Luke Kuechly, newly enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was famously a man of few words during his eight years with the Carolina Panthers.
Apparently, Kuechly was saving them all for the broadcast booth, and he’s now a burgeoning NFL media star.
Kuechly debuted as an analyst alongside Emmy-winning play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle for Netflix’s broadcast of the San Francisco 49ers’ season-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday night. He justified his status as a popular media darling before kickoff, however, with a charismatic, informative interview with 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, his former Panthers teammate.
Once the game started, the consensus among sports media members was overwhelmingly positive in Kuechly’s favor, even if some people had slight criticism.
Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly have the 49ers-Rams Netflix broadcast call in Melbourne. 🏈🎙️🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/TraBTnKRtp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 11, 2026
“Confirmed. Luke Kuechly is good at everything,” NFL RedZone’s Scott Hanson tweeted.
“Luke Kuechly is already better in the booth than Tony Romo has ever been,” longtime NFL analyst Sam Monson tweeted.
And there was a whole lot more where that praise came from across sports media, even drawing a John Madden comparison, as seen below.
Luke Kuechly, on his debut Netflix broadcast, punctuates a chip block by Christian McCaffrey on Myles Garrett with a “bam!”
Shades of John Madden.— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly had been excellent tonight as the lead analyst for NETFLIX.
He is making a really hard job seem easy. Sounds extremely comfortable and has made several sharp points you don’t hear in other places.
— Grant Paulsen (@GrantPaulsen) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly in the booth is AWESOME pic.twitter.com/2rI2NFRHta
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly is a natural in the booth
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly is excellent in the booth
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly on commentary >>> pic.twitter.com/gjrk5j1IWp
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 11, 2026
1) Excellent new scorebug from Netflix.
2) Luke Kuechly has been a very enjoyable listen so far.
3) I despise streaming sports/not being able to flip around to other channels so much I can’t even articulate it.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly is already awesome at this.
And not just because he sounds exactly like @MoveTheSticks
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly is good at this.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) September 11, 2026
Couldn’t be more impressed w/ Luke Kuechly tonight. He’s done a handful of college games and Panthers games on the radio. Sounds like a seasoned vet. Helps that he sounds a little like Daniel Jeremiah who’s pretty damn good at everything he does.
— Dan Hellie (@DanHellie) September 11, 2026
Add Luke Kuechly to the list of broadcasters better than Brady.
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) September 11, 2026
very cool hearing luke kuechly on a primetime broadcast
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 11, 2026
Enjoying the pairing of Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly so far through this one…
— Jason McCourty (@JasonMcCourty) September 11, 2026
One of the things that Luke Kuechly is lucky about is Noah Eagle is giving him a lot of room to work.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 11, 2026
Luke Kuechly is fantastic
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) September 11, 2026
Kuechly thinking the Rams had a chance down 20 with 3 minutes to go is honestly a window into what made him great
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) September 11, 2026
The 49ers boat raced the Rams, 27-7, but Kuechly’s commentary made the game feel more engaging than it actually was, which is what Noah Eagle expected from his new partner.
“It was unquestioned that his knowledge for the game was an elite level,” Eagle recently told Sports Media Watch of Kuechly’s audition. “I just watched him as a player, and you can see that one, the knowledge for the game is clear, but also the preparation going into each week, and that’s what he brought with him to the audition. We called a game from last season, sat down, and immediately, he just, it was as if he could see things happening before they happen.”
Eagle added that Kuechly’s personality “sold everybody” and noted what impressed him the most: “how coachable he is.”
“He was thirsty for more knowledge,” Eagle said. “He was thirsty to improve, and this was only in one day. And so if this is day one, how’s it gonna be day 10 and day 15 and day 100? And when you just do it more and more and more, he’s naturally gonna get even better as he goes.”
Eagle and Kuechly have ample time to compare notes before their next NFL on Netflix broadcast on Thanksgiving, when the Rams take on the Green Bay Packers. Netflix also has the rights to two Christmas games (Packers vs. Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos) and a to-be-determined Week 18 game this season.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.