The Panthers have thrown curveballs with their first-round picks in the last two drafts. This year, they passed on Ohio State QB Justin Fields and took South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn instead. Last year, everyone was expecting them to take Clemson’s versatile do-it-all defender Isaiah Simmons, but they went with Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
Brown’s power and potential were obvious right off the bat. However, it took some time for him to get adjusted to the speed of the pro game. Early in the season Brown struggled with penalties, among other things. Here’s how Brown described his experience in going from college to the NFL, per Joe Person at the Athletic.
“The pace of the league is a lot different than college. . . Yeah, there’s a lot of brute maulers in the SEC, but these guys are athletic, massive. It’s just those things, you’ve gotta be able to figure out how you fit into this game. . . I feel like. It’s very humbling. You come in, there’s a lot of expectations. And you realize the consistency level has to be every single week. You can’t have up and down, up and down. Yeah, there’s gonna be times where you’re not gonna be able to make it all, but you’ve gotta be consistent in what you do.”
Brown was supposed to be lining up next to two-time Pro Bowler Kawann Short as a rookie. Sadly, another shoulder injury sidelined Short for most of the 2020 season and he was released in February. This year, Brown will be learning from another veteran.
Former Titans DT DaQuan Jones never made a Pro Bowl but he has 99 regular season games of experience in the NFL and helped turn Tennessee into a contender.
If Carolina is going to get there, it will take a lot of different moving parts pulling their weight. The development of Brown and the rest of this promising defensive line will be a critical piece of that puzzle, though.
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