Published: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 12:52 AM

Acquistion of Tyler gives Panthers options at DT

CHARLOTTE -- Make no mistake, when the Carolina Panthers traded for defensive tackle Tank Tyler earlier this week, the goal was to add experienced depth to a still-thin position.

But for the first time in a long time, it also makes the Panthers something they haven't been — young and deep into the future.

The 24-year-old Tyler, acquired from Kansas City for next year's fifth-round pick, gives the Panthers something they have lacked for a few years — a dependable backup defensive tackle who has actually played in the league.

“We've got a good group of young and veteran guys in there; it should give us an opportunity to move forward, have some positive things,” defensive coordinator Ron Meeks said. “We didn't know who was going to be in the lineup from one day to the next there for a while. But it's good, Marty (Hurney)'s done a good job of getting help for the positions we needed help at.”

Hurney has been scrambling for months trying to find bodies for the hard-to-fill spot.

The Panthers felt cautiously optimistic going into training camp with starters Damione Lewis and Maake Kemoeatu, particularly after adding third-round pick Corvey Irvin. But they were still green, as Nick Hayden (two games played in 2008) was the most experienced backup.

Then Kemoeatu went down on the first day of camp, Irvin landed on IR with a knee injury, leaving Lewis next to an out-of-place Hayden at nose tackle. The trade for 25-year-old Louis Leonard was only beginning to pay dividends when he was lost for the year with a broken ankle in Atlanta, leading to the fortuitous pickup of 35-year-old Hollis Thomas, who walked right into the starting lineup.

After trading for Tyler, Hurney said the move underscored the reality that qualified big men are hard to find, especially in midseason. They were fortunate that St. Louis jettisoned Thomas as part of a youth movement, while Tyler no longer fit the scheme when Kansas City changed from a 4-3 from to a 3-4.

Now, the Panthers don't have to play Hayden out of position, or really at all, since they usually keep just three defensive tackles active on game day. The 6-foot-2, 306-pound Tyler is stout enough to play the nose, but has enough quickness to play behind Lewis as the “three-technique” or penetrating tackle as well.

Lewis said he first noticed Tyler last year, when they were watching a lot of Kansas City film as they played the AFC West.

“He did a great job, he's real active, he gets around and stays around the ball and makes plays,” Lewis said. “That's a hand up for us, because when he gets in there's not a falloff. He's going to be out there running around with the ability to make some plays.

“And Hollis has done a great job in the middle, plugging up those gaps. It's hard to move a guy who's 5-9, 340. Don't tell him I said he was 5-9, but he's plugging it up pretty good. I think that's been a good deal for us, because we've had so much movement in the middle, and he makes guys bounce the ball instead of being able to hit some of those runs downhill, which allows our speed to kick in and be able to close in on the ball.”

That's helping in the meantime, fixing a defense which was porous up front. But next year, things could get even better.

Lewis, Kemoeatu and Irvin are already under contract next year, Leonard and Tyler will be restricted free agents who will be retained, and Hayden is an exclusive-rights free agent who is cheap enough to keep. Thomas is an unrestricted free agent after the season, and at his age you can't build too much of the plan with him in mind. Likewise, Kemoeatu, at 30 years old and somewhere north of 360 pounds coming off a torn Achilles tendon might not be well enough to continue.

Either way, a possible rotation that only included Lewis, Leonard, Tyler and Irvin would be better than anything the Panthers have walked into a season with since 2006. That's the year a somewhat-engaged Kris Jenkins started next to Kemoeatu, backed up by Lewis, Jordan Carstens, Kindal Moorehead and Tony Brown.

Depending on what they do with defensive end Julius Peppers (they could still franchise him again), they would still have Everette Brown, Charles Johnson and Hilee Taylor under contract next year for outside pass-rush.

“We're going to have a good, stacked D-line,” Lewis said when asked about 2010. “Hopefully we can keep a lot of guys around here. It's always great, you want guys on the D-line that can go out and make plays. With this group that we have now, and coming into training camp next year, we're going to have a very active defensive line.

“That's a very vital part of your defense. You want your line to be up and active and able to make plays. You know, the best pass defense is a pass rush.”

They Panthers have been showing more of that lately, with nine sacks the last two games. But there's more improvement to be made, and that's why Tyler was acquired this week.

“I think the biggest thing is, the future is now, you've got to get it done now,” Meeks said. “We realize we kind of put ourselves behind, so now every game is important and you want to build on that.

“We've got some young guys and new guys; you try to catch them up to speed as much as possible. But it feels good to have those guys, gives us a little more flexibility.”