Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,969
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ANDY BENOIT, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
"The nice part about a full-scale rebuilding project is it gives you a lot of options in the draft. (Though it appears the Panthers may have only been aware of half of theirs, as they became the first team in modern history to take only defensive players in an entire draft.) Like in previous years, the Panthers, whose front office is still headed by GM Marty Hurney, laid their foundational blocks in the defensive trenches.
Derrick Brown has superb athleticism, given his thundering size. The question is if that athleticism extends far enough to make him a consistently high-level pass rusher. No matter how dominant he might be as a run defender, it's hard to justify taking any defensive lineman in the top 10 in today's NFL if he can't get to the quarterback. But pairing Brown with Kawann Short will, at the very least, make the Panthers dominant inside and make life easier on Luke Kuechly's replacement at middle linebacker.
They got physically stronger at the spot next to Brown, too, finding in Yetur Gross-Matos a classic, imposingly built 4-3 style defensive end who, thanks to the departure of veterans Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin, will likely assume a significant rotational role right away.
Behind them, at safety, free agent pickup Juston Burris quietly did some very nice things for Cleveland last year and deserves a chance to start alongside free safety Tre Boston, but it was wise of Carolina to invest in a third option, especially given that Burris is versatile and may wind up playing multiple positions in a "big nickel" or dime sub-package anyway. Of note: Jeremy Chinn played a lot of Quarters coverage at Southern Illinois. That matchup-zone coverage is one this Panthers secondary has played in recent years and one new defensive coordinator Phil Snow may put in the arsenal."