The Panthers’ need at linebacker is a strange one, as their primary concern is likely adding depth behind the expected starting pair of Shaq Thompson and Jermaine Carter, with Tahir Whitehead expected to depart in free agency. However, while Carter is a perfectly capable NFL starter, he is entering the final year of his contract and has not played to such a high level that he is a guaranteed piece of this defense long-term, not to mention that Shaq Thompson is going to have to take his game to greater heights if his extremely large cap numbers aren’t going to lead to some discussion of him as a cap casualty.
While the Panthers would probably look to bring in somebody to compete for playing time this offseason, they have enough needs that this is likely to be a bonus rather than a priority, and the best compromise for the Panthers is finding somebody who can come in and offer a high quality of depth and special teams ability in the mid-to-late rounds with the upside to try and develop them into a viable starting option down the line.
Before looking at the class in detail, however, it is worth taking a look at what is important to see in linebacker prospects.
Photo Credit: Brandon Todd/Carolina Panthers
What Do We Look For In Linebackers?
As with every position, athletic traits are a not-insignificant part of the evaluation, and prospects need to show enough speed to be able to cover the field laterally on outside runs, with the strength to hold their ground against blockers in the box. Quickness and movement skills are also important, especially in coverage where players will at least need to show the range and movement skills to drop into underneath zones and cover their space effectively, while the better players will also need to have the ability to run with athletic tight ends and running backs in man coverage down the field.
As run defenders, prospects need to show good gap awareness, both on the basic level of not leaving their gap, but also in terms of being able to react to pulling blockers and misdirection. In pursuit, players need to show the discipline and awareness to stay in phase without losing control. Working against blocks, players need to use good hand placement and arm extension to keep their frames free and then be able to work off of blocks. Tackling technique is also crucial, with players setting a secure base, wrapping with their arms and driving their legs through contact.
In coverage, players need to show good footwork in man and zone, not getting flat-footed at the head of routes and being able to react laterally without losing control. The best players will also demonstrate not just the ability to be reactive but also anticipatory, especially in zone coverage, with the ball skills to turn opportunities into turnovers. Expecting any prospect to become Luke Kuechly in this regard is unfair, even for Luke Kuechly those expectations would have been unreasonable, but players who can get anywhere close in terms of their impact in coverage are going to separate themselves in terms of value.
Some players will also be able to make an impact as pass rushers, and while this is going to vary in value depending on scheme, players who are able to show pass rushing technique beyond merely being athletic are going to have a chance to add value to their game, and in some schemes; such as in New England; this could well be a core part of what their are asked to do in the passing game.
So, with all that said, what does the 2021 class have to offer?
Photo Credit: UND Athletics
The Big Board
| Name | College | Height | Weight | Athletic Traits | Gap Discipline and Pursuit | Working Off Blocks and Tackling | Man Coverage | Zone Coverage | Pass Rushing | Biggest Questionmark | Grade | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | Notre Dame | 6'1 | 215 | Pretty good straight line speed and good quickness with good strength, especially given his size, and while lateral agility isn't amazing it's at least decent | Shows good discipline in pursuit with the speed to pursue sideline to sideline and shows good gap discipline working laterally against pulling blockers and the like | Shows good strong hands with good arm extension but could be more disciplined in terms of knee bend and hand usage to shed, tackling packs a punch but needs to set feet more consistently and wrap is a tad slow | Wasn't asked to play a huge amount of man coverage but can get caught flat footed at the head of routes but contests really well and has good closing speed | Range is pretty good and while he is a little clunky in space he moves fairly well on the whole with decent awareness, though he lacks the upper tier awareness and ball skills to generate many picks | Doesn't have developed pass rushing moves but has good quickness and bend to hit a gap and close to the QB | Does he have the ability to generate splash plays in coverage or is his mobility going to be the limit of his value? | Late 2nd Round | 1 |
