PALM BEACH, Fla. — There are times Panthers coach Dave Canales can go on and on. Get him talking about offensive concepts, or development, or culture-building, and the answers can be voluminous.

But asked where his team can make the biggest strides in 2025 based on recent events, and his answer was short and to the point.

"Stop the run," he replied Tuesday morning, during the league's annual meeting at The Breakers resort. "A commitment to it, chasing the ball. That needs to go way up, the effort and the style of play."

In addition to setting the all-time record for points allowed last season (534), the Panthers also allowed the third-most rushing yards in league history (3,057).

That average of 179.8 yards per game was the worst in the league by a wide margin, more than 35 yards per game more than 31st-place Washington. They allowed more than 200 rushing yards in each of the final six games of the year.

Of course, a large part of the problem was injuries, as they lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown after one game and defensive signal-caller Shaq Thompson four games in. They used 11 different defensive linemen in at least one game, 13 different outside linebackers, started six different inside linebackers, and were forced to lean on the capable linemen that were on the roster (the 762 snaps defensive end A'Shawn Robinson played were a career-high, and 247 more than the 30-year-old played the previous season with the Rams).

Getting Brown back on the field will obviously be a huge first step, but it's no accident the Panthers leaned into defense early in free agency, with run-stopping safety Tre'von Moehrig the first of many acquisitions, with defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton, outside linebacker Patrick Jones II, and linebacker Christian Rozeboom following shortly thereafter, along with securing a pair of physical corners in Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson.

And, of course, they have the No. 8 pick in this year's draft and nine total picks (eight in the first five rounds), so more adds are expected.

The influx of new faces and improvement in personnel is one thing, but Canales was clear that there were other things he wanted to see changed in that area.

"I was not satisfied with the style of our defensive football first and foremost," he said. "So that is just about effort, strain, and attempts on the ball, so we have to step that up. I'll always be pushing the envelope on that weekly, but that's something that came off the film. That's why we addressed some of those positions in free agency and are excited about adding guys in the draft as well that can, first and foremost, put people into more passing situations and then more pass rush, whether it's from blitzes or whether it's from rotation."

With Derrick Brown back, they're a solid six or seven deep along the line now, with Robinson, Brown and Wharton, Shy Tuttle, LaBryan Ray, and last year's sixth-rounder Jaden Crumedy, along with whatever comes on draft weekend. So they now have competition for roster spots among a better grade of players than were available last year.

And with Canales "pushing the envelope" to stress improving the effort, the hope is a more functional defense from front to back.