Panthers make defensive history with 2020 draft class

[Sir Purr]

Both Rhule and Hurney said they thoroughly vetted safety Kenny Robinson, who was expelled from West Virginia for a student code of conduct violation involving academic fraud. Robinson himself has been open about facing that discipline, writing an open letter in the Players' Tribune about it.


"We went through it all," Hurney said. "We did our research, and at the end of the day felt that he's a young man that made a mistake. But I think that you talk to the people that he's been around after that in the XFL, and people that know him and we got all positive reports."


Rhule knows defensive tackle Bravvion Roy well after coaching him at Baylor, but shared that Hurney identified Roy as a possible fit for Carolina back in January at the East-West Shrine Game.


"(Hurney) called me and said, 'Man, your kid,' — because Bravvion was playing in the East-West game — he said, 'He's killing it out here,'" Rhule said. "And Bravvion is such a big man that people don't realize how athletic he is. And he did not get invited to the Combine. So he got invited to an All-Star game but not the Combine. And had he gone to the Combine, at 330 (pounds), he would've run 4.8, jumped really high — he's just a really good athlete. And so, I think as a result of canceled pro days, he never got a chance to show what he can do. But, obviously, we've all seen it."


And with cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, Rhule said the defensive coaches had their eyes on the eventual seventh-round pick at the Combine.


"He ran a fast (40) time early. And (cornerbacks coach) Evan Cooper … he said to me, 'Coach, that kid's got size, he's got speed, he's got quickness. He's got all the skills. He's someone that we can develop. So we put him on our radar early."


Now that the Panthers have their draft picks, the work has already begun on bringing in undrafted free agents. And Rhule noted these players won't just fill out the roster, saying the club expects to have some of them make a significant impact. He pointed to the example of wide receiver Robby Anderson, who a few years ago was consulting Rhule about where he should sign as a UDFA and last month received a lucrative contract as an unrestricted free agent.


"The undrafted free-agent process, to me, is unbelievably important," Rhule said. "I don't look at it as first-round player versus seventh-round player, I look at it as players. Everyone gets here differently. It's about what you do when you get here."


While the Panthers feel good about where the roster is currently — Hurney acknowledged the hard changes made since the end of 2019 — the club isn't nearly finished making moves just because they've completed a historic draft class that's receiving a fair amount of praise nationally.


"I always kiddingly say, 'We don't play 'til September,' but every day we're going to be looking to improve our team," Hurney said. "We're working hard on the undrafted free agent part of it, but you're constantly looking at the (waiver) wire for veterans who are out there and all avenues. Yeah, there's still work to be done. There's definitely work to be done."