4 ways Stephon Gilmore will help the Carolina Panthers

Stephon Gilmore gives the young Carolina Panthers defenders more time to develop

As crazy as it sounds, the addition of one player like Stephon Gilmore can really affect how the entire defense plays.

Once Gilmore returns, his presence alone will allow the defensive side of the ball to open up more and be able to bounce back quicker from mistakes, assuming the former South Carolina star performs at his usual level.

Not only will Gilmore at cornerback allow Donte Jackson and C.J. Henderson to have more time to come into their own. But it’ll also provide a guy like Jeremy Chinn with additional help while playing safety.

This sentiment was echoed by head coach Matt Rhule in his presser following the trade.

"“It allows us to put more guys in the box, and go be aggressive. We try to have positionless players, like Jeremy Chinn, Haason Reddick, Brian Burns, Morgan Fox. . . . We want to give different looks and take advantage of the guys we have.”"

Gilmore knows how to match up against receivers, read the quarterback and manage the field. That will help the defense in a huge way and with so many young defenders, it’ll only add assistance.

The way he can help Carolina’s promising young studs on the field doesn’t even include how much he can assist them in the locker room.

While Rhule and Scott Fitterer say it won’t affect any decision on Jackson’s future in Carolina, it will allow them to see how he pairs up with an elite cornerback and that could help the decision-making process.