CHARLOTTE — When Panthers general manager Dan Morgan wanted to solve his offensive line problem a year ago, he threw $150 million worth of contracts at 650 pounds of guard.

When he wanted to fix a defensive line that was at the foundation of a systemic defensive collapse last year, he might have spent about half as much money this year, but he put about a half a ton toward the problem.

Fifth-round defensive tackle Cam Jackson, all 6-foot-6 and 328 pounds (with 34-inch arms) of him, fits in thematically with free agent pickups Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton even if fitting into the same space as them might be logistically difficult.

"Obviously, the size and length first and foremost," Morgan replied when asked what stood out to him about Jackson. "Like when you see him in person and in his pads, I mean, that's a big man, a big long man. He takes up a lot of room, occupies a lot of blocks, he's going to keep our linebackers free.

"But I don't think many people realize just how mobile he is for a big guy. He can get up and down the line of scrimmage and make plays out on the perimeter. So yeah, he's not just a big man and space-eater; he can move a little bit now, too."

Jackson laughed when asked Saturday if he had ever met anybody bigger than he was.

"Not too many," he replied. "I think the only other guy that I really ran into was my teammate, Desmond Watson. He was probably the only guy that made me look small."

Watson, it should be noted, checked in at 6-6 and 464 pounds at Florida's pro day.

But Jackson was also quick to note he could be quick, too.

"I just want to keep improving on my pass rush," Jackson said. "That's the thing that I always say I want to work on, so that'll be a big thing, just improving on that for sure."

But the sheer mass aside, Jackson's more than just a guy who occupies real estate. That was also among the qualities they pointed to in March when Brown and Wharton arrived.

Brown was often pigeonholed as a run-stuffer (mostly because of his width) but he did more than just play nose tackle for the Rams, and the Panthers believe they can get more out of him as a penetrator.

And even though Wharton's the smallest of those new additions (he's a squat 280, but has thighs the size of refrigerator doors), he can hold up well in the middle, giving them the ability to mix and match linemen, along with the return of Derrick Brown, and holdovers A'Shawn Robinson, Shy Tuttle, LaBryan Ray, and 2024 draft pick Jaden Crumedy, among others.

Not only is that group suddenly more competitive for roster spots (they generally only keep six when they go to the regular season limit of 53), but the versatility allows defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and line coach Todd Wash to do more with the ones they keep.

"I think what was important for us is versatility inside," head coach Dave Canales said Saturday. "And having a guy like Bobby Brown, he has played the nose, he's played all across the front, was huge. Turk, the disruptive way he plays, and more of a compact build, but he's really sudden. Just having a little bit of a different style of play. It's kind of the same thing as we were looking at in Cam Jackson's film and evaluating him. He played the nose. He's played all across the front, very similar to Bobby.

"For me, it's the openness for Ejiro and for coach Wash and the defensive staff to be able to let these guys show us what they can do so that we can put them in the best situations possible and find those combinations there. But it gives us a lot of flexibility."

The Panthers need that, and Morgan made fixing the defense from front to back a priority for a reason.

After setting an all-time record for points allowed, and finishing last in the league in most of the categories, the most galling individual facet was the run defense. They allowed over 200 rushing yards in each of the last six games, and it got progressively worse as they ran out of qualified people.

Jackson was the latest move to make sure they weren't caught in the same position again this year.

"I'm just excited to be in the building with those guys," Jackson said Saturday.

The good news is it's a big building. Because getting them all in there is harder than it was a year ago.