| Micah Parsons | Penn State | 6'3 | 245 | Good straight-line speed with the strength to hold up at the point of attack but lateral agility isn't very good and looks clunky working vertically in coverage | Generally good gap discipline even when working on outside pursuit though can occasionally get caught inside of pulling blockers | Shows good tackling technique and consistently wraps-up low and works off blocks well though generally looks to dip around rather than stacking and shedding | Really wasn't asked to play much man coverage and while he has the speed to run vertically he is unlikely to have the ability to stay with better route runners through routes | Shows a reasonable awareness of where to be and has enough movement speed to cover ground but doesn't show the high level instincts to consistently jump routes and ball skills are uncertain | Really effective pass rusher with good burst and bend and even flashes a couple of developed pass rushing moves | Can he find a role that maximises his skill set against the pass, as dropping him into coverage is not his best usage | Early 3rd Round | 2 |
| Chazz Surratt | North Carolina | 6'2 | 225 | Good straight-line speed with good lateral agility and movement skills and while strength isn't amazing, it should be enough for him to hold up inside | Pursuit is good in terms of speed and shows a good awareness not to over-run plays, while his gap discipline against pulling blockers is good though he can get caught looking inside occasionally | Good tackling technique with consistent wrap and height, though he could stand to set his feet more consistently. Does a reasonable job of working through traffic though will need to show he can stack and shed at the point of attack | Moves well in space with good hip flex to mirror and react with the ball skills to contest, though the extent of his potential in this regard hasn't really been probed | Has good range and movement skills with at least some ball skills and shows a good understanding of space but not the upper-tier awareness to create consistent splash plays | Was over-used in this regard as while he shows good pursuit and some bend and quickness to work into gaps, this isn't where his value is | Does he have the strength and technique to be an effective run defender at the point of attack on a consistent basis? | Mid 3rd Round | 3 |
| Zaven Collins | Tulsa | 6'4 | 260 | Pretty good straight-line speed and has good strength with decent lateral agility and works to depth well but quickness isn't amazing | Does an excellent job of shooting gaps but is fairly unremarkable in terms of pursuit but shows good patience and generally solid gap discipline | Has good strength and uses hands well to work off blocks with pretty good tackling technique though he could stand to go low more consistently | Wasn't asked to play much man coverage and likely lacks the quickness and lateral ability to do so at a high level | Shows pretty good awareness of what is around him and moves laterally reasonably well with good ball skills, but lacks upper tier range and quickness | Uses hands well and has reasonable quickness but lacks the bend to be hugely effective around the edge | Does he have enough upside in zone coverage to make him stand out beyond being a solid if unspectacular inside linebacker? | Mid 3rd Round | 4 |
| Cameron McGrone | Michigan | 6'1 | 236 | Good quickness and straight-line speed with pretty good movement skills while power is decent but nothing more | Shows good gap awareness and reacts well to pulling blockers while showing really very good pursuit with the speed to cover sideline to sideline without over-pursuing | Is a good technical tackler with good wrap and engages legs well, and while he shows nice knee bends and hand placement, he needs to be more proactive in extending his arms and working off blocks | Has the movement skills to run with most receivers and while his footwork would be slightly tighter footwork at the head of routes and does a good job of contesting at the catch point | Shows really good range in zone and has the movement skills and footwork to break on the ball well, but awareness is hard to judge and ball skills are a concern | Has the quickness to be a real threat here but needs to be more active in his hands to take this to the next level | Can he be an impactful player in zone in terms of jumping routes and generating turnovers? | Late 3rd Round | 5 |
| Jabril Cox | LSU | 6'4 | 231 | Pretty good quickness and movement skills with good deep speed but strength is fairly unremarkable | Shows good pursuit and reacts well to pulling blockers and shows good gap discipline, but can be a bit passive in general and it would be nice to see him be more aggressive | Shows nice hand usage to work off blocks and hand placement is good but needs to show better knee bend arm extension. Flashes generally good tackling technique with good wrap but could do a better job of setting his feet | Shows the movement skills to follow men through routes and the speed to trail down the field, but footwork is quite sloppy with flat feet and quite a lot of wasted motion | Has good range and flashes decent footwork at points but this needs to be far more consistent as he often gets caught with flat feet, and while he flashes some nice awareness and good ball skills, these also could do with further refinement | Wasn't asked to rush the quarterback much, and while he has decent athletic traits his value likely lies elsewhere | Can he turn good physical and mental traits in consistently, technically-proficient production? | Early 4th Round | 6 |
