Tag: Jeremy Chinn

Jalen Hurts, J.K. Dobbins and Jeremy Chinn to be forever linked by Eagles pick at No. 53

Eagles Had Two Other Players “Under Consideration” if Jalen Hurts was Off the Board

[jwplayer 7WtFydqW]

The 2020 NFL Draft will be a defining moment for the Philadelphia Eagles as an organization and their second-round pick will have a lasting effect on several franchises around the league.

At pick No. 53 in the second round, the Eagles solidified their backup quarterback position by selection former Alabama and Oklahoma star signal-caller, Jalen Hurts. The pick caused controversy after the Eagles committed $128 million to star quarterback Carson Wentz.

The move will now link three or four players together forever thanks to this tidbit from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.

Breer recently reported that the Eagles had eyes on Southern Illinois S/LB Jeremy Chinn and Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins in 2nd round, but only if Hurts was off the board.

I’ve got a couple of fun notes on the Eagles’ vetting of Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts, which provided the runway for his selection as the 53rd pick on Friday. One, VP of player personnel Andy Weidl actually got live exposure to Hurts in game action—he was on site for the Sooners’ 52–14 beatdown of West Virginia. Hurts threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-17 passing, and his only incompletion came on a drop by Drake Stoops (yup, Bob’s son); and he rushed for 75 yards and two more touchdowns on 10 carries. Two, pass-game coordinator Press Taylor was on site for Oklahoma’s pro day on March 12, which took place just before the scouting circuit was shut down, and gave Philly another data point to work off. Obviously, both of those guys had positive impressions. And again, I think the main argument here is how high Hurts was picked, given that the Eagles just gave their young franchise quarterback a top-of-the-market deal. Only time will tell us the rest of the story. And if you want something to track coming out of all this: Southern Illinois S/LB Jeremy Chinn (Panthers) and Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins (Ravens) were two players I’d heard would’ve been under consideration, had Hurts not been the pick at 53. Gun to my head, I say Philly would’ve taken Chinn in that circumstance.

The Eagles indeed have Sanders at the running back position and it would have likely caused the same controversy if the Birds had chosen Dobbins at No. 53, making that two straight years they went running back early.

It would have made for a very dynamic running game, but the more obvious comparisons could come between Chinn and Eagles fourth-round pick, former Clemson star K’Von Wallace.

Chinn is a versatile defender who likely slid in the draft because of the level of competition he faced at Southern Illinois. He’s an imposing figure at safety and if he turns out to become a better player than Wallace, then Eagles fans will most certainly refer back to Hurts being the selection and not Chinn.

[vertical-gallery id=637243]

[lawrence-related id=637399,637382,637385,637377]

Panthers still have not signed 6 of their 7 draft picks

2020 NFL Draft: The Carolina Panthers have still not signed 6 of their 7 picks from this year.

The Carolina Panthers signed their first-round draft pick Derrick Brown in early May to a four-year, $23.6 million deal that’s fully guaranteed. As of the middle of June, Brown is still the only Carolina draft pick who has signed this year.

What gives? As with so many other things right now, the 2020 draft class is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Unless they are rehabbing from an injury, players are still not allowed inside team facilities. While coaches have the green light, Matt Rhule has not yet gotten in the building since the NFL shut things down back in March.

Pretty much every other team is in the same boat. So far, only three first-round picks have been signed. The others are Tua Tagovailoa and Austin Jackson of the Dolphins. According to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, only 60 of this year’s 255 picks have been signed in total.

Rhule told reporters a few weeks ago that he believes training camp will begin around July 28. We should see a flurry of picks signing their rookie deals around then.

[lawrence-related id=625401]

[vertical-gallery id=625425]

Watch: Panthers second-round pick Jeremy Chinn shows off agility, ball skills

Panthers second-round pick Jeremy Chinn shows off agility, ball skills in video.

Jeremy Chinn is going to be something special once he gets adjusted to life in the NFL. The Panthers traded up for him at the end of the second round of the 2020 draft and he figures to fill a big role for Carolina’s defense in the future, whatever position he winds up playing.

