Panthers Big Board: Alex Highsmith Draft Profile

With the 2020 NFL Combine now behind us and the draft just a couple of months away, we continue to break down some of the college game's biggest stars that the Panthers may have their eye on.

Over the last few weeks, we have broken down several draft prospects that the Panthers could take in the first two rounds. Today, we are looking at an underrated prospect that could be viewed as a hidden gem in the middle rounds, someone nobody is talking about - Charlotte defensive end Alex Highsmith.

During his first two years at Charlotte, Highsmith lined up at linebacker and really struggled to make an impact. He made the switch to defensive end in his junior season and it paid off in big dividends.

Here are his per year averages at each position:

Linebacker: 25.0 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks

Defensive end: 67.5 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks

The switch turned him from just another role player to now a mid-round draft pick. Even better, Highsmith is still very raw and still has a ton of room for improvement. For him to be putting up those numbers are almost absurd. He has an extremely high ceiling and could be a perfect fit for Phil Snow's defense in Carolina.

Highsmith (6'4" 242 lbs) probably fits best schematically as an edge rusher that may have to drop back in coverage from time to time. With his experience at linebacker, this should be no problem for him and could be a replacement for Bruce Irvin.

As you well know, the Panthers are preparing to take a hit to their defensive line with Bruce Irvin, Mario Addison and Gerald McCoy sitting in free agency along with Dontari Poe, whose team option was not picked up.

Let us know your thoughts! Would you like to see Highsmith stay in Charlotte and suit up for the Panthers? Discuss in the comment section below!

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