Five prospects the Carolina Panthers should keep an eye on at the NFL Combine
There are 337 prospects at this year’s NFL Combine. Many of them are familiar names from college football, like Joe Burrow, while others are less widely discussed.
From the Panthers’ perspective, there are a lot of holes that still need to be filled and the rebuild will start with this year’s draft.
There’s plenty of players that general manager Marty Hurney, head coach Matt Rhule and their staff will be watching in Indianapolis, but there’s a few that are worth keeping a closer eye on.
Isaiah Simmons, LB/S, Clemson
With the Panthers holding the seventh overall pick and in desperate need of defensive help, Simmons has been linked to them throughout the draft process.
During a recent conference call with reporters, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah described what makes the Clemson player so intriguing.
“With a guy like Isaiah Simmons, whether you want to list him as a linebacker or safety, I know you plug him into that defensive scheme and week by week you can deploy him in different ways depending on what the strength of your opponent is. That’s why he has so much value,” Jeremiah said. “And putting these guys in little position boxes, I think that’s going to go away eventually. You’re just going to see getting your athletes on the field and deploying them in different ways on a week-by-week basis.”
Simmons would be a versatile piece in Phil Snow’s defense, having played almost every defensive position at Clemson. He played more than 100 snaps each at defensive line, linebacker, slot cornerback and deep safety.
It will be interesting to see how he performs at the Combine with all of the hype surrounding him.
Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn
Brown is another strong option for the Panthers with the seventh overall pick. He could go a long way in helping a defense that allowed the most rushing touchdowns (31) and yards per attempt (5.2) in 2019.
A strong Combine performance, especially when meeting with the Panthers coaches and scouts, would only make him a more intriguing fit in Carolina.
“Derrick Brown is — to me, I have the same grade on Derrick Brown at his position as I do with Chase Young at his position. I think he’s a phenomenal player,” Jeremiah said. “He’s the closest thing, ironically, to Ndamukong Suh, who everybody in Detroit know so well. That’s who he reminds me of when you watch him on college tape, so strong and powerful. He can really punch off blocks, separate, find the ball, make plays. He plays really hard. So he’s outstanding. And when you plug him in there, you talk about immediate impact, he’ll make an immediate impact on every single down as an interior player.”
The Panthers are in the market for someone who can make an immediate impact with Gerald McCoy and six other defensive starters entering free agency. How he does overall in Indianapolis may impact if the Panthers think it’s a good value pick to select him with the seventh overall pick, or if they could trade back to get him later in the first.
Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor
Baylor players are going to be connected to the Panthers throughout the draft process because of Rhule and the many members of the coaching staff that he brought with him from Waco, Texas.
After a solid Senior Bowl performance, Mims is the type of player who could see his stock go up after the Combine.
I think (Mims’) got a chance to really end up being one of the best receivers in the draft,” Jeremiah said. “He’s almost 6’3”, 206 pounds. He’s another one — he wins at the line of scrimmage. He is just so smooth and athletic, he’s got some acrobatic catches, a lot of contested catches, just real athletic. And after the catch, he’s just kind of a slippery, smooth, make-you-miss player. He’s not the most physical player. But I think he’s a second-round pick all day long with how he plays”
During his time at Baylor, he had two seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards, but his junior year was an outlier. He had 794 yards on just 11 fewer catches than his senior season (finished with 1,020 receiving yards in 2019). He had a career-high 12 receiving touchdowns as a senior.
The Panthers could certainly use some depth at wide receiver behind DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel. Mims’ performance at the Combine against a deep wide receiver draft class will be worth watching out for.
Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne
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At six feet and 217 pounds, Dugger prefers to play strong safety, although it was rumored that some NFL teams see him in a hybrid linebacker position. He was largely used as a safety when he impressed at Senior Bowl practice last month, showing off great coverage abilities — including a nice interception on day two, in addition to being a threat as a punt returner, which will only make him more desirable on an NFL roster.
Dugger’s Senior Bowl performance came off a season in which, despite playing only seven games due to injury, he won the Cliff Harris Award, given to the nation’s small college defensive player of the year.
Being a small school player, Dugger’s stock improved with his Senior Bowl performance. It could go up after the Combine with even more eyes on him. The Panthers are certainly in need of defensive backs and the local player could be a nice Day 2 or 3 pick.
In his career at Lenoir-Rhyne he had 237 tackles, 10 interceptions, 36 pass break-ups, 6 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks to go along with six punt return touchdowns.
QB Jordan Love, QB, Utah State
So there’s a couple things that have to happen before we’re in a situation that finds the Panthers selecting Love in this year’s draft. But how he looks throwing in the Combine and if he is able to improve his draft stock even more is step one.
Love is projected to go all over the place in mock drafts, from round one to four, and has received a lot of mixed reviews. A team like Carolina, depending on what they do with Cam Newton, will be looking at Love as a later option with Burrow and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa likely gone by the seventh overall pick.
“I don’t know that (Love’s) ready to play right away,” Jeremiah said, “but that’s a huge upside pick. And you give him a chance to develop that could have a huge pay-off.”
He struggled with interceptions his senior year, throwing 17, after a strong junior year in which he completed 64 percent of his passes and threw 32 touchdowns to six interceptions.
The Panthers are building for the long-term. Even if Newton stays, a player like Love that is able to consistently display strong potential could be a good option. His stock over the next week will be interesting to watch.