| Dylan Moses | Alabama | 6'3 | 240 | Decent-to-good straight-line speed with pretty good movement skills in space but strength to hold up at the point of attack is a concern | Pursuit is limited somewhat by speed but shows good patience in not over-pursing to the ball, and while adjusts well to pulling blockers just gets completely lost against misdirection at times | Goes backwards far too often when facing blockers and while gets hands up to keep frame free needs to be more aggressive in holding ground. Tackling technique is generally good though has a tendency to go off-feet | Didn't play a ton of man coverage but has the movement skills to play it at a reasonable level but will struggle for speed against better athletes | Has the movement skills to work laterally well with pretty good range and shows reasonable spatial awareness though not the upper tier ability to consistently jump routes. Has some ball skills. | Is a fairly unspectacular pass rusher who can shoot a gap but not much more | Can he become a more consistently effective run defender to compliment some pretty good traits in coverage? | Late 4th Round | 7 |
| Pete Werner | Ohio State | 6'3 | 242 | Pretty good quickness and movement skills with decent-to-good straight line speed and decent strength | Shows good gap awareness and adjusts well to pulling blockers and the like and is able to pursue effectively from sideline to sideline though isn't in the very top tier in this regard | Does a reasonable job of locating hands and extending arms but needs to bend his knees more and be more active in using his hands to work off blocks, decent-to-good tackler but does tend to go a little high | Plays a reasonable amount of man coverage in the slot against TEs, and does a good job of press with the athletic traits to succeed in off but needs to tighten footwork slightly | Has pretty good range in zone and shows nice awareness, picking up receivers well in his zone but ball skills are a real concern and his upside in zone might be limited by this | Does a reasonable job as a pass rusher with nice quickness and active hands but lacks developed pass rushing moves | Does he have the ball skills and upper level awareness to add value as a zone defender? | Late 4th Round | 8 |
| Nick Bolton | Missouri | 6'0 | 232 | Decent straight line speed and strength with reasonably good lateral agility but athleticism isn't a massive plus | Shows a good understanding of what gap he needs to be in, but lack of top tier speed can leave him chasing behind plays leading to struggles closing the edge | Pretty good tackles who wraps well though he is overly keen to leave his feet at times, and shows pretty good hand usage to work off blocks but does have a tendency to go backwards whilst shedding | Did play a small amount of man coverage but this isn't where his strength lies and likely will be exposed by better athletes and more nuanced route runners | Moves reasonably well in zone though range is limited by athleticism and while he has some ball skills he doesn't show the upper tier awareness to jump many routes | Competent pass rusher but is never going to add significant value being used this way | Does he have enough upside to make him more than a solid starter with some athletic limitations? | Late 4th Round | 9 |
| Nick Niemann | Iowa | 6'4 | 233 | Pretty good straight line speed and movement skills while strength and quickness are merely decent | Shows a pretty good gap awareness though did tend to play a little passive in this regard and allowing the picture to emerge but pursuit is good on the whole | Locates hands well with pretty good arm extension but needs to engage legs more to compensate for lack of top-end power and to be more active in his hand usage but tackling technique is pretty good with a nice base and consistent wrap | Shows some potential in man coverage and does a nice job of opening his hips and running but needs to tighten up his footwork as he tends to shuffle rather than actually backpedalling | Shows pretty good range in zone and has the movement skills to be effective but again needs to tighten up his footwork to eliminate wasted motion and whole awareness isn't a liability it isn't a massive plus while ball skills are something of a concern | Wasn't used a ton in this way and while he uses his hands reasonably well and is quite quick he lacks much notable upside in this regard | Can he work on his footwork in coverage to be a genuine plus coverage player as this would massively elevate his value? | Late 4th Round | 10 |
| Riley Cole | South Alabama | 6'3 | 225 | Pretty good movement skills and quickness with good straight line speed and passable strength | Gap awareness is hard to judge but seems very willing to shoot gaps even when it's not the right one, and while generally good in pursuit he can get caught behind the play at times | Looks to shoot gaps with such consistency that it's hard to judge how effectively he works off blocks but is a good technical tackler though he does tend to go off-feet a fair amount due to somewhat downhill approach | Wasn't asked to play much man coverage but has the movement skills to be effective in this regard though will need to make sure that his footwork is good at the head of routes | Shows pretty good range in zone and shows really nice movement skills and pretty good awareness, though ball skills are a concern and anticipation doesn't appear to be in the very top tears | Reasonably effective blitzer from an athletic perspective but is fairly raw technically | Can he turn good movement skills and awareness in zone into interceptions? | Early 5th Round | 11 |
