When it comes to concern regarding depth for the Carolina Panthers, much of the attention has been aimed towards the team’s receiving corp. But it’s the opposite part of the personnel that may be the bigger issue.
New secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley spoke with reporters following Thursday’s installment of organized team activities. When asked about the state of the cornerbacks room, Cooley just played it cool.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “We have veterans in there, we have young players that we’re very excited about. And then, just developing the backend depth—because corner is a position that is super important for us in the NFL, to exist how we wanna play on defense. So, just creating more versatility with those guys has been helpful. But I really like the guys we have in the room and I couldn’t be more excited about working with them.”
Outside of Jaycee Horn, the Panthers don’t have one sure thing at the position. Behind Horn at the top of the chart sits Donte Jackson, who is still recovering from an Achilles tear, as well as CJ Henderson and Keith Taylor Jr.—both of whom didn’t exactly shine when given the chance at the end of last season.
Nonetheless, Cooley seems encouraged by all four men at this point in the offseason.
“Most of them are relatively young,” he replied when asked of who’s impressed him most. “As far as the younger guys, Jaycee’s in his first contract. He’s done an excellent job for us. Keith Taylor’s done an excellent job with us—just getting better and better. D-Jax’s probably the older one and he’s been a great teammate. CJ Henderson’s done an excellent job in the role that he’s been able to play during this spring. So, we’re really excited about a lot of them.”
