Scouting Report on Each Panthers Draftee

The 2021 NFL Draft is officially behind us so now, we take a look at how each draft pick can help the Carolina Panthers as early as this season and what their strengths/weaknesses are. To provide some very in-depth reports, we turned to the kind folks at the NFL Draft Bible on Sports Illustrated.

CB Jaycee Horn - South Carolina

The son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn, Jaycee Horn has the athletic skill set to create his own legacy on the defensive side of the ball. During his Gamecocks career, Horn has had a variety of reps both inside at nickel and on the outside. With superb size and plus athleticism, Horn has the physical profile to match up against a variety of sizes and play styles. He is incredibly physical at the line of scrimmage, showing a nice combination of hand strength and lateral mobility, profiling as the premier press-man cornerback in the entire 2021 class. In the run game, he flashes plus ability at the cornerback position. Horn is the type of player who can follow the opposing team’s top wide receiver all over the field, whether that be inside or outside. His hips are loose enough to transition both vertically or coming downhill. The box score will paint one picture about Horn, but his ball skills are a lot better than what the stat sheet might let on, outside of the 2020 outing against the University of Auburn. He easily flips his hips, turns, and makes plays on the ball. Teams just appear a bit hesitant to challenge him in the passing game, rarely being tested down the field. Ball production is going to be the area that Horn will need to answer the question marks, something that he quieted some in his limited sample size during the 2020 season. Currently, there is some wasted movement out of his back-pedal, showing false steps and slow transitions at times. With his combination of size, physicality, smoothness and alignment versatility, Horn is the type of versatile playmaker that teams value big-time on the back end.

WR Terrace Marshall Jr. - LSU

While playing alongside top-five pick Ja’Marr Chase, LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. possesses a next-level skill set that could get him to transition to the NFL a lot smoother than some might expect. Marshall has a long lean frame that has some big-time developmental potential moving forward. He could hold 220+ pounds without potentially losing much speed in the process. He has a ton more juice that you might envision when first popping on the film. In a lot of ways, he mirrors former Clemson Tiger and Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Martavis Bryant physically. Marshall is a legit deep threat who can win on the vertical frame both with his long speed and length to gain separation. He has flashed the ability to win through contact and highpoint with the best of them. Marshall has some intriguing body control to make some phenomenal catches climbing the ladder. He possesses a ton of flexibility to run a variety of routes. Marshall is not the most sudden athlete and will take a couple of steps to throttle down. The biggest concern is durability as it stands. If he is able to quiet those concerns, the upside is high for Marshall. With his combination of length, athleticism and body control, Marshall has the potential to become WR3 for Carolina in year one.

OT Brady Christensen - BYU

As BYU lineman go, Christensen was the most impressive throughout the 2020 season. He brings a dynamic skill set to the offensive tackle position. He can move well from side to side and keep his balance in his pass blocks. He does need to put on weight, as he’s under 300 pounds. Christensen uses his hands well and it’s his most valuable trait. He is slow getting to the next level but makes up for it by finding a man to block no matter what with consistent angles. Strength will be his biggest issue during his transition to the next level, as Christensen will go up against bigger defensive ends that can bull-rush with ease. His anchor and footwork are also key areas where he needs improvement. He’s a raw talent with some traits that the Panthers are gambling on but can help him work through, especially early. Don’t expect any immediate returns, but Carolina could get a nice return on his athletic gifts down the road.

TE Tommy Tremble - Notre Dame

While the stats might not tell it, Tremble is a talented tight end who Notre Dame was never able to maximize during his two seasons in South Bend. The Georgia native recorded just 35 catches for 401 yards but he was a vital part of the successful running game for the Irish. The competitive run blocker is successful on the move and has some nasty to him, finishing blocks with defenders on the ground. He is smart in pass protection, recognizing blitzes from the second level and absorbing contact before anchoring. Tremble is light on his feet in the open field, getting in and out of his breaks to gain separation. Possessing sufficient speed he is better suited in condensed spaces and displays quick agility. He can catch the ball when he is open and even with a defender is over him but does not make catches at the high point. After the catch, he uses his athleticism to defeat pursuit angles. Using physicality and leverage, he can create small windows at the top of his routes. Tremble projects as a blocking tight end with untapped potential as a receiver, especially between the hashes. He would fit into a wide zone that utilizes tight ends on split zone play actions, taking advantage of his blocking and athleticism.

RB Chuba Hubbard - Oklahoma State

The Heisman candidate from 2019, when he had an impressive season amassing 2,094 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, decided to come back for his junior season in 2020. It did not turn out how Hubbard expected as he totaled only 625 rushing yards and looked like he lacked confidence at times. Hubbard ran exclusively out of the shotgun in the Cowboys’ very spaced-out attack. Possessing exciting speed and burst, he makes use of large openings, exploding into holes and taking it the distance. When playing quickly, he gives second-level defenders no chance to hesitate while filling their gaps as he is gone in an instant. While he does not jump-cut explosively, Hubbard can change directions in the open field and find cutback lanes on lateral runs. Once in space, the Canadian loves using a stiff arm that is very effective on defensive backs. Hubbard struggles to find openings when they are not obvious and does not have the patience required to let his blocks develop, making it useless to run him behind lead blockers on concepts that take longer to develop. He is not physical and gets arm tackled consistently, which leaves yards on the table. In the receiving game, he is not asked to run routes, and the times he does he struggles to gain separation underneath. When left open in the flat, he has shown that he hauls passes in reliably. His lack of third-down ability prevents him from being a starter as his pass blocking is not up to par even for the college game. If able to iron out ball-security issues that caused him to fumble eight times in his collegiate career, Hubbard could grasp a pure running role in an outside zone scheme, taking advantage of his speed and burst.

