4 ways Stephon Gilmore will help the Carolina Panthers
By Jason Huber
Stephon Gilmore provides more depth to the Carolina Panthers CB room
Just a season ago, the Carolina Panthers cornerbacks consisted of an injured Donte Jackson, Corn Elder, Troy Pride Jr., Rasul Douglas, Stantley Thomas-Oliver, and Eli Apple.
This season, Carolina drafted Jaycee Horn with their first-round pick and signed A.J. Bouye, but Horn suffered a broken foot two weeks ago that will keep him out for multiple weeks, and Pride suffered a major ACL complication in the preseason.
Scott Fitterer traded for another young cornerback from the Jacksonville Jaguars in C.J. Henderson but he’s still very raw and is dealing with some nagging injuries.
Jackson is healthy and Bouye is back from his suspension. But if something happened to either one of them while Horn is out, the next men up would be Henderson, Oliver, Rashaan Melvin, and rookie Keith Taylor.
That’s not very reassuring.
With Gilmore coming into the picture once he’s eligible, the All-Pro immediately allows defensive coordinator Phil Snow to get creative with how he’s using his cornerbacks and will fill the void of Horn as Henderson adjusts to the league.
Carolina can now have Bouye coming off the bench with Henderson, making the defense that much more scary at all times.
And if Horn returns this year, watch out.