Why Gross-Matos' Awkwardness is Beneficial to the Panthers
The Panthers got an absolute steal early in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the selection of defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos out of Penn State. Several draft experts projected him to go in the latter half of the first round, but fortunately for the Panthers, he fell into the second.
As talented as Gross-Matos is, the initial thought was that he would sit and learn behind Stephen Weatherly. Although that still may be the case, Gross-Matos has put himself in a great position to be key contributor early this season.
Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow has been very impressed with his skillset and what he has to offer.
"Yetur is just a big man. It's funny because he's almost awkward at times, which makes him really hard to block, especially in the passing game. He can really bend the corner for a really big person. I think he's got a really bright future in football."
Part of his awkwardness is due to his lankiness at 6'5", 265 lbs. He's a big man as Phil Snow stated, but he still has some filling out to do. Adding some extra weight should help him be more physical in stopping the run game, which is one area he needs to improve in. When it comes to the pass rushing, Gross-Matos is second to none for his age. He is very effective in getting into the backfield and it showed over the last two years in Happy Valley where he combined for 94 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks.
Although the coaching staff has kept everything close to the vest with how they are going to use certain players, it is expected that Gross-Matos will evolve into a third down pass rushing specialist in his rookie season. Fellow defensive end Stephen Weatherly has been battling a hamstring injury, but is expected to be back at the beginning of next week. Should he not be able to go for next week's game, Gross-Matos will likely slide into the starting lineup.
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