DT Daviyon Nixon - Iowa

The former three-star recruit had to go the JUCO route before enrolling at Iowa, but he was productive in two seasons of action, racking up eight and a half sacks. Nixon is a dense lineman who aligns in multiple spots for the Hawkeyes including as a shaded nose or a five-technique. His consistently low pad level helps him in winning the leverage battle. Nixon stresses blockers laterally with his agility and punishes passive blockers with his hand usage. Once he gets hip-to-hip with a blocker, he uses a rip move to prevent them from getting access to his frame. In the run game, he possesses a solid anchor and is superb in the lateral run game, beating blockers to spots and shooting gaps. Nixon is a flexible athlete with mediocre explosiveness and burst. He has enough length to extend and two-gap, but largely succeeds at it thanks to his lateral agility. Nixon projects as a starting defensive tackle early in his career. He can contribute in the run and pass game but has a limited ceiling due to his frame and athleticism. To turn into more than an above-average starter, he has to add more of a power rushing element to his game. Nixon fits best in a penetration-style front that can take advantage of his obvious gifts.

CB Keith Taylor Jr. - Washington

A physical man-to-man corner, Taylor will enter the NFL with no interceptions in his career, but it is not indicative of his play on the field. A reliable, smart and consistent performer for the Huskies, Taylor seemed destined for a bust-out season in 2020, but the haphazard Pac-12 season prevented that from happening. A reactive athlete in man coverage, Taylor does a great job with his hip transition, which allows him to stay with many receivers. He does a great job pressing receivers and making them uncomfortable as soon as the play starts. There is also no doubting his football intelligence as he just understands how to play the position. His ability to anticipate and diagnose a receiver’s route in man coverage is excellent. While Taylor has solid ball skills, especially in the passes defended category, he doesn’t finish plays in terms of interceptions. Unfortunately, not having an interception in his career is a major red flag. Taylor has had opportunities, with numerous passes bouncing off his hands. As an NFL corner, finishing plays is one of the critical traits a player needs to possess. A leader who has the experience to be a solid cornerback prospect, Taylor projects to ascend as he begins to receive NFL coaching in the near future.

G Deonte Brown - Alabama

Your throwback War Daddy up front, Brown is an imposing presence along the offensive line. Boasting a compact and powerful frame, Brown is a mauler who creates a lot of movement in the run game. With an extremely powerful lower half, Brown is able to create an absurd amount of power in very tight spaces. When he is able to get his hands inside on defenders, it is almost a guaranteed game over. Brown is a battler who shows outstanding effort on a snap-to-snap basis. There are moments of dominance on film against a daunting SEC schedule. Despite his squatty frame, Brown is a surprisingly efficient mover working to the second level. As good as he can move vertically, he lacks the flexibility to work laterally at a consistent rate. Brown is a bit heavy-footed, which can contribute to his struggle to redirect, especially in pass protection. There is some bad weight on his frame that could potentially be the difference between being a high-quality starter and a regulated backup option. For now, his combination of natural power, effort, and physicality make him a strong candidate as a starting option relatively early in his NFL career.

WR Shi Smith - South Carolina

With a smooth athletic profile, including short-area explosiveness and straight-line speed, Smith is a tough cover for opposing defensive backs. He is a crafty route runner who has a clear understanding of blind spots in coverage and how to attack leverage. After a bit of a down 2019 season, Smith responded in a big way during 2020. Smith is a YAC monster who presents a headache in post-catch situations, using his natural athleticism to navigate the open field. Boasting a smaller frame, Smith may be limited to slot duties on the next level. With a small catch radius and limited ability to work against press coverage, this hurts his alignment versatility. Consistency has been sporadic for Smith, disappearing far too often on film. Overall Smith is an easy projection as an impact slot receiver relatively early in his career. With his combination of YAC ability, smoothness, and plus speed, he’s the type of wide receiver that can impact an offense every time he has the football in his hands.

DL Phil Hoskins - Kentucky

Hoskins is going to be a project as he served as a backup for the majority of his career at Kentucky. He's got a big frame that he uses to his advantage and does a really good job of applying pressure on the interior of the pocket. He will be utilized more as a run stopper than anything but is not conditioned to be thrusted into a starting role anytime soon. At the next level, he projects as a backup as a true nose that could be the 3rd or 4th man in the rotation early in his career.

No scouting report available for

LS Thomas Fletcher - Alabama

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