Panthers corner is a WWE-style slammer and dark-horse candidate to make team
If you saw the play Corey Thornton made Friday night, you’d remember it.
Thornton certainly remembers. It came early in the first quarter, with the Carolina Panthers’ defense trying to hold off the Cleveland Browns’ second drive of their preseason opener in Bank of America Stadium.
“We were in Cover 2, I was on the backside, and kind of fake-bailed on it, so they didn’t really know what I was in,” Thornton told reporters after the game. A towel was draped over his head, Cam Newton style, and a concealed smile was trying to peek through. “I went fast at him. I saw the boot coming. And he was coming to me, and I saw him.
“And so he just jumped in the air, and I just kind of caught him.”
Thornton did more than just meet the ball carrier — Browns receiver Kaden Davis — in the air. He pummeled him, WWE-style. It was the kind of play that was impressive and memorable and one that not many cornerbacks make.
Thornton also did more than just meet Davis in the air in a broader sense.
Thornton met the moment.
As he’s been doing all of camp.
Thornton, an undrafted rookie out of Louisville, punctuated what has been a wonderful camp to date with a standout performance in the Panthers’ 30-10 loss to the Browns. He finished Friday with three tackles and one pass deflection.
Such has been par for the course for Thornton, and it’s gotten him into the rarefied air of being an undrafted rookie with a legitimate shot at making Carolina’s 53-man roster in early September.
“He puts himself in good position, whether it’s a tackle or whether it’s making a play on the ball,” head coach Dave Canales said of Thornton. “(Defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan) Cooley is doing a great job teaching him technique, footwork and all that. He’s taking the coaching. He’s a natural football player.
“And then he shows up physical in those moments. So that was really exciting to see.”
To be clear, Thornton isn’t a shoo-in to make the roster. Simple math dictates that. The Panthers in 2024 kept five cornerbacks on their initial 53-man roster. It’s conceivable they do that again. And assuming Pro Bowler Jaycee Horn, the recently re-signed Mike Jackson and last year’s draft pick Chau Smith-Wade occupy three of those five, then Thornton, 24, is competing with Shemar Bartholomew, JaTravis Broughton, Mello Dotson, Akayleb Evans, Michael Reid and Trey Swilling for the final two spots.
And signs indicate that being one of those last two cornerbacks is possible. The five-year college player — who spent four seasons with Central Florida before his final year at Louisville — spent a lot of last week matched up against No. 8 overall draft pick Tetairoa McMillan. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound corner, who is on the larger side for the cornerback position, has been challenging McMillan getting off the line to some avail.
He’s also got the belief from his teammates. They’re speaking of him the way teammates spoke about Demani Richardson last year — back when the safety was the undrafted rookie training camp hero, fighting for a roster spot that would eventually turn into him vying for a starting role now.
One of those guys speaking on Thornton’s success, in fact, is Richardson himself. When asked whether anyone in particular stuck out to him, the second-year safety responded: “Corey.”
“He asks me questions all the time: ‘How did you make it? What did you do to make it?’” Richardson said of Thornton. “So I’ve just been telling him, ‘Take care of your body. And just keep doing what you’re doing.’”
Nic Scourton, a fellow rookie, glowed about Thornton after the preseason opener, too. The second-round pick and pass rusher — who got a sack against the Browns — said that the aforementioned suplex move Thornton made in the first quarter “fired him the hell up.”
“Corey’s been like this since OTAs,” Scourton said. “We had no pads on, but you could tell: The competitive nature. We’re in walkthroughs, and a guy catches a ball on him, and he’s like, ‘(expletive) that, I’m gonna go swat the ball on him next time.’ That’s just Corey. He’s just a competitor. And I love that from him.”
The preseason could be a nervous time ahead of cutdown days. The big plays help ease that anxiety. Thornton called Friday’s performance “definitely gratifying” and a product of believing in God.
When asked about how Thornton stays focused on football with his career on the line, he smiled.
“I ain’t really on the media or nothing like that,” he said. “So I’m focused on straight football right now. I ain’t worried about what the media talking about. I’m just focused on learning the playbook, getting better each day, working hard, and doing my job well.”
It’s paying off.
