Panthers Tracks: Who’s starting at cornerback? Carolina’s 3 most key position battles
The Panthers have added 28 players in a little more than a week’s time. There are a lot of new names on the roster, especially on defense. And with turnover comes more question marks about who’s starting.
If training camps are cut short this offseason because of coronavirus, will younger players have an equal opportunity to shine on the field? How will the team judge the work that has been done remotely, such as the tests the players are taking on the playbook, as wide receiver DJ Moore mentioned on the NFL’s DraftAThon?
The Panthers will have competition for multiple starting positions and it won’t be a surprise to see more than one rookie starting Week 1 next season, despite the condensed offseason.
Here’s a look at the positions that will be worth keeping an eye for the starting role (italicized players are 2020 draft picks):
Cornerback
Starter: Donte Jackson
Position battle: Troy Pride Jr., Corn Elder, Stan Thomas-Oliver III, Cole Luke, Derrek Thomas, Myles Hartsfield (undrafted free agent) or a veteran free agent not yet on the roster.
The Panthers filled the holes at the position by drafting Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride Jr. in the fourth round and cornerback Stan Thomas-Oliver III in the seventh round. While the team’s final draft pick will have more of an opportunity to make the roster on special teams, Pride Jr. will have a legitimate shot at the starting job opposite Donte Jackson.
Carolina could use still use some veteran talent at the position after losing James Bradberry this offseason. The team also let defensive back Ross Cockrell go in free agency and he remains available. Bringing him back would make a lot of sense, but there are other veteran free agent cornerbacks still available that would be in their price range, including Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard.
Pride Jr. is not necessarily the team’s No. 2 corner today, but it’s hard to see him not eventually earning the role with the state of the roster as it stands. While the Panthers didn’t take a cornerback on Day 2 of the draft, they found a lot they like about Pride, who also ran track for the Irish, in his speed and size (5-foot-11, 193 pounds).
“Usually when you’re a track athlete, you’re a little bit of a perfectionist, technique‐wise. You’re into training,” head coach Matt Rhule said about Pride Jr. “I had a great video conference with him one day and my wife was actually cooking on the other side where I was doing the video conference and afterward she said ‘who was that? That’s a professional.’ Just a really, really mature guy and he’s played a lot of football. So in a year where there is no offseason program, no OTAs as of right now, I think he has the maturity to come in and help us in training camp.”
Rhule has the confidence that he can come in and start right away. It’s really a matter of whether he can earn it or if the team elects to bring in a more veteran player to fight him for the spot.
Safety
Starter: Tre Boston
Position battle: Juston Burris, Jeremy Chinn
Backups: T.J. Green, Kenny Robinson, Natrell Jamerson, Quin Blanding
This is arguably the best position battle heading into training camp. The Panthers brought back Tre Boston on a three-year extension to play free safety, so that is a lock. But strong safety? That’s a whole other story.
There is a lot the Panthers like about Chinn, one of their second-round picks, and they’ve liked him for some time. At 6-foot-3, 221-pounds, Chinn ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine. He has speed, size and a lot of athletic ability. General manager Marty Hurney noted that they liked the Southern Illinois product as soon as they met him at the Senior Bowl. He’s also someone they believe can help in a variety of ways; if he’s not starting at safety, they will certainly still use him in other spots.
“I think we look at him as a guy who can be trained as a safety and (play) as a nickel, SAM. He’ll be able to go out and play No. 2 to the field. Also be able to come back in nickel and dime. Maybe even be able to defend some of the backs and tight ends,” Rhule said. “I think when you look at the NFC South and you see the tight ends that we have to face, when you see the running backs that we have to face, having guys like Chinn that can give us some match ups against those guys.”
The Panthers also brought in Burris and believe he is someone with a lot of potential at safety. He started nine games for the Browns last year and had two interceptions, seven passes defensed and 32 tackles.
Robinson, the team’s fifth-round pick, will likely play more of a role on special teams.
Offensive guard
Starters: John Miller, Michael Schofield
Position battle: Dennis Daley
Backups: Chris Reed, Tyler Larsen, Sam Tecklenburg (UDFA) and Mike Horton (UDFA)
The Panthers did not address offensive line (or any offensive position) in the draft. But in the week following, Carolina brought in four undrafted free agents, including Sam Tecklenburg, a former Baylor player that had been retired from football.
They also agreed to a one-year deal with veteran guard Michael Schofield on Thursday. He spent the past three years with the Chargers and joins former Chargers offensive line coach Pat Meyer and teammates Russell Okung and Matt Paradis (from the Broncos) in Carolina.
What does that mean for the offensive line?
The Panthers are all set at tackle with Russell Okung and Taylor Moton taking the starting spots with Greg Little directly behind them. Guard, especially now, isn’t quite so simple.
John Miller was also added on a one-year deal in free agency a season after he was cut one year into a three-year, $16.5 million contract with Cincinnati. Before Schofield agreed to a contract, Miller appeared to have the lead at right guard spot after starting with both the Bills and the Bengals in his career. But Schofield started every game at right guard for the Chargers the past two years.
Miller has the added experience of starting 46 games at left guard at Louisville protecting Teddy Bridgewater.
Daley was also a candidate for the left guard spot after playing in 14 games, including nine starts in 2019, primarily at left tackle. He’s not penciled in as a starter, but that can always change. The other two players have plenty of starts under their belts and Schofield has significant experience with Meyer.
Other
Linebacker and defensive end are also positions to watch because of the depth chart outside of the starters. As the roster sits now, Shaq Thompson and Tahir Whitehead get the nod if they are in a two-linebacker formations, but defensive end is not as clear. Brian Burns takes one spot in his second-year, but who fills the other? Rookie Yetur Gross-Matos? Free agent signing Stephen Weatherly? Efe Obada, who Rhule said he was “really high” on? This will be more of a rotation, so it’s less important who the clear cut starters are.
Required reading
+ How tragedy, triumph and the Andersons got Omar Bayless his chance with the Panthers
+ What the Panthers depth chart on defense looks like after drafting 7 defensive players
+ Sorensen: Derrick Brown may not be Kawann Short, but he can make a difference for Panthers
+ The beauty of the Panthers’ draft was versatility — 7 guys who can play 14 positions
+ Derrick Brown could do anything with his life. He never needed the NFL, yet here he is
+ Fowler: Panthers draft grade? Give it an “I.” Matt Rhule, Marty Hurney did what had to be done
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
