashes as a rusher that, with further development and/or refinement, could become devastating for an offense. Namely, Scourton’s inside spin has given trouble to even some of the best offensive tackles in the league.
Don’t take it from me, take it from his competition.
While it’s a shame that no – or very few – of the major outlets are going to feature Scourton on the 2025 All-Rookie teams, his production in his rookie year deserves plenty of recognition. Scourton’s future is bright and the Panthers front office is likely thrilled to see how their investment in the rising star pays off in 2026 and beyond.
