Panthers’ Derrick Brown looks to return to his Auburn form — now married, a little lighter

Derrick Brown’s decision to lose some weight over this winter was twofold: So he’d look better in his wedding photos … and on game tapes this fall.

The Panthers’ third-year defensive tackle dropped about five to 10 pounds before his March wedding to longtime girlfriend Tayla Main. The couple, who met in high school and have two young children, were married at Chateau Elan, a winery and resort in north Georgia. The celebration didn’t last long.

“I didn’t want to be too thick in the suit. It’s one of those things where I lost weight for that,” Brown said Wednesday. “But the whole goal – my wife, we didn’t even take a honeymoon. I told her I wanted to focus on training. And she’s right there in my corner. So that’s what we (did). She’s gonna want one next year.”

The 6-foot-5 Brown played at 325 pounds his rookie year after the Panthers drafted him No. 7 overall out of Auburn in 2020. He got up to 330 last season, but plans to play at 320 this year.

Brown’s face looked thinner Wednesday when he met with Charlotte media members, and teammates and coaches have taken note, as well.

“I can really tell because he’s moving faster,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “He was always pretty fast for a big guy, but he’s moving faster. He looks a little more nimble, and that’s kind of weird for a guy that’s 6-5, 320 or three-whatever-he-is.”

Brown was a consensus All-American (as a senior) and destroyer of backfields at Auburn, where — with his strength and quick first step — he was unblockable at times. Brown collected 170 tackles, 13 sacks and 33 1/2 tackles for loss in four seasons with the Tigers, and most observers expected him to continue to be productive in the NFL.

Derrick Brown says he’s lost about 5-10 lbs for football … and his March wedding. “I didn’t want to be too thick in the suit.”
— Joe Person (@josephperson) June 1, 2022

But Brown had only two sacks as a rookie, with both coming against Aaron Rodgers in a December game at Green Bay. Brown increased his sack total to three in 2021, but had fewer quarterback hits than the previous season. The Atlanta-area native was benched for the start of the Miami game in November following a lackluster performance against Washington in Week 11.

Brown has had his moments — like his Week 1 sack of Zach Wilson last year, which the Jets rookie compared to being hit by a truck. He hopes to have more of them going forward, now that there’s less of him.

“It’s a lot harder to get it off than put it on, I’ll tell you that much,” Brown said.

Brown maintains a strict diet during the week, but lives a little on the weekend, beginning Friday mornings when he and his 3 1/2-year-old son hit Chick-fil-A on the way to pre-school.

“I try to eat clean five days out of the week. But my weekends, that’s my weekends,” Brown said, smiling. “I refuse to go cold turkey, and I told my wife that, too. I might gain a little weight between Friday and Sunday, but on Monday I’ll be all right.”

You typically won’t find Brown and his wife at any trendy, new restaurants in Charlotte, not as long as the weather’s nice and there’s charcoal for his smoker. “I’m a barbecue guy,” he said. “I love to throw a rack on the grill and sit around all day and watch it cook.”

But limiting his cheat days to the weekend seemed to have the desired effect.

“He came to OTAs in shape,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “He worked out here for a long time, made a lot of great changes to his diet. I can’t tell you what they are, he just looks good. He’s leaned out and he’s moving really well right now and playing really well. So I’m excited about his progress.”

As much as the weight loss, Brown says he wants to change his mindset to take “the next step” in his career, which in some ways, he envisions as a step back in time.

“Just kind of getting back to some of the things I did in college,” he said. “Just never being tired and hustling everywhere, get to where I can be to make an impact and just keep doing those things.”

Paul Pasqualoni, Carolina’s new defensive line coach, has been impressed with how Brown has attacked OTAs. “Derrick has just been awesome, has just been like a sponge,” said the 72-year-old Pasqualoni, the former Syracuse coach. “Listens to every little thing you say. Goes out and tries to do just what you’re asking him to do.”

A hustling, big-hitting Brown would be big for a defensive line that lost edge rusher Haason Reddick and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones in free agency. The Panthers did sign former Washington defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, who had 16 sacks over the 2018-19 seasons before he was injured in 2020.

That’s the type of productivity that many expected from Brown when he was leaving Auburn. Burns believes Brown’s best seasons are still ahead of him.

“He has a lot he can do. He can be a serious force in the league for real, especially for us,” Burns said. “I just feel with a guy with that size and that strength — y’all don’t even know how strong Derrick is.”

Burns was asked for an example of Brown’s strength. He directed those inquiries to the Jets’ offices in New Jersey.

“Ask Zach Wilson. I can’t tell you nothing. (Wilson) said he got hit by a truck. I mean, shoot,” Burns said, laughing. “But he has a lot of untapped potential he can get into.”

Burns’ first Pro Bowl appearance was productive

While Brown lost weight over the winter, Burns added some. Burns, who has a rangy 6-5 frame, is up to around 255 pounds after being listed at 250 last season.

“The main thing is to be stronger. I don’t want to walk in here 270, not strong. I don’t want to do that,” he said. “But I’ll come in at like 255, but solid and I’m strong with it. I’d rather do that than come in hella heavy and weak.”

Rhule believes Burns can maintain that weight in his third season, during which the 2019 first-round pick hopes to finally break into double digits in the sack column. “Very big deal to me,” he said. “And it’s been pissing me off that I’ve been (at) nine these past two years.”

Burns went to his first Pro Bowl after last season and used the week in Las Vegas to pick the brain of veteran edge rusher Chandler Jones, who has 107 1/2 sacks in his first 10 seasons. Jones gave Burns his number and told him to call any time with questions.

“We just talked about pass rush and what he sees and things he’s working on,” Burns said. “Pretty much just how to last as long as he did and have the success he had.”

Extra points

• Rookie quarterback Matt Corral was excused from Wednesday’s practice after calling Rhule at 5:30 a.m. and letting him know there had been a “tragedy in the family.” Rhule said he’s not sure how long Corral will be gone. “We told him to take some time and worry about him and his family right now.”

• Safeties Jeremy Chinn and Xavier Woods also did not attend Wednesday’s OTA session. Woods was out last week following the birth of his child. Offensive lineman Cam Erving was back at practice after — like Woods — he was excused last week after his child was born.

(Photo of Derrick Brown: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)