Each week this offseason, we’ll be focusing on one position and how the Panthers may choose to address their needs; whether they’re in the market for an upgrade at starter or just a reliable backup, every player on the 53-man roster is going to be important in 2018.
This is Cornerback Week.
Cornerback is another position that the Panthers are unlikely to target early on in the 2018 draft with Bradberry, Worley, Seymour, Munnerlyn, Elder and Gunter all in line to return next season. With that being said, the Panthers might use a late round pick to bring in some competition or at least add some UDFAs at the position for the same purpose. With that in mind, what players are there on offer in the 2018 draft class, and how do they stack up?
Please note, that as discussed in a previous article, there are significant issues with trying to accurately project corners to the NFL; the following draft board should be taken with a significant grain of salt and will likely change quite significantly as the draft process goes on. As always, cornerbacks are taken from those ranked as draftable by NFL Draft Scout at the time of publishing.
The Top Half
Given the Panthers’ ambitions when it comes to cornerback this offseason, they would likely view landing any of the following players a success, especially if they are able to do so without spending anything more than a late-round draft pick. Some of them, such as Jackson, Ward and possibly Alexander, are going to be long gone by the time the Panthers start to consider drafting a corner, but depending on how the draft build up goes, the likes of Meeks, Williams or Joseph might still be around come the later rounds of the draft.
Meeks in particular could possibly be a good fit for the Panthers, as he is unlikely to test extremely well in terms of straight-line speed, but his length, zone instincts and ball skills would be a good fit should the Panthers look to move back to a more zone-heavy scheme under Eric Washington. Williams and Joseph are far more uncertain as prospects, and their predicted draft availability is likely to be far more volatile as the offseason progresses.
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Williams shows an awful lot of upside on tape, but spent much of his time playing against a lower level of competition; his size may well force him inside in the Panthers’ defensive scheme. He also has a chance of rising well above where the Panthers are likely to draft a corner, and considering him may end up a moot point. Joseph was utterly dominant at the level at which he played, but he was far from pushed to his athletic limit playing at Dubuque; he does show good awareness and technique on tape, but it won’t be until the Senior Bowl and Combine are in the rear view mirror that it will become clear if he will be hang with NFL receivers on an athletic level.
While it is unlikely that the Panthers are able to come away with any of these players from the 2018 draft given their other priorities, it shouldn’t be completely disregarded, given the unpredictability of draft boards at this early stage.
What is more likely is that the Panthers will be able to add a couple of corners as UDFAs following the draft, and as such, are more likely to be looking at the following:
Most of these players are more likely to be depth for training camp in case of injury than viable NFL options, but it is worth taking some shots with undrafted cornerbacks as they do occasionally surprise people. Kyzir White is the big unknown in this, as having played fairly unremarkable football for much of his college career while at cornerback, many scouts have the West Virginia product moving to safety at the next level, which would suit his physical run defense while limiting the athletic limits that might prevent him from playing corner in the NFL.
Realistically, it would be surprising to see the Panthers start the season with any of these players on their roster, but it is possibly worth keeping some of these names in mind once the draft finishes and the team starts to fill out the 90 man roster.
