Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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The physical component is just one part of the adjustment for Nixon, and he said he's working to make sure he's approaching the work the right way.
"The expectation on me right now is to learn the system as fast as I can and the best I can to retain everything, and not have to think about things while I'm practicing and playing," he said. "It's just a mindset. If you have the mindset that you can go out every day and do what you're asked to do and get one percent better, like coach tells us, then your mindset is perfect, and you can put yourself to anything.
"I would say coming into the league, you have to have the mindset of no matter how hard practice gets, or how rough life gets for you when you get here, you have to have the mindset that anything's possible and just go do it."
Nixon stood out on the Panthers' draft board when they took him in the fifth round, in part because he has the kind of physical traits (including 35 1/2-inch arms) and explosiveness that they look for.
But the Panthers also entered the offseason looking for depth at the position.
After cutting veteran Kawann Short, they were looking for a young player who projects as the "three-technique" or interior pass-rushing defensive tackle. They signed veteran DaQuan Jones to start next to Derrick Brown, but hope that Nixon can become a reliable part of the rotation sooner rather than later.
"He's eager to learn," Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said. "You recognize his physical tools. He's got 35-1/2-inch arms. He's explosive, coming out of the blocks. He's got a lot of potential. So we're going to work with him and try to get him to the point where he can provide some depth for us, and then compete to really go play for us. I've been happy with him so far. . .
"He has all the potential to be a really good player in this league, we just have to coach him, and he just has to attack that process, and just become a smart, reliable football player, because he has all the physical tools."