You can only learn so much from a short video, but in this clip shared by the team’s Twitter account you can see Chinn’s agility as well as his ball skills at the end. Watch.

Chinn will need those quick steps and ability to change of direction if he’s going to keep up with pro receivers.

 

[lawrence-related id=623215]

[vertical-gallery id=623232]

Muhsin Muhammad calls Jeremy Chinn ‘a helluva pick’ by Panthers

Former Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad likes what the team did in the early rounds of the 2020 NFL draft.

Former Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad likes what the team did in the early rounds of the 2020 NFL draft.

In response to a question by Joe Person at the Athletic, Muhammad chose first-round pick Derrick Brown and second-rounder Jeremy Chinn as the two pieces he would build around outside of star running back Christian McCaffrey. Here’s what Muhammad said.

“Derrick Brown. I would say Brown, obviously anchoring the D-line. They definitely want to build around him. Jeremy Chinn. Watching him play, his length, his aggressive, laser, seek-and-destroy kind of mentality. He’s fast. He’s an athlete, smart kid. I like him at safety. I like him at the rover linebacker. His cover skills, his closing skills — I like all of it. I thought it was a helluva pick.”

For what it’s worth, we agree and Chinn was our favorite pick of the draft.

Aside from superb athletic testing, the most exciting part about Chinn’s game is his versatility. During his time at Southern Illinois, he put in time at safety, linebacker, nickel corner and outside corner.

We believe his best path towards playing time as a rookie is to take over Eric Reid’s former spot as the starting strong safety. To do that, he’ll likely have to beat out Juston Burris, who was one of the team’s few defensive free agent signings this offseason.

The Panthers also need someone to replace Javien Elliott at nickel. Chinn might be a bit raw but matching his size and athleticism against slot receivers is a tantalyzing proposition.

As Muhammad mentioned, linebacker is another possibility. The team’s depth here took a huge hit due to Luke Kuechly’s retirement. Especially if Tahir Whitehead continues to struggle in coverage, there may be an opportunity for snaps there, as well.

Deciding where Chinn fits best is a good problem for defensive coordinator Phil Snow to have.

[lawrence-related id=621676]

[vertical-gallery id=623067]

PFF: Jeremy Chinn ‘name to watch’ for Panthers in 2020

Pro Football Focus just released their projected starting lineups for all 32 NFL teams this year. 

The Carolina Panthers are a radically different team now than the last time they took the field in 2019. Most of the defense has been turned over, along with three offensive linemen, the quarterback and several wide receivers. Getting to know this roster and how all the pieces fit together may take some time, especially given the lack of a traditional offseason program.

Pro Football Focus just released their projected starting lineups for all 32 NFL teams this year.

PFF’s matches our own projections pretty much exactly with a couple of small exceptions. First, they have Michael Schofield slated to play right guard and John Miller left guard instead of the other way around. Either way is a possibility, but both players have traditionally played the right side.

On defense, we project Jeremy Chinn will start at either slot cornerback or strong safety. PFF has Corn Elder in the slot and Juston Burris replacing Eric Reid for now, though. However, they pinpointed Chinn as a “name to watch” for the Panthers in 2020.

“Chinn is undeniably raw coming out of Southern Illinois. He has all the size and athleticism to be a dominant player in the box, but he doesn’t play to that physicality and lacks the processing speed to be an impactful player out of the gates. Those uncoachable physical traits could push him onto the field sooner rather than later, though, particularly with the state of the strong safety depth chart in front of him.”

Fair points.

We should get a better idea of just how much time Chinn needs to adjust to how fast the NFL game is played during the preseason. While his athletic testing is undeniably exciting, the level of competition he faced in college is a real question mark. It might take him longer than the average highly-touted DB prospect to get up to speed.

Either way, we expect him to be playing significant snaps by mid-season.

