Panthers news: Does cornerback spot need strengthening in 2020?
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers news regarding their depth chart looks a little stronger following the NFL Draft, but what remains an area of concern?
It was a draft full of good Carolina Panthers news in terms of their depth chart. The decision-makers within the franchise made history by allocating each pick on defense and although this wasn’t originally planned, it was more than welcome.
Despite head coach Matt Rhule completely transforming the Panthers roster during a difficult series of offseason moves. There are still some areas that require strengthening should they want to remain competitive in the NFC South in 2020 and beyond.
A recent analysis from ESPN indicated that cornerback is an area of the field that the Panthers need to be most concerned about. This is primarily down to their No.1 option James Bradberry departing the organization in favor of a big-money move to the New York Giants.
Writing about the decision, the ESPN Insider piece had this to say.
"“The Panthers made the unprecedented decision to use all seven of their 2020 draft picks on defensive players, and yet the team somehow still has several holes on defense. . . Alongside Donte Jackson, the team will have to rely on some combination of a 2017 fifth-rounder in Corn Elder, an undrafted second-year player in Cole Luke, and a pair of Day 3 rookies in Troy Pride and Stantley Thomas-Oliver. None of those corners has started an NFL game, and yet two of them will need to play first-team reps in nickel situations this season.”"
It’s difficult to argue with ESPN’s theory. With Bradberry, Javien Elliot, and Ross Cockrell no longer with the franchise, going young is going to come with its fair share of teething problems in the pass-happy world of today’s NFL.
There is no much wiggle room in terms of the Panthers’ salary cap to bring in a veteran free agent. So Rhule might have to go to war with the tools he currently has available.