CHARLOTTE —For those who have to face Derrick Brown, whether in games on Sundays or in practice Wednesday through Friday, like Robert Hunt, the Carolina Panthers defensive lineman's addition to the NFL top 100 list at 90th overall is wholly unsurprising. And the reason why is simple.

"Oh, because he's just a bad mother," stated Hunt, as if that was all the explanation needed.

And maybe it is, but seven words do not a campaign make, so let's have Hunt offer a little more.

"He's just big, strong, physical, plays the game the right way, man," Hunt continued. "He loves it, you know what I mean? He loves the game.

"He eats up doubles. He's hard to block one-on-one. He's just a hell of a player."

That player also transformed the Panthers' defense last season. And while he likely earned his spot on the top 100 list, a ranking system determined by votes from players in the league in 2025, thanks to a career best 5.0 sacks, seven passes defensed, and one game-winning forced fumble against the Los Angeles Rams (with 73 total tackles), it was his impact on the defense as a whole that led his teammates to praise him as the linchpin in their entire system.

"You just look at our defense last year, being one of the worst in the league, and him coming back, now it's changed," cornerback Jaycee Horn said during the season.

"We're playing so much better," continued Horn. "It's not a coincidence; he's back, and he's helping, and I think this might be the most sacks he's had in his career. He's been balling."

Carolina went from 32nd (404.5 yards per game in 2024) to 16th (372.2 ypg) in total defense in 2025, 32nd in run defense (179.8 ypg in '24) to 20th (123.3 ypg in '25), and 32nd in scoring defense (31.44 points per game allowed) to 15th (22.4 ppg allowed) in 2025.

The Pro Bowler Brown also served as a team captain last season, and never shied from being the voice of tough love, motivation, and accountability in the locker room. It's the kind of presence that transforms a team, something Carolina has been the beneficiary of with Brown at the helm of the defense.

"It's someone we can all lean on as a team," shared quarterback Bryce Young in December. "He's made a lot of really big plays and big moments, and even on the first down, the mundane stuff, he does so much that doesn't even show up on the stat sheet, and so much that does.

"So I think just the presence he brings, his leadership. We all rely on him, so he's a huge part for us."

For Brown himself, his first entry on the top 100 comes with little fanfare. He's been in the league long enough now (this fall will be his seventh season) to have shifted his priorities.

"That's cool, but I mean, I'll chase a little more than that these days," Brown responded. Still, he admitted, there is something to be said for having one's name on a list voted on by peers that only 6 percent of the league will make.

"It's not to throw shade on that," he said. "I mean to be within the top 100 guys in the best football league in the world, you can't hate something like that. But you know, now I just feel so many more team aspirations and so many more personal aspirations like, I'm glad to be a part of it, but," ... he shrugged, the message on his face making it clear he'd move on quickly.

For those in the Panthers' building, though, it doesn't matter where Brown ranked on the list or how many other defensive tackles finish within the top 100. There is really only one option.

"He's one of the best at his position in the league," stated Horn, "if not the best."

The NFL Top 100 series is debuting on X each weekday. Each episode will feature two new player reveals (one at 10 a.m. ET and one at 11 a.m. ET) through Friday, Aug. 21. The top 10 will be announced over the course of two weeks, with a player revealed each day at 10 a.m. ET from Aug. 24 through Sept. 4.

Panthers players already in the Top 100:

No. 98 — Quarterback Bryce Young

Episodes will air later on NFL+, as well as other NFL-owned-and-operated social media, and we'll have all the latest for you here at Panthers.com.