Tag: Yetur Gross-Matos

New PFF mock draft sees three Penn Staters go in first three rounds

Three Penn Staters in first three rounds of PFF’s latest mock

The first week of NFL free agency is over, and now we are just over a month away from the 2024 NFL draft and its full-blown mock draft bonanza.

Pro Football Focus (PFF), known for its 0-100 NFL and college football player grades, released its latest three-round mock draft. This iteration included a few exciting trades, including the Minnesota Vikings trading up to pick No. 4 for Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema has three Penn State players going in the first three rounds: OT [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag], EDGE [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] and EDGE [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag].

Sikkema has Fashanu going No. 14 overall to the New Orleans Saints, which is a bit further down in the first round than earlier in the draft season. The former Penn State star was initially seen as a top-10 pick, but an injury at the combine, plus concerns from teams about handling power rushers, has seen his stock fall.

Fashanu brings some concerns about how he deals with power, but he’s a fantastic athlete and a great pass protector who can still develop that power as a young player. The Saints can’t just roll into next season under the assumption that Trevor Penning will get substantially better. – Trevor Sikkema, PFF

Sikkema notes Fashanu’s elite athleticism and prowess as a great pass-protector, and the Saints would seem to be a prudent fit, considering their ranking as the 10th most pass-heavy offense in the league last year.

Although many, including Chop Robinson himself, see him as a first-rounder, PFF has Robinson missing out on the first day of the draft by just one spot. Sikkema has the Carolina Panthers selecting the Penn State pass rusher with the No. 33 pick, where he would likely fill the void left by former Penn Stater [autotag]Yetur Gross-Matos[/autotag], who left for the 49ers in free agency.

With the ninth pick of the third round (No. 73 overall), Sikkema has the Detroit Lions selecting edge rusher Adisa Isaac, who could pair nicely as a bookend to former Michigan star Aidan Hutchison as part of an up-and-coming defensive line.

The NFL draft will take place from April 25 to April 27 in Detroit, and the Chicago Bears will have the first overall pick.

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49ers can’t be done adding edge depth after agreeing to deals with 2 DEs

The 49ers did a nice job adding at DE on Monday, but they can’t stop now.

The 49ers on Monday showed what their top priority was in free agency when they quickly scooped up two affordable defensive ends in the first day of the NFL’s legal negotiating window. Deals agreed upon during that window won’t become official until the league year begins Wednesday at 1:00pm Pacific Time.

San Francisco added veteran DEs Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos on relatively affordable two-year deals. While the big-time splash along the defensive line isn’t likely coming, they can’t be done adding depth on the edges.

Adding defensive end help was maybe the second-biggest offseason need for the 49ers. Having a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate at one end is nice, but San Francisco has placed a major emphasis on its defensive front. They needed additional help for Bosa with Drake Jackson and Robert Beal Jr. as the only other DEs slated to potentially play major roles in 2024.

Floyd and Gross-Matos will help in that realm. The former was a full-time starter for the Bills last season, but he played just 54 percent of Buffalo’s defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Gross-Matos missed five games and started only half of the 12 games he played. That’s not to say he can’t develop into a full-time starter, which he was for the Panthers in 2022, but his production as a pass rusher has always left something to be desired if he’s going to be on the field for a majority of the team’s snaps.

Ideally the 49ers would utilize Gross-Matos as a versatile pass rusher in the same vein as Charles Omenihu during his couple of seasons in San Francisco. Floyd may start, but he’s probably limited to being more of a pass-rush specialist instead of an every-down player.

Both players should be very valuable for a 49ers defensive line that struggled with consistency and overall production last year. However, given the rotational role both players figure to occupy, more depth will be a necessity for the 49ers.

Perhaps they view Jackson and Beal as those depth pieces. Jackson has flashed a handful of times in 23 games as a pro, but he’s still an unproven commodity despite his big-time upside. Beal was a rookie last season and saw action in only four games, although he did record a sack in Week 18 when he played a career-high 24 defensive snaps.

Neither player has done enough as a pro to inspire the kind of confidence the 49ers will want in their edge depth. They’ll get opportunities, but San Francisco would be wise to either find another inexpensive free agent, or use an early draft pick at DE.

Either way the 49ers have done a nice job filling out their barren DE depth chart so far. They just have to ensure they’re not satisfied just yet or else they run the risk of falling short at one of the most important positions on their roster for the second consecutive year.

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Panthers LB Shaq Thompson: ‘It’s a sad day’

Shaq Thompson summed up a pretty rough day for Panthers fans.

Shaq Thompson was all of us on Monday.

The opening of this year’s legal tampering period brought some punishing blows for the Carolina Panthers and their fans. We started the eventful and exhausting afternoon by taking the expected release of safety Vonn Bell on the chin and went on to eat two gut punches with the loss of linebacker Frankie Luvu and the trade of pass rusher Brian Burns.

With the defense losing three key members, one of its leaders tweeted this in the painful aftermath:

 

Thompson then went on to see another fellow backer in Yetur Gross-Matos find a new home, as he reportedly has a two-year, $18 million deal in place with the San Francisco 49ers. The dearly departed will also include tight end Hayden Hurst, center Bradley Bozeman and cornerback Donte Jackson—all of whom are expected to be let go before March 16.

Sadly enough, the second-longest tenured Panther may be next. Thompson, who turns 30 years old in April, is entering the final season of a reworked pact.

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Former Penn State DE Yetur Gross-Matos signing with 49ers

Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos is reportedly signing with the 49ers this free agent season.

The start of the NFL free agency season was headlined by former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley making his way to the Philadelphia Eagles. But Barkley was not the only former Nittany Lion making a move.

