Thomas Davis was drafted as a Safety in 2005, but the former First Rounder was also learning the role of Linebacker, which would be the position that he would stick within the NFL.  Davis would become a good Linebacker but missed the entire 2010 season due to injury and saw limited action in 2011. The Panthers never game upon him, and in his early 30s, Davis would put together three straight Pro Bowl seasons (2015-17) the first of which where he was named a First Team All-Pro.  Davis remained with the team until he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as a Free Agent after the 2018 campaign but not before he racked up 1,111 Combined Tackles and 28.0 Quarterback Sacks.

Ryan Kalil would play the first twelve of his thirteen-year career with the Carolina Panthers where he started 145 of 148 Games.  Kalil played almost entirely at Center, and the five-time Pro Bowl Selection was a significant reason for the Panthers' rushing successful rushing attack.  Kalil was also a First Team All-Pro in both 2013 and 2015.

Julius Peppers was meant to be in a Carolina Panthers uniform.  Born in North Carolina and playing for UNC it was fitting that the 2001 Chuck Bednarik and Lombardi Award winner would be drafted by Carolina, which they did with the 2^nd overall pick.  The Defensive End would be named the Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he would build on that with five Pro Bowl selections as a Panther (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 & 2009) and a pair of First Team All-Pro Selections (2004 & 2006).  Peppers would become the Defensive Captain in 2007, which he would follow up with a career-high 14.5 Quarterback Sacks in 2008.  He would have seven double-digit seasons in Sacks, and in 2004 he would lead the NFL in Tackles for Loss.  He would sign with the Chicago Bears and played there for four years and then another three with the Green Bay Packers.

Luke Kuechly was the team's starting Middle Linebacker since he was drafted ninth overall from Boston College and he would be named the Defensive Rookie of the Year. 

Kuechly immediately was the leader of the Panthers' defense, and in 2013 (his second year in the NFL) he was a First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler for the first time, and he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.  Kuechly remained a dominant star for Carolina, and he has been a First Team All-Pro five of his last seven seasons.  Over the 2010s, Kuechly staked a claim as the game's top interior Linebacker, driving Offensive Coordinators crazy as Kurchly gobbled up attackers at will.  A two-time leader in Tackles, Kuchley never had a year where he had less than 100 Tackles per Season, and he sucked up 18 Interceptions over his career.

Kuechly retired after the 2019 Season, and it was arguably early, as he was still under 30, a Pro Bowl Selection and the seventh in a row.  It will be a long time before Kuechly is supplanted as the best defensive player in Panthers history, and it is even more impressive considering the relative brevity of his career.