Carolina Panthers: No Josh Norman, Now What?
How will the Carolina Panthers solve their biggest roster question?
The Carolina Panthers made a huge bet on the organization on Wednesday when they rescinded their offer to Josh Norman. The team removed their franchise tag from the standout cornerback after he refused to sign the offer in an attempt to get a larger, long term contract. Now that the decision has been made to move forward without Norman, Carolina must look to the draft and their current roster to address what comes next.
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The first option for any team is to always turn to the draft. Each year there are stories about teams making draft mistakes and players turning out to be a huge mistake. Norman is actually a testament to good draft purposes. A fifth round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft; Norman would be a player that stepped into his role gradually with enough time to blossom into the player that he was in 2015. Turning to a late round pick has the potential to find a player with the potential to repeat this standard for progress.
A number of names are floating around as potential replacements for the Pro Bowl player. William Jackson III out of Houston stands out for a number of reasons. Jackson’s shown the type of coverage skills that work with the Panther’s defensive scheme. He performed well during the Scouting Combine this off-season. The question would be whether or not he would have an immediate impact in one-on-one coverage situations where Norman played well for most of the season.
Mackensie Alexander from Clemson is another corner back that has potential to become a Carolina Panther early in the 2016 draft. He is another player that presented the ability to be a cover corner that teams can rely on. With time he could become a player that grows into a trusted defensive player, but the question remains, how much time can Carolina leverage with their current roster?
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The potential starters for Carolina at this time are Bene Benwikere, Kurt Coleman and Tre Boston. Robert McClain and Brandon Boykin are the two veterans that would battle for that remaining position. Both players have experience but neither are the star that has put up the type of performances Norman put together in the last two years. Early indications point to this opening as the main roster battle that will occur on the defensive for the rest of the off-season this summer.
What Norman brought to the table allowed the rest of the Panthers defense to play in an aggressive fashion knowing they had a big-time player covering the best receiver on the opposing offense. The cost to keep that player was too high, now the Panthers need to find a solution for a glaring hole in their roster.
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Speculation will run rampant between now and April 28 when the first night of the draft starts. It will not be a surprise if the Panthers use an early pick on a defensive back, but keep an eye on whom they choose in later rounds. Sleeper picks, like Norman, have the potential to bloom into a star player. Carolina is banking on the idea that their current roster and plan will create the perfect opportunity for said growth.