[lawrence-related id=622925]

[vertical-gallery id=622915]

6 new Panthers players under pressure to perform in 2020

Here are six new players who are under pressure to perform this year.

Some people believe the Panthers are going to finish the 2020 season with the worst record in the NFL. While that would set them up to pick a new franchise quarterback in next year’s draft, losing the most games in the league is generally something teams try to avoid. If they’re not interested in tanking, this group is going to need several key players to perform.

Guys who were already on the roster last year who will need to carry a heavy load in 2020 include Christian McCaffrey, Matt Paradis, Ian Thomas, Shaq Thompson and Donte Jackson. We’re already familiar with those players and their expectations, though.

Here are six new players who are under pressure to perform this year.

QB Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Bridgewater has the biggest shoes to fill, at least as far as this franchise is concerned. He doesn’t have the same arm talent or the mobility that Cam Newton does, so it wouldn’t be fair to expect the same things from him as we would from a healthy Newton. What Bridgewater should be judged on his how effectively and aggressively he runs offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s scheme. Dumping off to McCaffrey and throwing simple slants to D.J. Moore over and over isn’t going to get it done. He needs to take advantage of the speed of Curtis Samuel and Robby Anderson and test opponents deep more often than he has in his career up until this point. If Bridgewater elevates his game and becomes more than a check-down artist, he’ll have a chance to be the long-term QB1 and not just a bridge option.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6

Could the Panthers 2020 NFL draft class make the biggest impact?

These 2020 Panthers aren’t going to the Super Bowl, but there’s a real chance for each of these draft picks to shine.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule told the media after the 2020 NFL draft that his team will have to rely on their rookies. He wasn’t kidding. With so many holes to fill on defense, there’s a chance we may see every single pick get serious playing time this coming season.

In fact, since Carolina needs this class to produce so badly their 2020 rookies might have a bigger impact than any other team’s in the league. At least that’s what Mike Clay said in an ESPN panel about the draft’s biggest questions. Here’s his reasoning.

“It’s hard to go against the Dolphins here, but the Panthers’ defense was in such rough shape entering draft weekend that they became the first team in the modern era to spend every one of their selections on defensive players. It’s conceivable that all seven rookies could play a significant 2020 role and that can be considered a near lock for defensive tackle Derrick Brown, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and safety Jeremy Chinn, all early-round selections.”

Clay makes a good point. There are some legitimate question marks about this draft class, though. Derrick Brown’s athleticism, Troy Pride Jr.’s size and the level of competition Jeremy Chinn faced in college all have to be taken into account.

It’s also rare for a defense-heavy rookie class to make a significant impact, but there are exceptions. For example, the 2016 Falcons team that made it to the Super Bowl had four rookies starting for a defensive unit that rounded into shape near the end of the season.

These 2020 Panthers aren’t going to the Super Bowl, but there’s a real chance for each of these draft picks to shine.

[lawrence-related id=622452]

[vertical-gallery id=622471]

Relative Athletic Scores for the Panthers 2020 NFL draft class

The Carolina Panthers’ 2020 draft class has a bit of both.

Athleticism isn’t everything for pro prospects. It’s only one piece in a complicated puzzle that scouting departments use to evaluate college players and project how well they will perform at the next level. That said, it’s an important piece. While there are exceptions, plus athletes tend to do better in the NFL than those who have mediocre or poor athletic testing numbers.

The Carolina Panthers’ 2020 draft class has a bit of both.

There are several reasons why we’re not thrilled with the team’s selection of Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown at No. 7 overall. The biggest question about Brown is his lack of athleticism as his poor showing at the scouting combine gave legitimate cause for concern.

While he has excellent size for his position, Brown is only average when it comes to explosiveness and speed and has shown very poor agility. Overall, his relative athletic score was 5.89 out of 10.

This doesn’t mean Brown is going to be a bust or that the pick was the worst possible choice that the Panthers could have made.

Brown was a relatively safe choice and there’s no question that his size and power will help make him a strong run defender. However, his lack of agility and speed will likely make it more far difficult for Brown to impact the game as a pass rusher. He isn’t the entire draft class, though.

