{"id":63881,"date":"2025-03-27T12:18:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=63881"},"modified":"2025-03-27T12:18:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:18:03","slug":"panthers-struggle-in-2024-can-julian-blackmon-help-fix-their-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/panthers-struggle-in-2024-can-julian-blackmon-help-fix-their-defense\/63881\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers Struggle in 2024: Can Julian Blackmon help fix their defense?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Carolina Panthers had high hopes after drafting quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, but a year later, the team\u2019s struggles continued. They finished the 2024 season with a disappointing 5-12 record, barely avoiding last place in the NFC South thanks to a tiebreaker over the New Orleans Saints.<\/p>\n

While the offense was inconsistent, whether led by Young or veteran Andy Dalton, the real disaster was on defense. Under second-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Carolina\u2019s defense was one of the worst in the league, allowing an average of 404.5 yards<\/strong> and 31.4 points per game<\/strong>\u2014both the highest in the NFL.<\/p>\n

With the 2025 season on the horizon, the Panthers must make serious upgrades if they want to compete for a playoff spot. One area in desperate need of reinforcements is the secondary<\/strong>, and free-agent safety Julian Blackmon<\/strong> could be the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

Blackmon, 26, played college football at Utah<\/strong> and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts<\/strong> in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He quickly earned a starting role and has been a consistent presence in the league, missing significant time only in 2021 due to an Achilles injury. Over his five-year career, he has played in 66 games<\/strong>, tallying 300 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 21 passes defensed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Why Blackmon makes sense for Carolina<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last season, Blackmon proved he\u2019s still a valuable defender. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded him 69.3 overall<\/strong>, ranking 48th among 171 NFL safeties<\/strong>. He stood out in pass coverage (73.5 grade, 23rd best<\/strong>) and as a pass rusher (69.4 grade, 23rd best<\/strong>), though his run defense (55.1 grade<\/strong>) left room for improvement.<\/p>\n

With Carolina already investing in cornerback Jaycee Horn<\/strong> through a major contract extension, adding Blackmon would solidify the back end of their defense. According to Spotrac<\/strong>, he is projected to receive a three-year, $24 million<\/strong> contract\u2014an affordable price for a team desperate for defensive upgrades.<\/p>\n

If the Panthers want to break out of their slump and give Bryce Young a chance to succeed, fixing the defense should be a top priority. Blackmon could be a key piece in that transformation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers had high hopes after drafting quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, but\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":63882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[24903],"class_list":["post-63881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-julian-blackmon"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}