From a pure pass-rushing perspective, Yetur Gross-Matos hasn’t had much to eat in his first three NFL seasons. But now that the Carolina Panthers defensive end is a Carolina Panthers outside linebacker, he wants more on his plate.
With the team’s switch to a 3-4 base under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Gross-Matos will be spending his fourth campaign standing behind the line rather than on it. And even though the transition will be a considerable shift in approach, the former second-round pick is ready for it.
“Before, I was playing D-line, but I was really taking on a lot of double-teams and just in the trenches,” Gross-Matos said, via Augusta Stone of Panthers.com. “Now, I’m really able to use my athleticism more, running more, covering. We outside linebackers consider ourselves the alphas of the defense because we can do it all – rush the quarterback, cover guys, look at formations. So it’s a bigger responsibility. But, you know, I’m all about it. And it’s been fun.”
Well, according to fellow lineman-turned-linebacker Brian Burns—who’s also dealing with the change—his teammate is really all about it.
“He’s doing really well with it,” Burns said. “The main jumps I’ve seen in him is his ability to process because at that position, dealing with coverage drops and all these different terms and checks that we have to deal with, it can be difficult. So being able to compartmentalize your brain to the point where, you know, you’re rushing on this play, and then you got to act like a DB on the next play, that’s kind of difficult to deal with – especially coming from a guy that’s used to 4-3. But he’s taking big strides in it.”
Even after an active offseason for Carolina, one that saw the team trade up and draft an outside backer in DJ Johnson, the spot across from Burns remains wide open. So Gross-Matos, who has racked up just 8.5 career sacks, has an appetizing opportunity to make a splash in the final year of his rookie deal.