We feel much better about the rest of the team’s picks, especially Jeremy Chinn at No. 64. Again, athleticism doesn’t guarantee he will make it in the NFL. However, Chinn certainly has all the physical tools he needs to do so.

According to the same model by Kent Lee Platte, Chinn had a perfect 10, with elite size, speed, explosiveness and agility scores among safeties.

In our humble opinion, Chinn was the best draft pick the team made this year. It may take some time for him to settle in, adjust to the speed of the pro game and find his best position. However, we expect him to develop into a special defender.

As for the rest of the class, Yetur Gross-Matos, Bravvion Roy and Kenny Robinson all didn’t do enough testing to qualify. Troy Pride Jr. scored an average 7.18 RAS, while seventh-round pick Stantley Thomas-Oliver scored a strong 8.26.

[lawrence-related id=622196]

[vertical-gallery id=622185]

2020 NFL draft: Panthers announce jersey numbers for rookie class

The Panthers have announced the jersey numbers for each of their picks in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Panthers have announced the jersey numbers for each of their picks in the 2020 NFL draft.

Here is what the rookies will be wearing this year, per the team website.

Round One: DT Derrick Brown: No. 95

Brown takes Charles Johnson’s old No. 95. Johnson ranks second all time in franchise history in sacks behind Julius Peppers.

Round Two: DE Yetur Gross-Matos: No. 97

Penn State’s Gross-Matos is taking Mario Addison’s former No. 97. Addison signed a three-year deal with the Bills last month.

Round Two: DB/LB Jeremy Chinn: No. 21

Carolina traded up at the end of round two for Chinn, who will wear No. 21. The last player to wear it was safety Da’Norris Searcy.

Round Four: CB Troy Pride Jr.: No. 25

The Pride of Notre Dame will wear No. 25, last worn by Eric Reid, who was released in March despite a $5 million dead money penalty.

Round Five: S Kenny Robinson: No. 27

The steal of the draft for the Panthers was Robinson, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s taking former cornerback Kevon Seymour’s old No. 27.

Round Six: DT Bravvion Roy: No. 93

Matt Rhule only picked one Baylor prospect in the draft, to the surprise of some. Roy will wear No. 93, last held by Gerald McCoy, now in Dallas.

Round Seven: CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III: No. 23

Last but not least, FIU’s Thomas-Oliver is wearing No. 23. Defensive back LaDarius Gunter wore the number in 2017.

[lawrence-related id=621951]

[vertical-gallery id=621958]

Panthers GM Marty Hurney admits ‘corner is a spot of need’

General manager Marty Hurney admits that it’s a spot of need, but he says he doesn’t want to reach for a player.

As expected, this has been a defense-heavy draft class for the Carolina Panthers. So far, they have added three defensive prospects who project as starters for the 2020 season.

In the first round, they passed on Clemson LB Isaiah Simmons and picked Auburn DT Derrick Brown at No. 7. Next, they selected Penn State EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos with the No. 38 pick. Then, they traded up to No. 64 and chose Southern Illinois DB/LB Jeremy Chinn.

That’s a good start for a unit that came into this draft looking like the worst defense in the league on paper.

One spot that hasn’t been addressed yet? The most problematic of them: cornerback. Coming into the draft, we pinpointed corner as the top position of need. As of yet, they haven’t picked one, which is a bit concerning to say the least.

General manager Marty Hurney admits that it’s a spot of need, but he says he doesn’t want to reach for a player.

Fair enough, but the Panthers are running out of options if they are planning on getting a starting-level cornerback in this class.

The addition of Chinn will help in this area, as he has the ability to play slot corner as well as the outside. However, he’s primarily a safety/linebacker hybrid who we expect to become Eric Reid’s successor at strong safety. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow still needs somebody to take James Bradberry’s spot plus a replacement for top backup Ross Cockrell.

[lawrence-related id=621676,621649]

[vertical-gallery id=621050]