| Amen Ogbongbemiga | Oklahoma State | 6'1 | 235 | Decent-to-good straight-line speed and movement skills with pretty good power but quickness can limit him at times though it is decent overall | Shows good gap awareness and aggressively looks to compact gaps on the outside while adjusting well to pulling blockers and pursuit is generally solid though can get a step behind at times | Has the power to attack blocks and flashes the hands usage to work off blocks well too but needs to be more consistent in his hand placement and arm extension. It a technically good tackler who wraps well and engages his legs | Wasn't asked to play much man coverage and will likely struggle for quickness against better athletes while he needs to work on his knee bend in his backpedal to allow him to break on the ball better | Shows a nice understanding of coverage and range is pretty good but needs to make sure he keep his feet moving and that his weight is kept down with knee bend while ball skills are something of a concern | Can add some value as a pass rusher with pretty good hand usage and power but this is an area that needs refinement | Can he work on his footwork in coverage to give him a chance to be an effective zone defender in coverage? | Mid 5th Round | 12 |
| Buddy Johnson | Texas A&M | 6'2 | 240 | Pretty good strength with decent straight line speed, quickness and movement skills, though none of these are major plus traits | Gap awareness is a concern as he tends to get caught ball-watching rather than adjusting to pulling blockers, and can be outrun in pursuit at times | Technically pretty good tackler with nice wrap but while he generally does a decent job of keeping blockers away from his frame he can get swamped at times and needs to show the hand usage to work around blocks | Wasn't asked to play a ton of man coverage and likely isn't going to play a high quality of man at the NFL level | Footwork is actually pretty good and range is decent though movement skills can limit him at times and awareness, while decent on the whole, can struggle when plays break down and flashes of ball skills need to be tested further | Reasonably effective as an effort pass rusher but will need to add more technique to his rush at the next level | Can he be a competent rotational player who can play at a competent level even if ultimately athletically limited? | Early 6th Round | 13 |
| Jamin Davis | Kentucky | 6'4 | 234 | Decent-to-good straight line movement skills, speed and quickness with decent power | Pursuit and gap awareness are both pretty good in terms of not leaving his gap but can be quite passive and allow easy yards at times | Is aggressive in attacking blocks but needs to do a much better job of using hands to stop blockers from swamping, and while he shows a nice wrap as a tackler he needs to be more consistent in setting his feet | Is able to run vertical or chase defenders to the flat but is going to struggle for movement skills and footwork in off coverage, though could be decent with better footwork | Reasonable range but awareness is nothing special though he flashes decent ball skills. Would benefit from tightening up his footwork as currently there is quite a lot of wasted motion | Decent effort rusher but is lacking any developed technique in this regard | Can he be a competent coverage player if he is able to clean up his footwork? | Mid 6th Round | 14 |
| Baron Browning | Ohio State | 6'3 | 240 | Straight line speed isn't amazing and movement skills are quite poor but quickness is decent and strength is good | Shows good gap awareness and adjusts well to pulling blockers but can struggle for speed in pursuit and combined with limited change of direction can lead to gap breakdowns on the back side | Uses hands well to engage blocks with good arm extension and nice knee bend to keep his pad level down and works off blocks effectively, is a technically pretty solid tackler but can struggle to set an effective base when making tackles at an angle | Is probably not going to be able to play a high level of man coverage as he can be exploited both in terms of movement skills and also straight-line speed | Does cover a passable amount of space in underneath zone, and backpedal is ok, but ability to process wasn't really probed a huge amount and there isn't much evidence of the ball skills to capitalise on mistakes | Is a pretty effective pass rusher with flashes of some decent counter moves but can struggle for bend an explosion when rushing around the edge | Can he do enough as a zone coverage player to go with his good run defense to allow him to play in a 3-4? | Late 6th Round | 15 |
