Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are six players who will need to stand out at camp this year.
The Carolina Panthers will report to training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC one week from today. They have a young team heading into the 2021 season, which should make for some very interesting position battles.
Here are six players who will need to stand out at camp this year.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, coach Matt Rhule said Jackson is growing a lot as a player and even used the E word.
Carolina went into this offseason with at least one clear priority defensively: improve a cornerback room that had become a liability. After signing two veterans in free agency and adding two rookies in the draft, it’s fair to say they committed to an overhaul and at least on paper they look much deeper than at this time last year.
The key piece for turning this group around might not be one of the new faces, though. For the Panthers secondary to reach their full potential, they’ll need fourth-year cornerback Donte Jackson to step up and achieve his. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, coach Matt Rhule said Jackson is growing a lot as a player and even used the E word.
“The young guys are learning as they go and Donte [Jackson] is growing a lot as a player. I’ve liked a lot of things that Donte has done. . . Jaycee is going to be a really good player. He’s going to be a valuable part of our team. A lot of guys are really talented and can do a lot of things. A.J. has been to a Pro Bowl, Donte is an elite player we think we just have to keep him healthy and keep him moving in the right direction.”
Jackson performed admirably in 2020. Despite having to play through foot injuries for much of the season, Jackson only allowed 443 yards in coverage and a 79.2 passer rating. He also posted a career-high 15.3% forced incompletion rate.
Donte Jackson's forced incompletion % by season 📈
🔹2018 | 5.5%
🔹2019 | 8.3%
🔹2020 | 15.3%#KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/3Frb7PsVG4— PFF CAR Panthers (@PFF_Panthers) June 16, 2021
Tackling has been a major issue for Jackson since he came into the league, though. In 43 games he’s missed 38 attempts – including 11 last year. At some point, he’ll have to improve that part of his game.
If Jackson cleans up his tackling and continues to improve in coverage, a Pro Bowl appearance or two is possible.
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Bouye has 100+ games of experience in the NFL, most of which has been at outside corner.
A.J. Bouye will be wearing 24 for the Panthers, taking over a storied jersey number previously donned by Rasul Douglas, James Bradberry and Josh Norman. Bouye could wind up playing a different position, though. According to Joe Person at the Athletic, defensive coordinator Phil Snow told Bouye he’s needed at nickel back.
Bouye has 100+ games of experience in the NFL, most of which has been at outside corner. However, he has previously played nickel in college. Bouye’s shared some thoughts on the transition, per Person.
“When you’re on the inside, you know where your help is at. You can play certain routes easier, especially when you know concepts and know the game. . . That’s why it’s been kind of good for me, just learning that kind of early and getting a good feel for it.”
With Bouye projected to take over in the slot, we can go ahead and write in Donte Jackson and first-round pick Jaycee Horn as Carolina’s two starting outside cornerbacks.
What the pecking order aside from Bouye, Jackson and Horn will be remains to be seen. Carolina added another veteran in free agency with Rashaan Melvin plus another rookie with Keith Taylor, so there are a lot of new moving parts.
Whatever the arrangement is, Panthers fans should expect to see more man defense after being one of the most zone-heavy teams in the league last season. Their front-seven looks great, so if this 2021 corner class steps up to that challenge Carolina might just have a better-than-average defense.
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Panthers CB Donte Jackson on secondary: “We can be dominant”
Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson has never minced words over the three years we’ve come to know him. So the ones he put out there on Wednesday shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“We can be dominant. We can be dominant, man,” Jackson confidently said when asked about the team’s additions at the corner position. “We have a group that not only are we fighting hard to learn the scheme and have the scheme down pat, we’re also fighting hard to be consistent and fighting hard to work hard on our detail and our craft. That’s the one thing we’ve been holding the group accountable for. Make sure we get our technique, make sure we get our detail work in.”
Jackson also alluded to the growth of the defense as a whole, stating the talent at linebacker and along the defensive line will only make the secondary’s job that much easier. The front office has inked proven veteran names such as Haason Reddick, Denzel Perryman, DaQuan Jones and Morgan Fox this offseason to juice up the group.
“For the team, especially with the front seven like we have, I think that this corner and this secondary group can be really, really special, man. I think we have all the pieces. We have the IQs in the backend, we have the physicality, we have the speed. It’s just gonna be all about detailing and coming in and just trying to be consistent and working.”
This might’ve been a stretch for anyone in the organization, let alone Jackson, to say about this unit last season. A year ago today, the Panthers secondary was almost exclusively filled up by rookies and practice squad-caliber players.
