CHARLOTTE — As far as D.J. Wonnum is concerned, there are some new expectations for the Carolina Panthers defense. Forget the past, bury what happened last year, don't rely on legacies; instead, decide what is acceptable and surpass it.

"It's a new standard around here," Wonnum declared Friday following the latest training camp practice. "We've got to set that standard each and every day, even the young guys that came in, they've got to know that we're coming to work, we're coming to get to it because last year was not the standard."

Despite being 27 years old and playing in only eight games last season with the Panthers due to injury, Wonnum is considered an old head on this defense, particularly in the outside linebacker room. Departures, draftings, and new signings mean Wonnum has the most starts of anyone, overall and as a Panther, among the pass rushers. He has also spent the past year and change ensuring his leg and body are ready to take on a full season once again.

"Man, it's going to mean a lot to me," Wonnum said of playing all 17 games. "Obviously, I haven't done that in a minute, so just the little things are taking care of my body each and every day off the field, and doing little things, just rehab, doing stuff at home.

"All different types of things is going to help me do that, 100% staying healthy, being ready to go, just get my body acclimated to playing a football game, being able to actually tackle and go to the ground and I don't know, do whatever, whatever it takes to play live football pretty much."

And he's taking that job of being on the field and the leader of the unit seriously, setting goals for his room and the defense.

"We expect greatness, we expect excellence, we expect just guys wanting to come to work and be ready to go to work every day," Wonnum preached. "So it's just a new standard. We're not settling for nothing less, so we're just ready to work every day."

The group added rookies Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen in the draft this spring, about whom Wonnum says "the sky's the limit for those guys," as well as returning Derrick Brown to the defensive front. Since Wonnum's leg injury kept him sidelined for the first nine games of the 2024 season, and Brown was injured in Week 1, the two have never played a game together. But Wonnum is already anticipating the change.

"I didn't get to play with him, but I watched a lot of film on him before," he said. "He could set the edge from the 3, from wherever he's at for real. So just having him putting a dent in those runs, making the runs bounce to me, makes my job a lot easier."

One of the biggest differences, though, for Wonnum this year, something he believes will help set that new standard, is being reunited with Patrick Jones II. The duo was at the Minnesota Vikings together, playing opposite ends of the defensive line, sitting through hours of meetings together, and spending time off the field as well, typically fishing on the lakes (and getting stranded in one situation).

It's created an unspoken language between the two that cuts through the noise on the field.

"So, Minnesota, we hung out a lot on the field and off the field. We talk football literally all the time. Every time we're together, we talk football," Wonnum shared.

"So, just because he plays inside as well, just him telling me or kind of knowing hand gestures, different signals that he might give me like, oh yeah, I'm going high, I'm going to wrap under you or just, I don't know, just being around each other, we kind of know just off his body language and how he look, what he's going to do."

It's all part and parcel of a new standard, a constantly evolving set of goals that are pushed forward as the Carolina Panthers defense finds a new identity.

"Basically, it's just a winning mentality, a winning standard," promised Wonnum. "We're not setting low standards around here. Everything is championship level, from the physicality to the effort in practice to how you live off the field. It's just a different level."