| Monty Rice | Georgia | 6'1 | 235 | Decent straight line speed, movement skills and quickness with pretty good strength | Shows pretty good gap awareness and does a good job of adjusting to pulling blockers and pursuit is decent but can struggle to adjust to late movement and can get outrun at times | Uses hands well to wrap as a tackler and does a good job of driving legs through contact but doesn't always set his feet well leading to issues with late movement. Doesn't bend his knees enough engaging blocks which undoes much of the good technique he shows with his upper body | Didn't play a lot of man coverage and while his footwork in off coverage is fine, he is likely going to struggle for athleticism if asked to play much man coverage at the next level | Shows reasonable range in zone and while footwork is a bit clunky it isn't awful and awareness seems decent but lacks high-end range or awareness and ball skills are a significant concern | Wasn’t asked to rush the passer a huge amount and likely isn't going to excel in this regard either | Does he do anything well enough to offer starting upside or is he going to be a solid if unspectacular depth piece? | Late 6th Round | 16 |
| KJ Britt | Auburn | 6'0 | 243 | Decent-to-good quickness and strength with decent straight line speed but movement skills are really quite poor | Pursuit is decent but can struggle to react laterally if the ball-carrier puts their foot in the ground and gap awareness is good but limited laterally agility can make it hard for him to shift across | Reasonably in terms of attacking blocks but knee bend and arm extension could be better and would make it easier for him to disengage while arms are good as a tackler but lack of lateral agility really shows up and whiffs reasonably often | Is going to struggle to play a high quality of man coverage as he struggles to open his hips and ends up having to pivot at the waist which makes things very hard for him on double moves | Shows reasonable range but tight hips make it hard for him to react laterally and while his awareness isn't exactly poor it isn't a massive plus either and ball skills are a concern | Does a pretty good job of shooting gaps but lacks developed hand usage or pass rushing moves | Can he continue to improve on his technique working off blocks to maybe allow him to spend some time as an ILB in a 3-4? | Late 6th Round | 17 |
| Ernest Jones | South Carolina | 6'2 | 230 | Decent-to-good quickness with decent straight line speed and movement skills while strength is fine but not amazing | Shows good gap awareness and is decent in pursuit even though his lack of elite athleticism can get exploited at times | Does show some nice hand usage to work off and around blocks but tends to go backwards while doing so and needs to show more ability to stack at the point of attack, tackling is decent though could stand to engage his legs more through contact | Footwork at the head of routes is pretty good and can probably cover less athletic running backs and tight ends but will likely get exploited by better athletes | Looks quite stiff in his backpedal and awareness is nothing special but range is pretty good and shows decent ball skills, footwork at the head of routes is actually pretty good on the whole | Has some value in terms of quickness and flashes occasional swim move but gets blocked out of plays fairly consistently | Can he improve as a run defender in the box as otherwise it'll be hard for him to see the field? | Early 7th Round | 18 |
| Antjuan Simmons | Michigan State | 6'0 | 225 | Decent straight line speed and quickness but strength isn't great and while movement skills aren't bad they aren't a notable positive either | Shows pretty good gap awareness and pursuit is decent but can get caught behind the play at times and forward lean can make it difficult for him to adjust late | Technically pretty good tackler who looks to wrap well though he could do a slightly better job of setting his feet, but really struggles to work off blocks and often ends up getting swamped with poor hand placement and arm extension | Footwork at the head of routes is really quite sloppy with a lot of wasted movement and is likely going to struggle to play a high level of man coverage without significant technical improvement | Range in zone is decent but footwork is again an issue with a lot of wasted motion and he struggles to adjust to changes in leverage while awareness is unremarkable though there are some flashes of ball skills | Wasn't used a ton as pass rusher but might have some potential in this regard though technically is very raw | Can he make significant improvements to his footwork in coverage to allow him to be a competent coverage player? | Mid 7th Round | 19 |
| Zane Zandier | Virginia | 6'3 | 230 | Decent straight line speed but movement skills and quickness are really poor while strength is fine but nothing more | Shows good gap awareness and reacts well to pulling blockers with pretty good pursuit but can struggle to balance speed and control at times | Isn't amazing at working off blocks as he stands too upright which makes it easy for him to get swamped by blockers but he is a pretty good tackler who engages arms well, though he could stand to set his feet more consistently | Has reasonable speed to run to the flat and the like but lacks the movement skills to be hugely effective playing a large amount of man coverage but footwork at the head of routes is quite good | Footwork is actually pretty good and shows reasonable awareness but is limited by his athleticism at times and there isn't a lot of evidence of the ball skills to add value | Reasonably good at shooting a gap but lacks the bend and developed hand usage to add a huge amount of value above replacement | Does he have the athleticism to develop into a core special teams contributor? | Late 7th Round | 20 |
