While not the names that many Panthers fans will have to mind when they make their plans to visit Spartanburg for training camp, Brendan Mahon and Kendrick Norton are a pair of rookies who could well see a number of snaps in direct competition – with both players looking to do enough to secure a spot on the 53-man roster. With the first part of this preview focusing on the play of Mahon – check that out right here – this second part will in turn look to examine what makes Kendrick Norton worth watching in the coming weeks. So what does make this seventh-round pick so special?
Run Game
As with offensive linemen, people want to see defensive tackles demonstrate power in the run game, and while Mahon’s power was good rather than great, Norton has the kind of power that really stands out on tape. All clips used in this article are from the Virginia Tech at Miami game from last season, with Norton wearing #7:
This is unusual power even for NFL players, and it should certainly provide a challenge for the Panthers’ offensive linemen during camp, but when it comes to the preseason games and potentially the regular season, it will also create problems for offensive coordinators who have to work out who to help off if Norton is paired with the likes of Vernon Butler. If teams try to block him one-on-one, they risk having plays blown up as above, but by doubling him, they would be forced to leave somebody else blocking Butler one-on-one. Importantly, when he is doubled, Norton shows an ability to anchor well and forced both linemen to continue to maintain the block, freeing up space for the linebackers behind him:
Despite all of his natural power, for him to be able to deliver it, he needs to maintain a good pad level, and this is an area where Norton will likely look to improve his consistency if nothing else. When he gets his pad level even close to an ideal standard, he makes himself something of an immovable object:
But he does have a tendency to stand up out of his stance and so allows offensive linemen to push him upwards and backwards, negating the impact of his superior strength:
At the college level, Norton was sometimes able to compensate for poor pad level with raw power, but in order to maximize his impact in the NFL and consistently force double teams this way, he will need to show that this is an area he can improve upon during training camp. What is promising, however, is that he does show good balance, as he fared well against chips and similar tactics in college, suggesting that the issue could be more about technique than a lack of body control:
Another area of strength for Norton is his hand usage, as he showed an ability in college not just to push defenders backwards in the run game, but to use his quickness and hand usage to gap-fill and even penetrate against the run. By looking to get his hands inside the frame of the offensive lineman he’s going against he is able to control the lineman out of the lane:
What is also promising on this play is how he uses a nice rip move to disengage, even if a blown gap on the back side of the play means that the running back is long gone. He uses this same hand speed and strength on the next play as well, only this time in order to generate penetration off the snap. He is able to casually swat the center away with a swim move before anchoring against the left guard and tackle:
He might not – check that, will not – be able to force triple teams in the NFL, but this ability to disrupt plays with quickness and strong hands should translate to the next level. Mahon’s hand usage is also very good, and while Norton is the superior athlete, Mahon’s better pad level and body control could make for an interesting back-and-forth throughout camp.
Next Up: The Passing Game
