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Phil Snow Details Plan for Jeremy Chinn's New Role

Jeremy Chinn will be moving to a new position in 2021 but don't expect him to be locked into one spot.

A couple of weeks ago, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told reporters that Jeremy Chinn would be making the move to safety this upcoming season. Chinn played a lot of linebacker as a rookie but also played a few other spots including safety. 

Chinn was drafted out of Southern Illinois in the 2nd round last year as a safety, so the move is not expected to be a tough transition. This move was mainly made to protect his body from injury as most linebackers need to play at a weight of around 235 or heavier. 

Wednesday morning, defensive coordinator Phil Snow talked to the media about the position change and what to expect in terms of how exactly they will use him.

"He's been a safety his whole life so he's had no problem [transitioning]. It's a little bit different for him and it's kind of funny because last year, Al Holcomb had him in a room by himself most of the day. Well now, he's in a whole group that's giving it to him all day, so I think it's been fun for him too."

Snow also stated that the base defense will be a 4-3 scheme and that Chinn's versatility will allow them to be flexible in their playcalling.  

"Last year, we used him from the front, back. I think he's going to be a little bit more from the back, up. But a lot of the same things he can do and based on what we're calling, we've got to utilize him and maximize him. For example, to not blitz Jeremy wouldn't be very smart, would it? I mean, he's fast and big so we still have to implement a lot of things but just do it in a different way.

"To me, if you don't utilize Jeremy in a number of different ways, then you're not utilizing the player. We won't pigeonhole him into one position. We can maximize him by doing a lot of different things with him and you'll see us do that again with him this year."

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