Carolina Panthers strike gold with Daviyon Nixon pick

The Carolina Panthers continued to build their young roster with the acquisition of () in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Day 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft inevitably started with a trade back with the Tennessee Titans, which gave the Carolina Panthers two extra draft selections in 2021 and a further indication of general manager Scott Fitterer’s desire to generate more in the way of late-round capital that he proved so successful with during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.

This is how you build a winning franchise. The Panthers have seldom seen such draft management throughout their 26-year history and for Carolina to have this sort of plan in place can only mean good things for the organization moving forward.

They began their series of selections with the acquisition of running back Chuba Hubbard and followed this up in Round 5 with another shrewd decision in the form of Daviyon Nixon out of Iowa.

Finding athletic prospects who fit the mold of what Matt Rhule is trying to build in Carolina has been the order of the day for the Panthers and few would argue that Nixon doesn’t tick all the boxes in this regard.

Nixon is a powerful individual who seems to make things happen at the drop of a hat. He boasts some impressive starting experience at the college level and should be a nice fit within the locker room judging by reports of his outstanding character away from the gridiron.

Carolina Panthers will be busy on Day 3

The Panthers are judging this perfectly. They are playing their board and calculating extremely well which targets might be available with moves back in order to get themselves additional draft capital.

This might even come with a trade-up at some stage – which they could now do if they see fit – but considering the relative lack of success in the later rounds over the years, their new and improved methods leave plenty of reasons to be encouraged.

As for Nixon, he might not be able to step in and make an immediate impact as a starter. But the Panthers have plenty of solid options elsewhere at the depth chart that should allow the player to acclimatize to his new surroundings at his own pace and potentially make an impression on a rotational basis when the time comes.

One doesn’t have to look far to see just what sort of college prospects the Panthers are targeting during the 2021 draft. Athleticism and strong testing are clearly a crucial component to their decisions and this is something that will stay them in enormously good stead in their bid to enter the postseason discussion sooner rather than later.

These are really exciting times for the Panthers. Nixon brings yet more intrigue for what is turning out to be yet another exceptional draft class.