5 young Panthers players who may beat out veterans in camp
By Dean Jones
Troy Pride Jr. – Carolina Panthers CB
It was always going to be difficult for Troy Pride Jr. during his rookie campaign. The cornerback was a little raw coming out of Notre Dame despite his obvious athletic traits, which was reflected in some significant struggles when he saw the field for the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
Pride Jr. came into the league at a bad time and the Panthers needed him more than they thought thanks to Donte Jackson’s injury and the Eli Apple experiment failing miserably. Just how much this has knocked his confidence remains to be seen, but it might be a little too soon to give up on the player just yet.
This is an immensely important offseason for Pride Jr., who needs to show a tremendous amount of growth to remain in Carolina’s plans. The Panthers will be without free-agent signing A.J. Bouye for the first two games due to suspension, so if the speedster can do enough to win the No. 3 spot in his absence then it could lead to a solid amount of reps during the season.
Only time will tell as to whether Pride Jr. is capable of this.
The fourth-round pick certainly needs to do a lot more against receivers who are ruthless when they go up against corners with little experience at the next level, which the player found out to his cost in 2020.
A big adjustment from the first year to the second is absolutely key for any NFL cornerback. So the Panthers will get a better indication of what they can expect from Pride Jr. long-term this summer.