CHARLOTTE — Devin Lloyd was already a Top 100 player when he arrived in Charlotte. Even if it wasn't official yet, it was known. He was the highest-graded free agent on the Panthers board for a litany of reasons, the same reasons that earned him the respect as one of the best players in the league.

"First thing is intelligence," began linebackers coach Pete Hanson, ticking off as he goes. "Leadership, aggressiveness. He gets the ball for your team, very strong tackler and sees the entire game really well."

On Tuesday, that list coalesced into one overarching description: No. 27 overall on the NFL Top 100 list.

"It's very humbling," said Lloyd of his first entry on the Top 100. "Obviously everybody in the league knows ball because we all watch tape. We all watch each other, we all scout for whoever our opponent is, and so everybody kind of knows what's what.

"So yeah, you definitely take a lot of pride in it. It's very humbling."

The resume speaks for itself. An average of 109 tackles a season over his first four years, 3.5 total sacks during that time, five fumble recoveries, and nine interceptions, including five last year alone. One of those picks was against Patrick Mahomes and returned for a 99-yard touchdown.

"We knew what we were going to get in terms of the on-the-field player," shared defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero of his middle linebacker. "We do our research, and so we knew he was a quality guy, smart, all those things. We know he's going to be physical, he's going to get off blocks, he's going to tackle at a high level, he's going to be great getting the ball out, forcing fumbles and interceptions and things like that."

Those are all the things that show up on tape and lead a guy to being voted No. 27 overall in the Top 100 by his peers. And they are the things that have a positive effect on the rest of the defense, like a nucleus from which everyone else can grow, amplified by the fact Lloyd is wearing the green dot as the signal caller on the field, and can cover.

"He's been doing a phenomenal job," praised safety Nick Scott this week. "I mean, I just give a lot of praise to his leadership skills, his athleticism, and things like that. He's got great cover ability as a linebacker, so he's really been adding to just the efficiency of our pass game for sure, getting to his spot and making plays on the ball."

Lloyd wasn't the green dot in Jacksonville, given the older guys in front of him, but he's embraced the role in Carolina.

"The communication has been off the charts," noted Evero. "I feel like when I'm on the headset with him, I'm talking to another coach and I just know that the level of checks and audibles and things like that, that we're going to be able to use because of him is going to be, it's going to take us to a different level."

The biggest impact Devin Lloyd has had, though, is the parts that go beyond his status on the Top 100 and make him one of the top players in the Panthers' building: the parts of his game that never showed up on tape. For that matter, they're parts of his game that didn't even really exist when he was putting together a Top 100 season, last year in Jacksonville.

"We didn't know the leadership part from watching the film," admitted Hanson, then clarifying, "you hear a little bit, but I don't think Jacksonville knew the leadership part either because they had a different green dot that's a veteran leader, for a long time.

"So I think everybody's learning the leadership part and that's changed the room. He'll make coaching points that make sense to everybody, and they'll go apply it right away."

Added quarterback Bryce Young, "He's definitely been a huge leader for us. He's been huge as far as just setting the standard, holding everyone accountable, being vocal. He's the guy who's calling things out immediately when we break the huddle. He's the first person you hear making calls, giving tips, telling someone to slide over, telling someone to watch for this.

"We've had a lot of great football conversations on the side and just hearing how he processes, how he thinks about the game, me picking his brain about what he's looking for, little tells he gets from when I'm playing, stuff like that, it's been huge for all of us."

As for what Lloyd hopes this inspires: "Oh, the best is yet to come," he said with a smile. "I'll say that the best is yet to come."

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 thus far on the Top 100:

No. 98 — Quarterback Bryce Young

No. 90 — Defensive tackle Derrick Brown

No. 87 — Wide Receiver Tetairoa McMillan

No. 76 - Corner Jaycee Horn

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.