| Paddy Fisher | Northwestern | 6'4 | 240 | Pretty good strength and decent straight line speed but quickness isn't anything notable and while movement skills aren't awful they are likely to be somewhat limiting | Shows good gap awareness and adjusts well to pulling blockers and multiple misdirection elements but is likely going to struggle for speed in outside pursuit at times | Uses hands well to keep blockers off his frame with good hand location and arm extension but needs to bend legs more and show the hands usage to work off blocks laterally. Upper body is decent as a tackler but needs to set feet better | Likely lacks the quickness and movement skills to play a high quality of man coverage and while he could tighten his footwork at the head of routes this is a minor quibble | Shows reasonable awareness in zone and there is evidence of some ball skills but range is fairly limited and often just can’t cover the ground needed | Has some ability as blitzer, using his hands to keep himself clean, but doesn't use hands well to generate leverage | Does he have the athleticism to see the field or is he just not going to be able to take the step to the NFL level? | Undrafted | 21 |
| Tony Fields | West Virginia | 6'1 | 220 | Pretty good quickness and strength but straight line speed isn't great and movement skills are really quite poor | Gap awareness is really very questionable and seems to just trust that the ball will somehow work its way back to him, and is something of a liability in pursuit | Hands are pretty solid as a tackler but needs to engage legs more and set feet more consistently, needs to be much better at using hands to work off blocks | Is not going to be able to play a high quality of man coverage and is likely going to be a liability if used in this way | Struggles to cover much distance in zone and footwork is really poor a lot of the time with very flat feet though there are some flashes of competent ball skills | Has some value as a pass rusher but needs to develop more advanced hand usage if he is going to be used in this way a lot | Does he have the potential to develop in a rotational pass rusher or is he at best a ST player? | Undrafted | 22 |
| Erroll Thompson | Mississippi State | 6'1 | 250 | Decent straight line speed and good strength but quickness and movement skills are really quite poor | Shows pretty good gap awareness and reacts to pulling blockers well but speed really limits him in pursuit at times and can get caught behind the play at times | Uses hands quite well as a tackler but lack of movement skills combined with tendency not to set his feet well leads to too many whiffs. Has the strength to be effective working off blocks but needs to show more consistent hand placement | Wasn't asked to play much man coverage and likely would be a liability in this regard due to lack of quickness and movement skills | Fairly unremarkable in zone as his movement skills really limit him and while he doesn't show awful awareness it isn't a notable positive either though there are some flashes of decent call skills | Wasn't asked to blitz a huge amount but has the power to be reasonably effective though is technically quite raw | Does he have the athleticism to see the field at all or is he going to be at best a ST contributor? | Undrafted | 23 |
| Rayshard Ashby | Virginia Tech | 5'10 | 245 | Quickness, movement skills and deep speed are all quite poor while strength is pretty good | Struggles to pursue effectively due to speed limitations though gap awareness even if occasionally limited by quickness and agility | Needs to be far more active with his hands in how he engages blocks as he gets swamped too often and while he uses his arms quite well as a tackler he struggles to set a consistent base | Is going to be a liability in man coverage as he lacks the speed, quickness and movement skills to be effective | Range isn't amazing and while he drops to depth reasonably effectively he struggles to break on balls or cover ground laterally and doesn't show plus anticipation while ball skills are a concern | Is a reasonably effective pass rusher but is more effort than developed pass rushing technique? | Can he find a role on special teams as he looks to be a coverage liability if he plays on defense? | Undrafted | 24 |
This isn’t a class which has a clear best player, and what separates many of the top prospects is how versatile they are in scheme, but the order could be very different for different teams.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is likely best suited to playing outside in a 4-3 defense, and while some have him as more of a safety, he looks to be most effective working in underneath coverage and downhill in the box, and so would only really make sense in that role for a team looking for a conventional strong safety. On tape, he shows good athletic traits and is a good run defender, even if his tackling technique could stand to improve. While he will need to prove that he can be a really impactful player in zone, he certainly has the movement skills and footwork to be an effective player with the potential to play some man coverage as well.