With an extra 12 months of improvement for their younger guys has, again, come some considerable reinforcements. Bringing on rookies Jaycee Horn and Keith Taylor as well as free agents A.J. Bouye and Rashaan Melvin has helped give Carolina a nice facelift as they continue their rebuilding process.
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Panthers CB Donte Jackson on secondary: “We can be dominant”
Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson has never minced words over the three years we’ve come to know him. So the ones he put out there on Wednesday shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“We can be dominant. We can be dominant, man,” Jackson confidently said when asked about the team’s additions at the corner position. “We have a group that not only are we fighting hard to learn the scheme and have the scheme down pat, we’re also fighting hard to be consistent and fighting hard to work hard on our detail and our craft. That’s the one thing we’ve been holding the group accountable for. Make sure we get our technique, make sure we get our detail work in.”
Jackson also alluded to the growth of the defense as a whole, stating the talent at linebacker and along the defensive line will only make the secondary’s job that much easier. The front office has inked proven veteran names such as Haason Reddick, Denzel Perryman, DaQuan Jones and Morgan Fox this offseason to juice up the group.
“For the team, especially with the front seven like we have, I think that this corner and this secondary group can be really, really special, man. I think we have all the pieces. We have the IQs in the backend, we have the physicality, we have the speed. It’s just gonna be all about detailing and coming in and just trying to be consistent and working.”
This might’ve been a stretch for anyone in the organization, let alone Jackson, to say about this unit last season. A year ago today, the Panthers secondary was almost exclusively filled up by rookies and practice squad-caliber players.
With an extra 12 months of improvement for their younger guys has, again, come some considerable reinforcements. Bringing on rookies Jaycee Horn and Keith Taylor as well as free agents A.J. Bouye and Rashaan Melvin has helped give Carolina a nice facelift as they continue their rebuilding process.
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Here is a look at the three positions that the Panthers have improved most since last season.
The Panthers will resume their OTA workouts tomorrow, taking the next step towards the 2021 season. June 1 is a significant date on the NFL calendar for a number of reasons, so now’s a good time to reflect on where the team is heading into the summer months.
For Carolina, this offseason has been all about upgrading a young roster with an eye on fundamentally changing how they can play defense. Here is a look at the three positions that the Panthers have improved most since last season.
Lost: Rasul Douglas, Corn Elder
Gained: Jaycee Horn, Keith Taylor, Rashaan Melvin, A.J. Bouye
Clearly, the No. 1 priority on general manager Scott Fitterer’s list was upgrading what was an unreliable cornerback room in 2020. No longer having Elder at nickel may sting, but only if they don’t use their personnel right. After investing significant resources at the position, there’s more than enough firepower to go around, here.
In free agency, the Panthers picked up Bouye and Melvin – two solid veterans who may be past their prime but came on cheap, short-term deals. In the draft, Carolina added two rookies with Horn and Taylor – both long, physical, lanky Seattle type corners who can press.
If the plan is to start Horn and Bouye outside and slide Donte Jackson inside to cover the slot there’s a real chance this cornerback group could go from liability to strength. Putting that group out there together should enable defensive coordinator Phil Snow to be far more aggressive using man coverage following a zone-heavy 2020 campaign.
Lost: Tahir Whitehead, Adarius Taylor
Gained: Denzel Perryman, Haason Reddick, Frankie Luvu, Paddy Fisher
Another spot that got a nice boost was linebacker – both the inside and outside versions. Going from Whitehead as the starting Mike to Perryman might be the single-most impactful move the team makes this year defensively. At the very least, Perryman is a far more efficient tackler and light years ahead in coverage. If things don’t work out with Perryman or he gets injured again, they still have an excellent backup in Jermaine Carter.
Outside, the Panthers helped their pass rush by signing Reddick – who posted 12.5 sacks and 16 QB hits last season after moving out to the edge in Arizona. If he comes anywhere close to repeating those numbers, the one-year, $6 milllion deal he signed for will be a steal.
Lost: Chris Manhertz
Gained: Dan Arnold, Tommy Tremble
Offensively, the Panthers made huge changes at quarterback, left tackle and wide receiver, but it remains to be seen if those moves have actually made them better. That said, on paper it’s pretty clear that Carolina is deeper at tight end compared to last year.
Manhertz may be one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. However, he’ll turn 30 in a couple weeks and most likely won’t be effective much longer. The Panthers should get an effective replacement with Tremble, who has been dubbed the best blocking tight end in college football. If he lives up to that billing, Manhertz won’t be missed.