[autotag]Yetur Gross-Matos[/autotag] is reportedly heading to the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on a two-year contract. According to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, via X (formerly known as Twitter), Gross-Matos is signing a contract valued at $18 million.

Gross-Matos was a second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 NFL draft. He was sidelined for a chunk of the 2023 season with a hamstring injury. He is coming off a 2023 season with a career-best 4.5 sacks and was regarded as one of the most improved players on the Panthers this past season. But the Panthers appear to be making some moves to reshuffle the roster in a rebuilding process.

Gross-Matos is tied for 10th all-time at Penn State with 19.0 career sacks and ranks 11th all-time at Penn State with 37.0 career tackles for loss. Gross-Matos was a two-time all-Big Ten player for Penn State in 2018 and 2019. He opted out early and skipped his 2020 season to declare for the NFL draft. After a few years with the Panthers, Gross-Matos joins a legitimate Super Bowl contender in San Francisco.

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Report: 49ers to sign former Panthers DE Yetur Gross-Matos to 2-year deal

The former second-round pick recorded 4.5 sacks last season with the Panthers.

After reportedly signing veteran edge rusher Leonard Floyd earlier on Monday, the San Francisco 49ers weren’t done adding to their defensive line.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the 49ers are signing former Panthers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos to a two-year contract worth $18 million.

Via @RapSheet on Twitter:

Gross-Matos spent his first four seasons with the Panthers after being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Penn State. In four seasons, Gross-Matos has racked up 13 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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49ers expected to sign former Panthers OLB Yetur Gross-Matos

The Panthers have lost another linebacker.

The Carolina Panthers are losing yet another linebacker.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers have come to terms with free-agent Yetur Gross-Matos. The pact, per Rapoport, is a two-year agreement worth $18 million.

Gross-Matos is now the fourth defender the Panthers lost on Monday—joining safety Vonn Bell, linebacker Frankie Luvu and two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns. Bell is expected to be released, Luvu reportedly has a deal with the Washington Commanders and Burns was traded to the New York Giants in exchange for draft picks.

Carolina selected Gross-Matos in the second round of the 2020 draft. He ended up appearing in 55 games for the Panthers over his four-year career—recording 142 combined tackles, 13.0 sacks and four fumble recoveries.

With a new defensive coordinator in Ejiro Evero at the helm this past season, Gross-Matos made the transition from a 4-3 defensive end to a standup 3-4 outside linebacker. The change resulted in the best campaign of his NFL run, as he posted a career-best 4.5 sacks.

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Yetur Gross-Matos reportedly drawing interest from Panthers, others

Other teams may be sniffing around on pending free-agent OLB Yetur Gross-Matos.

If the Carolina Panthers want Yetur Gross-Matos back, they may have to fend off some competition on the open market.

According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, the outside linebacker is garnering some attention from multiple teams ahead of free agency. Person included the following about Gross-Matos amongst his post-combine takeaways from Sunday morning:

The 26-year-old Gross-Matos has drawn interest from the Panthers and other teams after his most productive season as a pass rusher. Gross-Matos finished with a career-high 4 1/2 sacks despite missing seven games while on injured reserve with what Frank Reich called a “pretty significant” hamstring injury. Gross-Matos has been solid setting the edge since arriving as a second-round pick from Penn State in 2020. Maybe he’s turning the corner as a pass rusher. But if the Panthers re-sign him, they’d still need another one.

Compared to his previous role as a 4-3 end, the former second-round pick thrived in the team’s new system under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Along with those 4.5 sacks, Gross-Matos also averaged his most pressures (19) per pass-rushing attempt (192) in his transition to a stand-up backer.

In addition to Gross-Matos, the Panthers are currently without fresh deals for fellow pass rushers Brian Burns and Marquis Haynes Sr.

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4 pending free agents the Panthers should re-sign in 2024

It’s probably a good idea for the Panthers to keep these four pending free agents around in 2024:

For the second time in as many years, the Carolina Panthers are in the middle of building something new. So which players should stick around through the transition?

Here are four of the team’s pending free agents who should be re-signed this offseason:

What retaining DC Ejiro Evero means for the Panthers

The Panthers have reportedly won their game of keep-away with DC Ejiro Evero. So, what does it mean for 2024 and beyond?

The Carolina Panthers offense is already under the knife for a desperately needed facelift this offseason. But it seems as though the defense, or at least the brains behind it, is fine just the way it is.

As first reported by Joe Person of The Athletic on Monday morning, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will be sticking around for the 2024 season. So, what does this mean for the team moving forward?

Here are the biggest takeaways from the big keep-away:

PFF names Yetur Gross-Matos as Panthers’ most improved player of 2023

A new role for Panthers OLB Yetur Gross-Matos yielded the best results of his four-year NFL career.

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos picked a good year to have a good year.

Pro Football Focus NFL analyst Zoltán Buday recently named the most improved player for each team following the 2023 season. For the Panthers, he lands on Gross-Matos—who had his best pro campaign on the last year of his rookie deal.

Buday writes:

It is not easy to highlight someone on the 2023 Carolina Panthers who has significantly improved compared to previous seasons. However, while Gross-Matos missed time due to an injury, he recorded career-high pass-rushing, run-defense and overall grades in his fourth NFL season.

As far as those PFF grades go, the 25-year-old received a 65.2 in pass-rushing, a 66.4 in run defense and a 65.4 overall. And as far as the traditional numbers, he also hit highs in sacks (4.5), quarterback hits (10) and tackles for a loss (seven).

Gross-Matos benefitted from his new role as a stand-up linebacker in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 base. But with one headed for free agency and the other possibly drawing outside interest, the Panthers may be going into 2024 without two of their few bright spots from 2023.

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