Chazz Surratt is probably also suited to a similar role and, though he is more developmental, he offers a similarly athletic profile and probably flashes slightly more upside in coverage in terms of ball skills and anticipation but will need to show that he can consistently work off blocks in the box at the NFL level. He is more of a project than Owusu-Koramoah, but his upside is up there with anybody in the class.
Photo Credit: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Micah Parson and Zaven Collins, while being very good prospects, probably aren’t amazing fits in Carolina as both look to be better suited to playing inside in a 3-4 defense, as both are more effective as run defenders when working downhill into gaps and neither has amazing range in zone coverage. Parsons will likely be best suited to a scheme like the Patriots where he is either asked to be a match-up piece in man coverage or line up at the line of scrimmage and rush the passer as he is largely unimpressive in zone coverage despite good physical tools.
Conversely, Collins shows really nice ball skills and a good reading of the game in zone, and while he lacks the range to cover intermediate zones on a consistent basis, looks to be a great fit for a zone-blitz 3-4 defense that can mix between using him as a pass rusher and an underneath zone defender who can undercut passing lanes and generating turnovers. That doesn’t look to be a great fit in Carolina unless they decide to move to a 3-4 once again, but he could be a really good player in the fit scheme.
Photo Credit: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The next tier of prospects starts to divide into high-floor, low-ceiling prospects and low-floor, high-ceiling prospects. While not great fits with what the Panthers are looking for, Dylan Moses, Nick Bolton and Pete Werner all look to be able to come in and play at a starting caliber level early on, though none of them should be expected to become franchise centerpieces. While all three have the talent to play a reasonable level of coverage at the NFL level, none of them look to have the range, instincts and ball skills to be top-tier coverage players which is ultimately what separates the best prospects.
Cam McGrone, Jabril Cox and Nick Niemann are more developmental options, especially Cox and Niemann, and these are probably the three prospects who make the most sense for the Panthers. All three have the talent to be quality starters at the NFL level, but all three have areas of their game they need to work on before they can reach that level. Cox especially has an extremely high ceiling but also has probably the most work to do from a technique perspective, though the Panthers did get an early look at how he might be able to improve when they spent time with him at the Senior Bowl.
Photo Credit: Greg Bullard/Oklahoma State University Athletics
After that, there are some names that could interest teams as depth, but those outside of this group are either long-shots to become starters or are probably going to be players who can come in and fill a role but are ultimately not going to be ideal starters for a team. If the Panthers are looking to add depth on day three, however, Riley Cole and Amen Ogbongbemiga are names to look out for.
This is actually a pretty good class for the Panthers, as most of the strength is the developmental talent that should be around from day two to well into the final day of the draft. However, if they aren’t able to get one of the top ten prospects they would likely be best advised to look to the late rounds for depth rather than trusting that any of the intermediate tier will ultimately be able to develop into starters.
(Top photo via Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports)
