The Panthers announced the return of CB Rashaan Melvin, who is back on a one-year deal for 2022.
By normal societal standards, Rashaan Melvin is a young gun. But as a member of the current Carolina Panthers cornerbacks room, he’s an OG.
On Wednesday afternoon, the team announced they’ve agreed to terms on a deal with the 32-year-old defender. The new pact will run through the 2022 season.
Melvin will return as the elder statesman of the group for his ninth NFL campaign. He cracked into the league back in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Illinois University.
This past year, Melvin appeared in 10 games for Carolina. Those outings, which included a pair of starts, resulted in sixteen combined tackles and—for the film buffs—a 59.2 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus.
The Panthers are also fresh off bringing back fellow corner Donte Jackson, who signed a three-year, $35.1 million contract to return. Melvin and Jackson return to head the crop of youngsters that features Jaycee Horn, CJ Henderson, Keith Taylor Jr. and Myles Hartsfield.
Let’s take a look at Florida’s Kyle Pitts, the most athletic tight end in college football.
Over their first four games, the Panthers have displayed a strong offense. Robby Anderson is having a career year, D.J. Moore is steadily producing, and Teddy Bridgewater is performing efficiently. Once Christian McCaffrey returns, this team looks like one that could average 30 points a game. However, they are not a powerhouse offense quite yet. There’s still one missing piece. Ian Thomas is progressing, but has not proven to be a true No. 1 tight end. Fortunately, there are plenty of options to choose from in this upcoming 2021 NFL draft. Let’s take a look at Florida’s Kyle Pitts, the most athletic tight end in college football.
Profile:
6-foot-6, 245 pounds
Projected 40 yard dash: 4.45 seconds
Pitts is essentially a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. He possesses elite speed, textbook route running, excellent hands and insane hops for his size. Pitts not only possesses great hands, he makes contested catches look easy by using his leaping ability, body control and long arms. The other things that make Pitts so dangerous are his short area quickness and route running. Those two traits go hand in hand, as Pitts has proven many times his ability to cook defensive backs and linebackers in short space.
Pitts in an absolute matchup nightmare for defenses. Teams can’t put linebackers on him because he will outrun and shred them in short yardage. Teams can’t put safeties or nickel corners on him either because of the size mismatch. The only way to slow down Pitts is with a physical, prototypical safety or linebacker who can press him hard at the line of scrimmage and run with him down the field. However, if Pitts can learn how to consistently break press coverage, he would be unstoppable.
Highlights:
Pitts vs. Ole Miss
Pitts vs. Towson
2019 highlights
How he compares:
Pitts, Penn State’s Pat Friermuth, Miami’s Brevin Jordan and Michigan’s Nick Eubanks are the top tight ends in this year’s class. Friermuth and Pitts are head and shoulders above the others but have very different profiles. Friermuth is a much better blocker than Pitts and still shows tremendous athleticism for a 6-foot-5, 255 pounder. However, Pitts is an absolute matchup nightmare and presents more versatility being able to lineup anywhere on the field. Having said that, offensive schemes will ultimately decide which tight end comes off the board first.
