Panthers Draft Recap: The Foundation
After three days of tributes, inexplicable musical guests and occasional football analysis, the NFL draft is over. It was the first draft of the Matt Rhule era and the Panthers had a monumental task ahead of them: They needed to solidify the offensive line, revamp the entire defense and add depth to every position group. Obviously that’s too much for one draft. Carolina had 7 picks and chose to tackle one of the above goals, they added 7 defensive prospects. Below I’ll give my initial impressions of each pick and an overall grade for the 2020 class.
Round 1
Pick 7: Derrick Brown DT Auburn
Derrick Brown was the #1 DT in this class and the above video vs the 2019 national champs LSU shows why. Brown plays inside and outside, consistently taking on two (sometimes three) blockers but still positively affecting the play. In the run game Brown is able to occupy multiple blockers allowing his teammates free reign or he can penetrate and make plays in the backfield. As a pass rusher Brown is a work in progress, relying heavily on collapsing the pocket via bull rush. Paired with Kawaan Short the Panthers run D woes should be a thing of the past and with Burns, Short and Gross-Matos Carolina looks to have a fearsome pass rush heading into 2020. My problem with this pick is passing on Tristan Wirfs and Isaiah Simmons. I believe it’s long overdue for Carolina to fully commit to protecting their QB and failling that, Simmons would have made a bigger impact and also prevented the Panthers from giving away a draft pick later on.
Round 2
Pick 38: Yetur Gross-Matos EDGE PSU
Gross-Matos is another versatile piece for the Panthers defensive line. A super athlete with overwhelming potential as a pass rusher, this was probably the best pick Carolina made this weekend. His athleticism also allows him to take on limited coverage duties and gives him the ability to deny ball carriers the corner. My reservations about the Derrick Brown pick aside, Panthers fans should be extremely excited for the future of the Burns-Brown-Gross-Matos front.
Pick 64: Jeremy Chinn S Southern Illinois
Jeremy Chinn is a phenomenal athlete who can line up at strong safety or LB and should continue to clean up the Panthers run defense. Chinn is not great in coverage and can be slow to read what the offense is doing. Once the mental part of his game catches up with his physical attributes he may prove to be a valuable member of the Panthers rebuild. However, as I mentioned before the Panthers traded a 5th to move up and grab Chinn at the end of the 2nd. He’s a discount version of Isaiah Simmons. If they just take Simmons at 7 they have a better safety prospect, get to keep an extra draft pick that they really need and they still could have taken their DT in the 3rd. They would have had their choice of Madubuike, Gallimore, Hamilton, Elliot and Agim who all went later in the 3rd. It’s rarely a good idea to trade up for any player and that doesn’t even take into account the fact that Marty Hurney has terrible draft day trade instincts.
Round 4
Pick 113: Troy Pride Jr. CB Notre Dame
Troy Pride Jr. has good size (5’11 193) and speed (4.4 40) with adequate skills in man and zone. Don’t expect much in terms of run support from Pride as he struggles to get off blocks and while his tackling isn’t a liability, it isn’t a plus either. With the Panthers CB corps looking thin as can be, Pride may be thrown to the wolves early in one of the most WR rich divisions in football. Expect him to get beat early and often but if the team is patient and he can keep his confidence up, he’ll be better for it down the road.
Round 5
Pick 152: Kenny Robinson S St. Louis Battlehawks (XFL)
Robinson is a big hitting, ball hawking safety with college (West Virginia) and pro (XFL) experience. He’s a lesser athlete than some of the other selections and will need to clean up mental mistakes and improve his tackling but should provide immediate depth on the back end and help on special teams.
Round 6
Pick 184: Bravvion Roy DT Baylor
Matt Rhule brings along one of his own in athletic Baylor NT Bravvion Roy. The hope is his quickness and strength outweigh his smaller stature and that he’ll be able to hold his own when rotating in or when Brown kicks outside. Best case scenario is an adequate run defender who sprinkles in some pass game disruption as a rotational defender and spot starter.
Round 7
Pick 221: Stanley Thomas-Oliver III CB Fla Int
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Another Height-Weight-Speed selection in the secondary. Thomas-Oliver is a WR convert who will likely need to spend time on the practice squad learning the position before seeing the field in a Panthers uniform. That said, he did show some playmaking ability with 18 PDs, 2 Sacks, 2 INTs and 7 TFLs over his first two years as a DB and with the low expectations in Charlotte he may get the time and experience he needs.
Conclusion
Carolina did not address all their needs, but with so many that was never a realistic outcome. I think they have successfully transformed their defensive line and at least given themselves a shot at several contributors in the secondary. The excellent Gross-Matos pick is weighed down by the Brown selection. They took a worse prospect at a position of less importance and compounded that mistake by trading up when they have far too many holes to sacrifice extra picks. Taking Simmons or Wirfs over Brown and picking up Hamilton in the third, or even trading down and taking Jordan Elliot, would have made this draft an A. As is it’s a B-.