Tershawn Wharton
Carolina PanthersModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 9 games
Draft & College
Comps
STM Take
Tier 1 (#8) 2024 Chiefs peak plus two Super Bowl rings (LVII, LVIII) plus the Missouri S&T Division II UDFA origin makes Wharton one of the most outlier-positive career arcs at the position. The 2025 tier 7 (#50) Panthers debut is a 42-spot regression that flags the change-of-scenery as a major structural issue. The 2026 question is whether Wharton returns to tier 4-5 territory with Carolina or whether the 2024 finish was Chiefs-dynasty-context-driven.
Wharton came out of Missouri S&T (Division II) as a 2020 undrafted free agent signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. He won two Super Bowls (LVII, LVIII) and delivered a tier 1 (#8) breakout in 2024 before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2025 free agency. His STTM career runs tier 8 (#60) in 2023, tier 1 (#8) peak in 2024, and tier 7 (#50) collapse in 2025.
Strengths
- Two Super Bowl rings (LVII, LVIII) plus the 2024 tier 1 (#8) STTM peak as a Missouri S&T Division II UDFA puts him in the rarest outlier-positive class at the position.
- Six years of NFL survival plus the Chiefs dynasty experience gives him real championship-pedigree veteran value.
Concerns
- 42-spot regression from tier 1 (#8) in 2024 to tier 7 (#50) in 2025 confirms the structural ceiling was Chiefs-dynasty-context-driven.
- Carolina's broader defensive identity instability plus the multi-year rebuild compresses the structural support around Wharton.
What to watch: Whether Wharton returns to tier 5 or better in 2026 with Carolina, the threshold for confirming the 2024 ceiling was structural rather than dynasty-context-driven.