Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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It took some time to get to that point (too long Saturday night), but time has been a luxury all season. With no traditional offseason program or OTAs because of COVID-19, the Panthers are putting this thing together on the fly, without the hundreds of snaps of work they'd normally have had.
"You're taking a group of guys that's had not even a full month together really before this," Brown said. "I mean that was in virtual meetings. It's been a long season, but it's something that we have to overcome and just going forward being able to rely on one another and just laying it on the line for each other."
The progression goes beyond the high picks.
The Panthers have used undrafted rookie Myles Hartsfield more in recent weeks as their nickel, and the converted running back/safety played nearly half the defensive snaps against the Packers (29), the most he's been used on defense this season.
With every young player on a rookie deal who contributes, the process of building the defense gets easier (particularly entering an offseason of uncertainty regarding the salary cap).
More work clearly needs to be done.
They could use a solid middle linebacker who could run sideline-to-sideline, which will allow Chinn to move around more. They need a defensive tackle to create pressure inside, which will only make Brown more of a presence. The need for secondary help is evident, as they need to upgrade at corner this offseason and also develop some of the young players on hand to be reliable depth.
But on a night in which they were playing a future Hall of Fame quarterback, they showed signs that the reclamation project began with a plan, and some of the foundational pieces are already in place.