The Carolina Panthers are one of the NFL’s ascending teams, if you ask me, and former second round draft pick Kawann Short is developing very quietly into one of the best defensive tackles in football.

As good as former top overall pick candidate Star Lotulelei is as well, Short has been better for the Panthers, and so today we here at NFL Mocks are going to recognize him as one of the NFL’s most underrated players, and a guy that deserves some hype as he will be a key piece of any run the Panthers make this season, especially with that strong defensive unit.

At this point, it’s hard for me to believe he was just a rookie in 2013, not even entering a contract year yet. Short was drafted with the 44th overall pick out of Purdue in the same year the Panthers cashed in on the ‘fall’ of Lotulelei in the first round with the 14th overall pick.

Short was expected to go in the second or third round of the 2013 NFL Draft despite the fact that, when you look back at that class of players, it is anything but pretty. I remember that year, Short was not getting the kind of recognition he deserved as a prospect. At Purdue, he was absolutely dominant as an interior pass rusher.

As a junior with the Boilermakers, Short racked up 17.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. As a senior, he posted 15.5 tackles for loss and another seven sacks. Like I said, they couldn’t really stop him as an interior pass rusher, and while the sack numbers haven’t been as impressive as he’s transitioned to the NFL, he’s been a force for Carolina.

Since coming to the Panthers, Short has been an impact player. He earned significant playing time as a rookie after a nice pre-season and got off to a slow start, but wound up with the third highest overall grade of any Panthers defender according to Pro Football Focus, and a really solid 24 hurries.

Dec 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws under pressure from Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short (99) in the first half at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

As a sophomore in 2014, Short was even better, leading the Panthers’ deep defensive line in snaps among defensive tackles (behind only DE Charles Johnson) and also posting the 2nd highest overall grade on defense if not for a -0.5 grade in coverage.

We’re willing to give him a pass there.

Short’s +18.7 overall grade (negating his coverage grade of -0.5) is merely a small way to measure the kind of impact he has had in his first two years in the NFL. I don’t want to say he’s overshadowed Star Lotulelei to this point, but…

This is exactly the player the Panthers had hoped he would be coming out of Purdue. He was a fantastic value in the 2013 draft as a second rounder, and he’s providing them with fantastic value on the field. Entering his third season, he will now be a full time starter (only started 9 games to this point out of a possible 32) and the Panthers will reap the benefits.

They still have a really deep defensive line group, but the emergence of Short has given them star power, no pun intended, at not just one but both of their interior defensive line spots. The type of havoc that Short creates from the interior along with Lotulelei gives the Panthers’ edge rushers favorable matchups, and makes plays a lot easier for stars like Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly.

This is one of the NFL’s underrated studs right now, but he won’t be for long. As good as Short has been, he hasn’t even had a full season to show what he can do as a starter. This year, he’ll get that chance.