5 studs the Panthers should monitor from Senior Bowl practice Day 1
By Dean Jones
Perrion Winfrey – DT (Oklahoma)
One suspects that the Carolina Panthers won’t be prioritizing the defensive line early in the 2022 NFL Draft. This positional group has been allocated a substantial amount of resources in recent years and the team’s problems lie mostly on the other side of the football right now.
That being said, if the Panthers cannot agree to an extension with veteran DaQuan Jones, then a starting replacement needs to be found unless the likes of Daviyon Nixon or Bravvion Roy make significant strides during the offseason. They could go down the college route to save money and judging by Perrion Winfrey’s showing on practice Day 1 of the 2022 Senior Bowl, he is someone to bookmark as a potential option.
According to multiple media figures in attendance, the Oklahoma defensive tackle was one of the more dominant players during individual drills, displaying the explosiveness and power that should translate extremely well to the pro ranks.
Winfrey’s spent two years on the Sooners and came of age in 2021 with 5.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He might be a little undersized in terms of height and weight, but he more than makes up for this with exceptional athleticism and technique that already looks NFL-ready.
Just where Winfrey will land over the draft weekend is unclear. But the versatile lineman certainly has a lot of traits Carolina’s current regime covet in this area of the field.