5 individual battles to watch during Panthers scrimmages at Colts
By Dean Jones
Sam Darnold vs. Darius Leonard
It’s been an encouraging start to training camp for Sam Darnold. The quarterback seemed to come into his own once the pads came on last week, firmly familiarizing himself with the system and the weapons at his disposal.
This will be the latest big test for the signal-caller. The Carolina Panthers will find out plenty about the former USC star over the next few days going up against a talented Indianapolis Colts defense led by arguably the best middle linebacker in football.
Darius Leonard is a two-time All-Pro despite entering his fourth NFL season. He became a dominant second-level presence from the moment he stepped onto the field, seemingly in the right place at the right time on every down to leave his mark in no uncertain terms.
The Colts made Leonard the league’s highest-paid linebacker last week, something he’s richly deserving of. Darnold will need to know where the former South Carolina State star is at all times if he wants to build on some solid momentum over the last fortnight.
Just how much time Darnold will take part in Sunday’s preseason game is unclear. But he’ll be getting a lot of reps during scrimmages and needs to be wary of Leonard’s ability to impact proceedings.
If he can do this efficiently, then it’s another big feather in Darnold’s cap ahead of the new campaign.