Donte Jackson says Panthers lining up rookie CB Troy Pride Jr. at multiple spots

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said some interesting things during his Zoom call with the media today.

Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said some interesting things during his Zoom call with the media today.

For one thing, he’s taken on a leadership role in the cornerback room. As for his own game, Jackson says he worked with Ryan Clark this offseason to improve his technique and coverage.

Jackson also gave us our first hint at what might be happening at the slot position that was vacated by Javien Elliott. He says the team has been lining up fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr. at multiple positions.

Pride mostly played outside cornerback at Notre Dame. However, he’s undersized to play the same role in the NFL, particularly in a division that has three of the game’s best big receivers in Julio Jones, Michael Thomas and Mike Evans.

Pride might be better suited to defend the slot, where most of the league has typically lined up smaller receivers. Trends change, though. To name a few, Jared Cook, Allen Robinson and Keenan Allen have produced a great deal of offense from the slot position in recent years and all three are on the schedule this season, not to mention Rob Gronkowski.

Either way, one idea we should get used to is not assigning fixed roles for Carolina’s defenders as much as in the past.

Defensive coordinator Phil Snow and coach Matt Rhule have both made it clear they love positionless players on this side of the ball. Young and versatile talents like Pride, Jeremy Chinn and Brian Burns will all move around.

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