Like the Reddick acquisition, signing Arnold for two years and $6 million could be another significant under-the-radar steal in free agency. Arnold posted four touchdowns and 438 yards for the Cards last year. Similar production would be a step up compared to what the Panthers have gotten from this spot since Greg Olsen’s foot injuries began in 2017.
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Carolina Panthers: 2021 Salary cap numbers for 12 new players.
The Panthers are expected to sign former Titans defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, according to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.Â
The Panthers are expected to sign former Titans defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, according to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.
A 99-game veteran at this level, Jones helps fill one of the team’s most critical personnel needs. Losing Efe Obada and releasing Kawann Short and Zach Kerr had left the team extremely thin along the interior of their defensive line. Jones is a run-stopping tackle who should help fill the void left by those losses. More importantly, signing Jones represents another milestone acquisition in what’s become a clear pattern for the organization this offseason.
Whereas former general manager Marty Hurney appeared to be somewhat slow on the draw, these Panthers have been far more active than any offseason in recent memory under the direction of head coach Matt Rhule and new GM Scott Fitterer.
The most important move that the front office has made thus far was when they used the franchise tag on their star right tackle Taylor Moton. Allowing Moton to test the open market might have been devastating for an offensive line that could have turned over four starters this year. Instead, the Panthers kept their best OL in the fold, sending a message that they’re serious about maintaining and upgrading a roster in dire need of improvement.
Since the Moton tag was announced, Carolina has been as busy as any team in the NFL. In free agency, they have signed a series of players to mostly team-friendly one and two-year deals. Some of their best hits include adding Haason Reddick and Denzel Perryman to their front seven at a pittance, as well as tight end Dan Arnold – also at a bargain – to boost what were some abysmal red zone numbers last year.
There have been some missteps. Most notably, the early additions of OL Pat Elflein and Cameron Erving will likely turn sour, but they’re also the exceptions to the rule. Generally speaking, this front office has hit the right notes.
This new-look Panthers regime has also been heavily-involved on the trade front. They spent the last several months trying to land an upgrade at quarterback, first attempting to get Matt Stafford, then openly thirsting for Deshaun Watson and finally trading three draft picks for Sam Darnold.
There are legitimate questions about Darnold’s game and how much of an upgrade he really is compared to Teddy Bridgewater. Other pickups also have their issues, from A.J. Bouye’s suspension and post-2017 decline to David Moore’s prowess as a WR3.
There’s no such thing as a perfect offseason though and in the big picture this franchise has been aggressively pursuing its needs and showing a previously-missing sense of urgency.
Time will tell whether the moves that they’ve made will pay off and help turn around a team that’s suffered three losing seasons in a row. To their credit, Fitterer and Rhule are using all the tools at their disposal to try to get better. At the end of the day, that’s all any fan of a struggling team can ask.
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Former Panthers and Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas signed with the Raiders on Monday.
Former Panthers and Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas signed with the Raiders on Monday.
Douglas came to Carolina shortly before the 2020 season began. For a while, it looked like the team had picked up an excellent bargain at cornerback at the last minute. During the first half of the year, Douglas generally played tight coverage.
However, his game fell off dramatically in the second half of the season, beginning with a putrid game Week 9 against the Chiefs that saw Douglas frequently out of position. In the end, Douglas wound up allowing six touchdowns and a 108.5 passer rating in coverage for the year.
The Panthers decided to address their need at cornerback much earlier this offseason. A couple weeks ago, they signed the 29-year old veteran A.J. Bouye, who even past his prime represents a significant upgrade. Carolina has also met virtually with several nickel cornerback prospects leading into next week’s draft.
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Let’s reassess what this team’s roster needs are as we move towards the home stretch approaching the 2021 NFL draft.
The Panthers had more significant roster holes than any team could realistically hope to address in one draft class not long ago. Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer have been busy, though. Their two most recent moves are the most important that they’ve made so far this year, aside from the no-brainer that was franchise-tagging right tackle Taylor Moton.
Last week, they traded three draft picks to the Jets for Sam Darnold, filling their desire for an upgrade over starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. There are questions about Darnold’s production in New York as well as his turnover habit, but we can at least move forward assuming Darnold will be the starter in 2021.
The Panthers also signed former Broncos cornerback A.J. Bouye, finally picking up the veteran outside corner they wanted to pair with Donte Jackson. With Bouye there are also concerns – specifically about how far over the hill he is compared to his peak in 2017 when he made the Pro Bowl as part of a loaded Jaguars defense. Still, Bouye checks the biggest box for Carolina on that side of the ball.
Let’s reassess what this team’s roster needs are as we move towards the home stretch approaching the 2021 NFL draft.
