The Carolina Panthers turned a few heads this week when they claimed six cornerbacks on waivers. Some believe those moves are a product of the team’s Seattle Seahawks DNA.
Each of Carolina’s sacks leaders from 2023 – Brian Burns (8), Frankie Luvu (5½) and Yetur Gross-Matos (4½) – are on other rosters. Other than signing Jadeveon Clowney, first-year general manager Dan Morgan didn’t address the position.
“Edge rusher is a problem,” said beat writer Mike Kaye on the Processing Blue podcast. “I think the Panthers are aware of that and they know coverage is going to have to make up for that, which is why they have 11 DBs. They’ve gone the length route.”
Morgan, who spent the first eight years after his playing career (2010-17) in the Seattle front office, appears to have built their season-opening defense up the middle.
“This is an inside-to-outward defense,” Kaye said. “The interior defensive linemen, the inside linebackers and the safety depth are the strengths of this defense. So, what you do is you look for traits and roles on the outside.
“I think when you look at this Legion of Boom-style length and pursuit at corner, you’re looking for guys, as Dave Canales said, who can make up for a lack of speed or a mistake because they’re so long and lanky, and tall.”
Canales, now Carolina’s head coach, spent more time than Morgan with the Seahawks, 13 years from 2010-22. For seven straight seasons (2010-16), the Seahawks finished in the NFL’s top 10 both in points and yards, winning one of two Super Bowl berths in that span. They did it with dominant players such as Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor up the middle. Meanwhile, 6-3 Richard Sherman locked down the sidelines. The defensive coordinator on those teams was Dan Quinn, whose Seattle influence is also evident with the Commanders.
One under-the-radar offseason decision Carolina made, retaining respected defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero (ee-JAIR-oh / ee-VAIR-oh), may pay dividends. Of the cornerbacks the Panthers recently added, five are at least 6-1, including Mike Jackson, acquired Aug. 22 in a trade with Seattle. They’ll allow Evero to further mix and disguise coverage, complementing starter Jaycee Horn, the eighth-overall selection in the 2021 draft, who’s prioritizing health over his next contract.
The Panthers open their season Sept. 8, visiting New Orleans, where Horn’s father Joe played seven seasons (2000-06).