Panthers gamechanger? Mike Adams, who must stop Odell, Saquon ... and teach Eric Reid.

Each week the Carolina Panthers play in 2018, the Observer will choose a potential gamechanger — the player most likely to make a huge impact on the game. This week’s choice:

Safety Mike Adams

As talented as Reid might be, he’s still the new guy. He still only has a week, generously, in this system.

That means any assumptions that Reid is going to be a Pro Bowl-caliber safety this weekend against New York should be ... tempered, you know?

It also means that, in addition to the already-difficult task of containing Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley, now veteran safety Mike Adams also has to help coach up his new running mate.

Not that that should be an issue for someone of Adams’ intelligence and experience.

What his teammates say: “Mike has been around forever,” Luke Kuechly said, laughing, Thursday. “Mike’s a guy that’s smart, he understands stuff. The first few days, Mike was talking with Eric quite a bit on, ‘This is where you need to be, this is what we’re trying to do.’

“He knows the game so well, and once he picks up on what we’re doing, like he did last year, he can help a lot of people out.”

What he offers: Adams, 37, is about as veteran a teacher as Reid could have asked for. And even at his age, he offers much more to this defense than just someone for his younger teammates to poke fun at.

Adams’ sure tackling and ability to take down players one-on-one in space has already shown up countless times this season. And regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s game, he’ll almost surely add to the 14 tackles he’s already accrued, fourth-most on the team.

The reasons for that? Defending Barkley and Beckham.

The matchup: First, Barkley. The rookie out of Penn State and No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft, Barkley has already rushed for 260 yards and three touchdowns in four games. Add in his 27 receptions for 193 yards, and it’s evident that the Giants offense already runs through the young tailback.

Then there’s Beckham, the highest-paid receiver in the league — and for good reason. Beckham recorded three straight 1,300-yard, 10-touchdown seasons to begin his career before a broken ankle cost him the majority of last season. With just 331 yards and no touchdowns to date this year, Beckham is still looking for his breakout game.

And the Panthers are determined not to let that come at their expense.

Why he matters: Much of the work stopping those two will fall to Adams, who will be asked both to cover Beckham deep and to come down into the box to help tackle Barkley. And in the case that Barkley does break off a long run or reception, Adams is also the last line of defense in keeping him out of the end zone.

Oh yeah, and he’ll have to do all that while also helping Reid get adjusted.

What his coach says: “Mike’s a veteran guy. I know it’s only his second season with us, but he’s got double digit years in this league,” coach Ron Rivera said. “He assimilated really quickly to what we do last season, and so he’s able to share that kind of experience of coming here as the new guy, fitting in, being part of what we do.

“I think that is invaluable.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2018 at 9:10 AM.