The preseason is a time when the greatest competition is within an organization's walls. Players find themselves one big break away from a career in football and need to do some soul-searching.
Last year, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit lacked talent. That is not the case this time around, and a bold plan being put in motion cracks the door open for an unheralded rookie to make his presence felt immediately.
Heated position battles rage on at training camp. The bar has been raised after the Panthers' division title triumph last season. And make no mistake, Evero is using the foundation of talent to evolve his scheme.
Ejiro Evero is opening up the Carolina Panthers' defense with improved personnel
With Mike Jackson Sr.'s emergence as a legitimate shutdown corner, Evero is confident putting Jaycee Horn in the nickel. This was a tactic he deployed while with the Los Angeles Rams, when Jalen Ramsey shined in the star role en route to an All-Pro season and a Super Bowl berth.
Evero has faith that Horn can have a similar impact when he spends time in the slot.
“He played a lot of nickel in college. You saw the blitzing, you saw the run fits, you saw the instincts on the inside. Nothing foreign there. We have utilized him the way we felt was best the past couple of years and he is obviously one of our best players, so it’s my job and our job as a staff to make sure we get them in winning positions.”
The Panthers can benefit from Horn’s instincts. With second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton out for the season, they will need creative blitz packages. More importantly, they have an answer against tight ends, who burned Carolina in huge moments last season.
Instead of a mixed bag of defensive backs, the Panthers will have a legitimate answer when they line up in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. It is perhaps Horn who can best match up with Bears’ superstar tight end Colston Loveland.
That matters.
Will Lee III will get opportunities to flourish amid Carolina Panthers' creative shift
The shift opens up an opportunity for another outside corner, where Evero’s unit could become vulnerable. There was always going to be a hole in this secondary. The Panthers only have one starting-caliber safety in Tre’Von Moerhig, and the combination of Chau Smith-Wade and Corey Thornton was never going to be enough in the nickel.
Horn’s flexibility allows the team to play the hot hand. They can move him around, so they can put the most skillful bunch on the field.
The door has been drawn wide open for fourth-round pick Will Lee III. The rookie is tall with long arms, profiling exactly what general manager Dan Morgan is looking for long-term.
With Jackson in a contract year, the Panthers can benefit from testing the rookie’s ceiling early.
If Lee plays well, they would have the option to move on from the 30-year-old Jackson next offseason. This, in turn, could save them millions if an extension for quarterback Bryce Young is on the table.
The Panthers are nearly one month from the start of the regular season. The testing Evero is doing now will be crucial to the defense's continued ascent and, hopefully, to finding their way into the playoffs.
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