Former Panthers Frankie Luvu, Jeremy Chinn are thriving in Washington ahead of week 7 matchup against former team

Matt Alquiza | 7 Hours Ago

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

The talent drain that the Carolina Panthers defense suffered in the offseason was vastly understated. Sure, everyone knew that trading Brian Burns would leave a gaping hole at outside linebacker in Ejiro Evero's 3-4 scheme, but the departures of other talented pieces have turned the Carolina defense from a top ten unit in 2023 to one performing as the worst in league history through six weeks of 2024. The worst part is that the departures from last year's Panthers defense are thriving in their new situations.

Brian Burns just eviscerated the Cincinnati Bengals on a national stage. The former first-round pick had Joe Burrow and company in a blender as he put up eight tackles (two for loss), two quarterback hits, and a sack.

Donte Jackson, the much maligned boundary corner who struggled with inconsistencies and injuries as a Panther has turned into a shut down defender as a Steeler. Mike Tomlin has him playing the best ball of his career. Jackson has racked up six pass deflections and three interceptions through one third of the NFL season, finally capitalizing on the ball hawk potential he flashed as a draft prospect.

Carolina will have the chance to face two of their other departed stars this Sunday when they make the trip north to Washington D.C.

Facing Panthers turned Commanders

Frankie Luvu and Jerermy Chinn are playing massive roles in the mind-boggling improvement of the Washington Commanders. Rookie signal-caller Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury are the marquee names in Washington's leap, but head coach Dan Quinn has the Commanders' defense starting to hold their own. The play of Luvu and Chinn is a big reason why.

Both former Panthers are playing greater than 90% of snaps on the Commanders defense. PFF has grades in the mid-60s for both Luvu and Chinn, further signifying the solid performances that both have provided through six weeks of action. Panthers fans became intimately familiar with Frankie Luvu's Tasmanian Devil-like play around the line of scrimmage, and he's taken that to Washington.

Frankie Luvu (4) is playing with his hair on fire for Washington.

A couple plays that stood out against Arizona. 🗣️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/QpV9FW6TFE
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) October 1, 2024

Chinn on the other hand was never comfortable in Charlotte. The hybrid linebacker/safety's role was re-defined on an annual basis, causing him to fail to live up to the billing that came with his second round draft selection in 2020. The potential was always evident, but Chinn never found consistency. How could he? The Panthers changed defensive schemes like you and I change socks, and no coordinator was able to find Chinn's sweet spot. Dan Quinn has.

When in primary coverage, how well Safeties have prevented separation and their grade at the catchpoint pic.twitter.com/mEkmGcIxGu
— Jrfortgang (@throwthedamball) October 10, 2024

It turns out that if you let talented players play ball and give them a simple, consistent role, they'll thrive. Who knew?

Carolina let these players (and others) walk this offseason to invest in their offensive line which has paid dividends thus far. However, those moves have turned the defense into a paper-thin unit that can't stop a runny nose, and by 6 P.M. EST on Sunday afternoon, Luvu and Chinn may have Carolina questioning their offseason devisions even further.