CHARLOTTE — The Panthers have come to expect getting big production out of Derrick Brown.

But in recent weeks, they're getting more and more out of a guy who isn't nearly Brown's size, but stacks up comparably in a lot of other ways.

Getting Tershawn Wharton back on the field and back next to Brown has helped the defense as a whole and opened up a lot of things for each of them as they build together. Wharton imagined that when he signed here, but now that he's gotten to know Brown, he's beginning to see the possibilities.

"Just knowing that he's a dominant guy, there's an understanding that we could do dynamic things on the field with each other," Wharton said. "And you've got to pick and choose who you're going to go to, and knowing that if it's run to me, I want to bounce it back to him, and I know he's going to do the same thing for me."

Of course, if you look at the two of them, you might not realize they have the same job titles, because they're pretty different-looking athletes.

Brown's listed at 6-5, 320, but defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero always refers to him as a 330-pounder. Wharton's listed at 6-1, 280, which may not be quite right either.

So Brown recoiled a bit when asked about a perceived 50-pound, four-inch difference between them.

"That's crazy now, 50? That's strong," Brown said with a laugh. "He looks like a muscle head, man. Look at him. Damn, if he flex too hard, he cramps."

Defensive tackle Bobby Brown III seconded that, saying that 280 might be off by a little. "He's three bills, easy," Bobby said. "Look at those legs, this man's built like a tree trunk."

And there's the difference between Brown and Wharton. While Brown can simply overwhelm people with his size and strength, Wharton's a creature of leverage.

"I mean, that's the NFL; you're going to find genetically gifted humans and they're not all going to look the same by any means, that's the nature of this beast we're in," said offensive lineman Austin Corbett, who played in Los Angeles with 280-pound All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. "Turk has that natural leverage — which means you're short — and then you add on top of his strength and explosiveness on top of it, that's a challenge. It was the same thing with Aaron, so he's not tall, he's not necessarily the biggest, but when you have that leverage, that strength, that explosiveness, you're able to move guys that way.

"And then you have Derrick, it's just, I am physically a bigger human than you, and I'm going to move you however I want to. That works too."

Brown has become one of the top defensive tackles in the game by virtue of his size and power, and has become a cottage industry in corners of the internet with videos of him throwing people around.

But Wharton's capable of that too, and has begun making his presence felt more and more in recent weeks. After recovering from a toe injury that kept him out of a couple of games, Wharton finally has his legs underneath him. The last two weeks, he's played 59 and 56 snaps (91 and 82 percent, respectively), and has made them count. He has 14 tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits in the last two games, as he and Brown take turns making plays.

"I think we take turns throwing everybody around," Wharton said with a laugh, admiring his teammates' ability to fling people. "I think there's a damn moment every time we play. They just got to cut the film on, and they see it.

"I think we've just got two different ways of approaching it. Derrick, he's stronger, bigger, bigger up top, and I do everything with my legs down low. So yeah, two totally different guys and both getting the job done."

He's asked if people underestimate him because of the size difference and the attention Brown gets, and Wharton just laughed: "I think once they cut the film on they know not to."

Brown clearly appreciates having Wharton alongside. He was a priority free agent in March, after getting 8.5 sacks (including the playoffs), but some early injuries kept him from being as much of a factor. But now he's beginning to show what he's capable of, up front alongside Brown and A'Shawn Robinson.

"Adding somebody that plays on the opposite side and you know, having AR in the middle, you know, just having guys across the front you can count on," Brown said. He's a big, strong, powerful man. Knowing that he's on that side, knowing the ball cuts back, obviously allows me to play my side true."

Brown has studied Chiefs Pro Bowler Chris Jones for years, and seeing Wharton pop on tape with Kansas City was his first introduction to his now-teammate. And when Wharton arrived and started lifting with Brown, they realized they had two uniquely strong individuals.

"He's strong as ---," Brown said, unequivocally. "He's strong and got enough leverage, I mean, this is impressive. I've played with shorter guys, but they're not that strong like he is.

"We lift together, so I know. I mean squats, bench, power clean, you name it. All of it, he's just strong."

"Crazy strong," agreed Bobby Brown. "That, and just his tenacity and aggressiveness and like just the heart and the effort he comes with, and his mind. He's a very smart football player, too."

And for the Browns to hail his strength is a recognition from his peers.

Their coaches also know that having two such specimens unlocks a lot of boxes.

"One guy that's twitchy and a penetrator, Derrick's very twitchy as well, but he's got that size and mass to really absorb blocks and play physical and downhill, and so they're a really good complement," Evero said after the Packers game. "I think where it really stands out is affecting the pass rush as well, where you have the ability to have Derrick power rush and have a Turk really get on the edge and penetrate and so it was good to see him play well the other day, starting to come back to life after those couple of weeks off and did a really good job on the pressure to get the sack and so yeah, it's definitely good to have those two guys in there."

And for Wharton, simply being able to be back in that mix is a relief. He admitted the hamstring injury early, which cost him two games, followed by the toe costing him two more, created a much slower ramp-up than he wanted.

"I think any time you have injuries, it's all about knowing it's a long season," Wharton said. "So just taking care of yourself to come back, so yeah, it took a long time to get up there.

"Now, I think every week we just build, of course, there's a relationship as well, so I think we're building that brotherhood amongst us and just understanding how to be able to communicate on the field and understanding when we could take our chances to put the defense in the best situation with us being disruptive."

And as the weeks go by, that's becoming easy to see. No matter how different they look doing it.