2021 NFL Draft: Early draft needs for the Carolina Panthers
By Kyle Edmond
Carolina Panthers 2021 NFL Draft Needs: Cornerbacks
With Donte Jackson and Eli Apple, there is a budding foundation for the Panthers’ cornerbacks, but beyond those two there are a lot of question marks around the group.
Carolina invested a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick during the 2020 NFL Draft into the position, but even with that, they are still looking at being one of the bottom teams in terms of secondary play.
The Panthers were actually around the middle of the pack in terms of passing yards allowed per game in 2019, but the landscape of their division has changed.
Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are the other quarterbacks of the division and will total six games against the Panthers. Given the air attack of those offensives and their depth of weapons at the wide receiver position, having a plethora of solid cornerbacks is a must for Carolina.
This is another pick that doesn’t have to be addressed right away in the draft. There are typically starting-caliber cornerbacks in the second round, and sometimes even in the third. This unit is still in need of one or two more top-level players to compete consistently and that could be fixed in the 2021 NFL Draft.