Pass Rush
As a pass rusher, McCoy saw a lot of double teams, with teams looking to trap him between center and guard even when lined up outside the guard:
This was particularly prevalent on PA and RPO throws, where teams clearly saw his ability to penetrate and redirect as a real threat:
And this was for good reason, as even when offensive linemen looked to allow him to penetrate outside on the run fake, he used his inside arm well to keep the blocker at bay, allowing him to use his quickness and bend to work around the block and back to the quarterback:
Tampa Bay didn’t have a load of great pass rushing options last season, and they clearly made a real point of trying to engineer pressure – McCoy was used in a range of ways outside of how he is likely to be used in Carolina, most notable on stunts:
And looping back outside the end (effectively an inverse stunt):
That’s not to say that McCoy can’t be effective and impactful when used in these ways – as can be seen above, he definitely was – but in the 3-4 defense the Panthers are shifting to, there are going to be more natural situations for him to work one-on-one against a guard with the center unable to leave the NT unblocked and the tackle occupied by the OLB.
McCoy didn’t have loads of chances to rush one-on-one against a guard for the Bucs as clearly the best lineman on that team, but in the occasions where he was used in this way, he showed the ability to rush in a range of ways to make him a potentially highly effective interior rush in the Panthers’ new scheme.
First, he has the power to simply bull-rush blockers back into the quarterback:
With his quick hands and bend allowing him to work outside the guard and generate quick pressure through the B gap:
And he also showed a range of nice moves, such as a quick swim to work off early contact:
And even something of a spin move, allowing him to redirect effectively against play-action:
McCoy’s production has somewhat leveled off over the past few years – though 19 sacks over three seasons for a DT is still very good production – but a large part of this has been the fact that teams have frequently looked to double him and take their chances elsewhere.
This isn’t something that teams will be able to do to him in 2019 with the other talent on the Panthers’ front seven.
The impact of going from the star of the team that every team focuses on in game to a very good player on a team with a number of other similarly talented players really cannot be understated – for McCoy, this could allow his product to increase significantly.
McCoy is undeniably towards the back end of his career, but he is far from being washed out, and the above shift should be hugely beneficial to his statistical output. He is also a good fit for the Panthers new defense, with his quickness and hand usage allowing him to be a consistent feature in the backfield against single blocks, and with the likes of Kuechly, Thompson and Reid pursuing to the ball on his back and other elite players on the defensive line, this should allow the Panthers to regularly limit teams on the ground and to collapse pockets against the pass.
In terms of his contract, McCoy’s $8.4m cap hit could look sizable, but only $3m of this is base salary – with the bonuses needed to get him to the full figure, including bonuses for making the Pro Bowl and playoffs as well as hitting the eight sack mark, if the Panthers do pay him his full fee, I don’t think anybody will be complaining about the value.
The Panthers do have questions they need to answer in training camp and early in the season, but there is no denying that this team has added a lot of talent this offseason and done so without tying themselves into many long-term big-money contract, and McCoy is just the cherry atop that particular cake.
Only nine 300+ pound players have 15 combined sacks and 40 QB hits over the past three seasons – the Panthers now have two of them.
Top Photo via Sports Illustrated
