Tag: Jeremy Chinn

Panthers 2021 training camp: Notes from Tuesday’s practice

Here are a few notes from the team and the reporters on-site.

The Carolina Panthers just finished up another training camp practice in Spartanburg, the last before they travel to Indianapolis for a couple of joint practices with the Colts ahead of their preseason opener on Sunday.

Here are a few notes from the team and the reporters on-site.

No pads

Today’s practice was on the lighter side, closer to a walk-through that you’d expect on a Friday during the regular season. Players were wearing shorts and shells but no pads.

Two offensive linemen upgraded

Starting center Matt Paradis (back) and left tackle Cameron Erving (shoulder) were spotted wearing green jerseys. That indicates they’re progressing and getting close to full participation.

The team’s star right tackle Taylor Moton once again took reps on the blindside in Erving’s absence.

Jeremy Chinn flashes ball skills again

Second-year safety Jeremy Chinn has been busy breaking up passes and picking them off throughout camp. Today, Chinn flashed those ball skills again by intercepting a Sam Darnold pass intended for tight end Dan Arnold.

More options at punt returner

We probably won’t see either one of them fielding punts during the season, but the Panthers do have a couple capable backup options in running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver D.J. Moore, who took punt returner reps with recevers David Moore and C.J. Saunders.

The Panthers have tomorrow off then practice with the Colts on Thursday and Friday.

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Panthers DB Jeremy Chinn says Jaycee Horn is ‘definitely a playmaker’

Horn will be the centerpiece of this unit over the next several years if all goes according to plan.

Not too long ago, Carolina’s secondary was easily the biggest weakness on this team. For several years, the Panthers had no depth at cornerback and when they finally got a good one they let him walk and sign with the Giants. Until he was released earlier this year, Tre Boston was their only solidly reliable safety since the 2015 season.

All that appears to be changing before our eyes, though. General manager Scott Fitterer came in with a clear goal of upgrading the DB room, beginning with investing a top-10 pick in former South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Horn will be the centerpiece of this unit over the next several years if all goes according to plan. While the learning curve at his position is exceptionally brutal, Horn has acquitted himself quite well in the early days at training camp. After today’s practice, safety Jeremy Chinn said he’s definitely a playmaker.

Today alone, Horn picked off starting quarterback Sam Darnold on a pass that came off tight end Ian Thomas’ hands. He also notched an interception on an overthrow by backup QB P.J. Walker.

Hopefully this strong start carries over into the preseason and he can hit the ground running.

If Chinn continues to develop, Horn lives up to all the hype and A.J. Bouye works out in the slot, this secondary could soon turn into one of the Panthers’ strengths.

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Panthers 2021 training camp: 4 players with the most buzz after 4 practices

After four practices at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., here are the four players who are causing the most buzz for the black and blue.

With training camp for the 2021 season now officially under way, the Carolina Panthers have given their fans a little taste of what’s to come. But who has given us the tastiest samples so far?

After four practices at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., here are the four players who are causing the most buzz for the black and blue.

 

Panthers secondary gets below-average ranking from Pro Football Focus

Jeremy Chinn’s development in coverage will be a critical factor to watch as the schedule unfolds, as will A.J. Bouye’s performance playing in the slot as opposed to outside.

We’re expecting a better-than-average defense for the Carolina Panthers this season. Their defensive line should be able to generate pressure consistently, and they have a much better-looking depth chart at middle linebacker now compared to 2020. The x-factor will be how well their new-look secondary performs.

Carolina invested a lot of resources at cornerback this offseason. In theory that should help, but there are still questions about this unit. Pro Football Focus has their secondary ranked No. 23 in the NFL going into 2021.

“The Panthers have selected Jeremy Chinn, Troy Pride Jr. and Jaycee Horn in the past two drafts to join Donte Jackson in the secondary, showing that the team values speed and athleticism. . . Improvement from Chinn in his second season, along with immediate contributions from newcomers Horn and A.J. Bouye, could lead to an improved secondary for the Panthers in 2021.”

Jeremy Chinn’s development in coverage will be a critical factor to watch as the schedule unfolds, as will A.J. Bouye’s performance playing in the slot as opposed to outside. Assuming that Jaycee Horn lives up to the hype and Donte Jackson continues trending up, the only real worrisome spot might be at free safety.

Cutting Tre Boston for minimal cap savings was one of this team’s most questionable moves. They didn’t draft any safeties to replace him and the only notable free agent pickup was Lano Hill, who has just six career starts under his belt.

If this hole at free safety isn’t effectively filled by Juston Burris or somebody else on the roster, it could become the weakest link in the chain on the back end. Finding a workable solution at this spot should be at the top of the team’s to-do list on defense as training camp approaches.

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Ranking the NFC South DBs: Which Panthers are rising up the division?

The Panthers have a pair of risers in Donte Jackson and Jeremy Chinn.

As much as Carolina Panthers fans would probably love to see it, no, Jaycee Horn will not be featured on this list. Not yet, anyway.

Perhaps they’ll love to see a few of their other young and talented defensive backs, ones that are a little more proven. So, who are they and where they do rank amongst their peers in the NFC South?

2 Carolina Panthers named league’s most versatile players by NFL.com

The Panthers have an embarrassment of riches in this department.

Jeremy Chinn is going to be a special defender for the Carolina Panthers, hopefully for a long time.

Coming off a solid rookie season that was better than expected, Chinn has been named the league’s most versatile player by Gil Brandt at NFL.com.

