Shaq Thompson

In his first pro season without Panthers legend Luke Kuechly next to him, Thompson rose to the occasion of his newfound leadership role. He played all 16 games for the first time in his six-year career, enabling him to post a new personal best of 114 tackles. With back-to-back seasons of 100-plus stops, the 27-year-old has developed into a consistent difference maker in the middle of Carolina's defense and will hope to maintain his performance in a similar situation in 2021

Thompson might not be better than average, but for this year at least he'll be busy piling up stops for a Carolina defense that figures to spend a lot of time on the field. He missed two games in 2019 - something he's somehow done in each of his five NFL seasons - yet still logged 984 snaps, a career high by 340. If he manages to play a full season, he'll be a candidate for 1,100 snaps, a workload too big to fail for IDP purposes. Although Thompson might play a little farther away from the action than the coverage-challenged Tahir Whitehead, Thompson should trend toward 120 tackles in his own right and offers superior blitzing ability otherwise (8.5 sacks on his last 2,225 snaps). Thompson's over/under for sacks is probably 3.5.

It seems absurd that the Panthers selected Thompson in the first round in 2015 just to be a part-time player, but that's exactly what they did, limiting the athletic linebacker to no more than 644 snaps in a year. With Thomas Davis finally gone, that will change in 2019. While Thompson isn't guaranteed to thrive after his promotion, he has shown intriguing blitzing ability, producing five sacks on his last 1,241 snaps. That would set his seasonal baseline to about four per season, presumably with upward spikes a possibility from year to year.

A first-round pick in 2015, Thompson has gradually improved his numbers each season. This year, he has a great chance to expedite his progress, as teammate Thomas Davis is suspended for the first four games. That should leave Thompson to start alongside Luke Kuechly, opening an opportunity for him to establish himself as Davis' heir in Carolina's dynamic linebacking duo.

A first-round pick in 2015, Thompson has totaled just 106 tackles, one sack and one interception since entering the league. While the three-down presence of Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, who comprise arguably the NFL's best linebacking duo, leaves relatively few opportunities for Thompson, he's still only 23 years old. There's thus room for optimism that Thompson will increase his productivity at some point, especially if Kuechly's concussion concerns arise again. However, Thompson's upside will remain somewhat capped as long as Kuechly and Davis are healthy.

The Panthers' 2015 first round pick, Thompson is a hybrid linebacker that was somewhat slowed by a knee injury to start last year, but finished with 50 tackles in 14 regular season appearances. As the campaign unfolded, the Panthers found more ways to use Thompson, particularly his coverage flexibility. Going into his second season, Thompson projects as Carolina's third starting linebacker, which bodes well for an increase in production, but Pro Bowlers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis should continue to thrive in three-down roles, capping Thompson's upside should they stay healthy.

The Panthers' first-round pick this year, Thompson is an ultra-athletic linebacker that should allow defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to get creative with his scheme work this season. Although somewhat undersized, Thompson's playmaking ability should gradually see him emerge as the Panthers' third starting linebacker besides Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis.