The Panthers’ season is far from over – with five games left they still have a good chance at a wild-card spot and, like every year, as long as you get to the dance you have a shot. However, whatever Ron Rivera may say, the Panthers no longer control their own destiny and if they don’t start winning this weekend at Tampa Bay, they are more likely to be sat at home for wild-card weekend than they are to be on the field. Despite this, the players and coaches should still be focused on trying their best to make it there, but for the fans at least, one eye is likely starting to turn towards the offseason priorities and, for the Panthers, that is likely to mean defensive end.
Given that the Panthers are unlikely to be major players in any of the top free agents this offseason – they look to be in the bottom third of the league in terms of cap space – the Panthers best chance of finding a quality edge player is going to come in the draft. Here is a very early look at three defensive ends the Panthers might target in the upcoming draft, and while these are far from complete draft previews – we know it’s early – hopefully these might begin to provide some answers as to how the Panthers might look to address this area of need – plus, it gives you some college football bowl games to pay attention to.
Zach Allen, Boston College; 6-5 285lbs
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Allen has attracted a reasonable amount of draft buzz, as while his sack production isn’t spectacular – 18 sacks over the past three seasons; he has been a key piece of a solid Boston College defense since his sophomore season and has the size that teams look for in an every-down defensive end. While Allen isn’t a spectacular athlete, he has enough quickness to give tackles problems and bends very well around the edge. In the run game, he doesn’t tend to overpower blockers but uses his hands well to shed blocks enabling him to be an effective run defender. In fact, his hand usage is really the best thing about his game, as he uses it well as a pass rusher to evade blockers and generate pressure.
There are, of course, issues with his game – as with any prospect – with the most noticeable being his very upright stance as a pass rusher. His good hand usage minimizes the effects of this to a large degree, but it does mean that he doesn’t carry much momentum into contact, and so when he is unable to win with hand usage, he is often ineffective. This is something that could be worked on at the NFL level, but there is always going to be the concern that by getting him to rush with a better pad level you would make it harder for him to set up blockers in the way that he does to generate most of his pressures. While Allen is much larger in stature, the closest comparison from a stylistic point of view is likely Duke Ejiofor – who was drafted by the Texans this past draft out of Wake Forest and who has one sack so far this season as a rotation player, having been moved to linebacker in the Texans’ largely 3-4 defense. Allen would obviously stay as an end in Carolina’s 4-3, but the Panthers may well look to see how Ejiofor’s style translated to the NFL as a guide for Allen’s credentials.
Allen is currently expected to be a first or second round pick.
Anthony Nelson, Iowa; 6-6, 271lbs
Photo Credit: Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
Nelson has slipped somewhat under the radar as a legitimate NFL prospect to this point, but should he chose to declare, there is likely to be a reasonable amount of interest given his 23 sacks during his three seasons at Iowa. Not only that, but Nelson has the build of an NFL defensive end – with both length, size and a reasonable amount of quickness. As a pass rusher, he has enough quickness to create problems for tackles and uses his hands well to shed blocks, something that also translates to the run game. He doesn’t quite have the finessed hand usage of Allen, and is in some ways a more conventional pass rusher, but the fact that he is more proven as a bend-the-edge rusher and his slightly superior athleticism likely gives him a higher ceiling when all is said and done.
Of course, he isn’t perfect either – as with Allen and other long defensive ends, his length can sometimes cause some problems in terms of pad levels, both in the run game and the passing game. While he uses his hands well and has a decent amount of strength to stop the run, when defenders do get under his pads initially he struggles to recover, and adding some more lower leg strength could be helpful to his NFL prospects. Additionally, as a pass rusher, he has shown the ability to bend the edge nicely, but this is still something he needs to get more consistent at. This, again, isn’t hugely surprising for a taller defensive end, but could mean he takes a while to develop towards his full potential in the NFL.
Nelson is a more flawed prospect than Allen in terms of short-term impact, but all of his issues should be fixable to some degree, and for him it is as much about consistency of technique rather than his physical capability to do certain things. There is a chance that he could shoot up draft boards as we get closer to the draft, but right now he offers excellent value as a likely late day two pick.
D’Andre Walker, Georgia; 6-2, 251bs
Photo Credit: Chris Collins/ 247 Sport
Walker is one of those players where teams may disagree on where his most natural position is in the NFL, with Georgia using him in a variety of ways including 3-4 rush linebacker, inside linebacker and 4-3 defensive end. While Walker is quite light at 251lbs, he is also on the shorter side for a defensive end and his broad frame is likely capable of adding more weight if an NFL team thinks this is needed. However, Walker’s size is already comparable to that of Mario Addison.
In terms of proven college production, Walker has 12 sacks over the past two seasons despite not playing as an every-down pass rusher, and while he has been able to be effective using the speed expected of a smaller rusher, he actually demonstrates a far more polished game than might be expected. He plays with an excellent pad level, and bends well around the edge, thereby allowing him to have success as a simple speed-and-bend rusher off the edge; in addition to this, he uses his hands well to create leverage on inside moves set up by his speed, and has even flashed a nice spin move at times. From a passing game perspective, he has shown all the skills required to be an effective NFL pass rusher – the biggest issue most NFL teams may have is sample size.
Of course, the biggest concern with an undersized defensive end is always going to be their run defense, this was what kept Mario Addison out of a starting role for much of his earlier career until he was able to develop in this regard, and is what has made it hard for Efe Obada and Marquis Haynes to see extensive snaps thus far this season. However, Walker has been able to be an effective run defender to this point, largely due to his hand usage and pad level; Walker is able to play very low, and so make up for his unexceptional strength with excellent leverage, and adds to that by using his hands and long arms to keep blockers at bay, allowing him to shed blocks easily and create positive plays against the run.
Walker is unlikely to test in a way that blows people’s minds come the spring, but if teams view him as a legitimate 4-3 DE option then his stock could rise, and expectations of his draft value vary wildly, but at this point he looks to offer an intriguing option towards the end of the second day.
We’ll have a whole lot more draft coverage once the season ends, but this should be enough to get you started – at the very least, it might give you a chance to watch the Holiday Bowl.
