Carolina Panthers: Dontari Poe free agent signing grade

The Carolina Panthers lost Star Lotulelei in free agency, and have replaced him with Dontari Poe. We grade the move to get the former first rounder…

The Carolina Panthers lost defensive tackle Star Lotulelei right at the start of free agency, and they didn’t take long to replace him.

According to a report from Kimberly A. Smith, Lotulelei is being replaced on the Panthers’ defensive line by another former first round pick, Dontari Poe.

Here’s Smith’s report:

Source: Dontari Poe is going to the #Panthers ... #Redskins had interest
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) March 15, 2018

Poe will be 28 years old in August, and has played in all but two games in his NFL career up to this point. As an interior defensive lineman, Poe is known for his ability to push the pocket and for his massive size, and he’s notched 15.5 career sacks in addition to 241 total tackles in the past six seasons.

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Signing Grade: B+ (contract terms unknown)

Poe was the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Memphis by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played the first five seasons of his NFL career. He didn’t have a great market in free agency last offseason, so he signed a one-year contract with the reigning NFC Champion (at the time) Atlanta Falcons to prove himself.

He did that, and had a pretty nice season.

Starting all 16 games for the Falcons last year, Poe proved himself enough to get a new contract and likely a long-term deal from the Panthers. We don’t know the terms of the contract, but it’s unlikely he would have agreed to a short-term deal this early in the free agency process.

The idea of adding Poe to the middle of a Panthers defensive line that already includes the likes of Kawann Short and 2016 first rounder Vernon Butler is very appealing.

Where Star Lotulelei was a premiere run defender, Poe is known better for his ability to help get after the quarterback.

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