“Every once in a while, a player with elite pro potential will slip through the cracks at the college level, and it appears this is what happened with Chinn, a second-round pick out of Southern Illinois last year who emerged as a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. . . Chinn is a back-seven defender who can match up against basically anyone, whether he’s functioning as a linebacker, safety or slot defender.”

Chinn has a lot of excellent qualities – his athleticism and range jump out on film right away. That ability to line up at so many different spots is his most valuable asset, though. The rare flexibility Chinn offers gives defensive coordinator Phil Snow a lot more options as far as the personnel packages he can put to use.

The Panthers have an embarrassment of riches in this department.

In addition to Chinn, they have another do-it-all weapon on the other side of the ball in their star running back Christian McCaffrey. He was ranked the league’s second-most-versatile player on the same list.

“McCaffrey’s spot could be justified by his 2019 season alone, considering he became one of just three players in NFL history to top 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. . . It would not be surprising if McCaffrey’s workload were to shrink a bit, given that he’s coming off a season in which injuries cost him all but three games, but it’s tough to conceive of an offensive player who can come close to achieving his status as a do-everything monster.”

From McCaffrey and Chinn to up-and-coming studs like Brian Burns and D.J. Moore, there’s a lot to like about this roster.

If Carolina can finally figure things out at quarterback, this team might just be back in contention sooner rather than later.

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Panthers safety, long-time specialist identified as potential chopping block candidates

Which NFL team has undergone more personnel changes over the last few years than the Carolina Panthers?

Which NFL team has undergone more personnel changes over the last few years than the Carolina Panthers? It seems dozens of fan favorites and franchise legends have left the team since the start of 2018. Whether it was retirement, trade or free agency, the team has said good-bye to big names like Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers, Ryan Kalil, Greg Olsen and Mario Addison to name just a few.

This offseason we could see their longest-tenured player finally move on, officially closing the previous chapter in this team’s history. According to David Newton at ESPN, long-time long snapper J.J. Jansen is is the top candidate to get cut before the season begins.

“Jansen has been one of the best long-snappers in the NFL since he arrived at Carolina in 2009. But when a team drafts a long-snapper — especially if it’s in the sixth round, when the Panthers selected Alabama’s Thomas Fletcher — it’s doing so with the mindset that he’ll make the roster. It simply doesn’t make sense to keep two long-snappers, particularly when one counts $1 million toward the salary cap.”

Fair enough. It was a strange flex to use a draft pick on Fletcher, but in any case the pressure is on Jansen to prove the job should still be his. Fletcher should probably be considered the favorite, but we can’t write off Jansen just yet. While Fletcher has that expended draft capital and youth working in his favor, Jansen has 192 games and 12 years of experience on his side.

There will be a lot more than just one cut come the end of the preseason, though. Rosters will be trimmed from 90 to 53 from Aug. 17-31.

Another potential cut is defensive back Juston Burris, who’s been named as a chopping block candidate by CBS Sports.

“But as they’re trying to level up the secondary, it comes time to decide if Burris is a capable starter to protect the back end behind Horn going forward. The Panthers might do well to instead lean more heavily on Jeremy Chin and to see what Sam Franklin can truly do if fully unleashed than to eat Burris’ salary in 2021. The 28-year-old will punch the Panthers cap for $4.83 million this season, but $3.78 million can revert to savings if they divorce him.”

That’s a decent chunk of change for the cap considering Burris’ value. However, it’s not enough reason to cut him.

Last year around this time we pinpointed backup running back Mike Davis as a seemingly obvious roster cut due to the cap savings involved. Instead, Davis stuck around and wound up balling out as a starter in the wake of Christian McCaffrey’s injuries. Despite what the analytics say about paying running backs, keeping Davis turned out to be the right decision.

Heading into 2021, the Panthers are pretty thin at the safety position, especially after the questionable decision to release Tre Boston. Burris may be able to keep his spot for no other reason than Carolina not having any better options to take his place.

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Panthers S Jeremy Chinn talks about his flexible mindset as a rookie

Chinn says he came into the league with the mindset of being open to line up anywhere as long as he’s being used.

Learning to play any position in the NFL can be brutal for rookies. Imagine how difficult it must be for the new breed of positionless defensive players, who come in and fill multiple roles right away.

For example, Jeremy Chinn of the Panthers was listed as a linebacker in 2020, but over the course of the season he wound up playing all over the field. Chinn says he came into the league with the mindset of being open to line up anywhere as long as he’s being used.

Looking ahead, defensive coordinator Phil Snow is moving Chinn to safety. He says he’s comfortable with the move.

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Panthers coach Matt Rhule: Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn both had ‘surgical cleanups’

These are arguably the two most important defensive pieces that the Panthers have on the roster right now.

Several Carolina Panthers players were wearing red no-contact jerseys at today’s OTA practice. All participated in some form, though.

Among the long list of names that were in red today include defensive end Brian Burns and hybrid Jeremy Chinn. Apparently, both had offseason surgery. Head coach Matt Rhule shared that news in his post-practice press conference. Burns underwent a procedure on his shoulder, but there’s no specifics for Chinn as of yet.

These are arguably the two most important defensive pieces that the Panthers have on the roster right now.

Burns largely flew under the radar but played about as well as any edge defender in the NFL outside of T.J. Watt. Meanwhile, Chinn looked as impressive as any first-year defensive player not named Chase Young. Carolina will need both healthy once the games begin. Fortunately, there’s still a lot of time for these two and the other players in red to fully recover from whatever their offseason issues are.

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