Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
The Panthers wished upon a falling Star in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Star Lotulelei, considered by most pundits to be one of the best defensive prospects in the draft that year, played his college ball at Utah. He filled a major hole in the Panthers defense at that time, but most people thought he would be long gone before the Panthers picked at 14th overall, especially since that draft was notoriously thin for top tier quarterback prospects. A concerning heart condition made some teams at the top of the draft skittish, passing on Lotulelei in favor of “safer” picks. The Panthers pounced, taking Lotulelei and not looking back. In the end, his heart was never an issue.
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Star would go on to play the entirety of his rookie contract with the Panthers, coming in and starting immediately in the middle of the Panthers defensive line. His 42 tackles and three sacks his rookie year earned him enough votes to finish fourth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The following four years as a consistent presence up front for the Panthers defense. While defensive tackles not named Aaron Donald rarely get the flashy stats, Lotulelei was a coaching staff favorite who sacrificed his own box score to eat double teams and let other players make plays. Near the end of the 2014 season, Lotulelei suffered a broken foot, requiring surgery. He reaggravated the injury in training camp of 2015 and was never quite the same player afterwards. After his five years in Carolina, he signed with the Buffalo Bills (Panthers North) and played there for three seasons before retiring.
Nose tackles rarely get the credit they deserve from fans and the media, and Star was no exception. His presence in the middle of the defensive line, especially during the Super Bowl run of 2015, allowed other players to make names (and tons of money) for themselves. Those players, like Luke Kuechly, Kawann Short, etc., would undoubtedly agree that while he wasn’t a star, Star definitely earned this spot in our countdown.
