Late Wednesday (9.30) morning, Carolina fans were hit with some tough news. Star corner duo Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson were both placed on injured reserve, missing at least the next four games each.
Coming into the season, corner was probably the strongest spot on the Panthers roster. Compared to the rest of the NFL, Carolina had one of, if not the best set of starting corners.
Now, after just the third game of the season, the Panthers will be without their stars along the back end of the defense for the foreseeable future.
Head Coach Dave Canales indicated in his presser on Wednesday that Horn and Jackson are both expected to return to the team, but it will be much later in the season.
Unfortunately, Carolina’s options at corner are both limited and bad. With a date on Sunday Night Football with the Detroit Lions coming up, let’s take a look at what Carolina can do to patch up the corner conundrum in the interim.
Internal Options
Any list that Carolina has made in replacing Horn and Jackson has to start with Will Lee III. The fourth round pick rookie has already seen significant playing time this season, and has had both really good and really bad reps.
The initial plan with drafting Lee was to allow him to learn as a boundary corner, while Jaycee Horn got to move inside to the slot on tougher assignments. Lee’s experience (albeit limited) on the outside is actually a positive going forward, as he will most likely have to be one of the boundary corners for the next handful of games.
Where Lee will have to improve is in keeping his eye on both the ball and his assignments, too often has he been out of position on deep, developing route concepts.
As the de facto CB1, Lee will be thrust into the most difficult matchups that he could possibly see (when in man coverage). In the long run, this will likely help his development, but in the short term, expect some big plays courtesy of Lee.
Carolina’s remaining in-house options are as follows:
Akayleb Evans, mainly special teams/reserve corner
Chau Smith-Wade, has mostly played the slot, smaller for an outside corner
Corey Thornton - practice squad
Robert Rochell - practice squad, just signed in wake of Horn and Jackson injuries
DeVonta Smith - rookie UDFA, practice squad
Zion Childress - practice squad
At least for Week 4, expect to see a lot of Akayleb Evans and Chau Smith-Wade. Both of Evans and CSW have reps on game day, and are the most familiar with Ejiro Evero’s system.
Going forward, however, it’s hard to see the Panthers not looking externally for corner help. The team can’t and probably shouldn’t be comfortable with leaving a rookie and mainly special teams players alone against some of the better offenses in the NFL.
Free Agent DBs
If Dan Morgan wants to avoid giving up draft capital, which has been his M.O. through most of his tenure as General Manager, then the free agency market is the place to turn to for help.
While the Panthers internal options don’t inspire confidence, the free agency market is probably worse. Here are the top corners on the market, according to Spotrac:
The market is even thinner than it appears, as Kenny Moore has already signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.
If Carolina is serious about replacing Horn and Jackson with high-end talent, there is one more option.
Trade Targets
Sending draft capital or players away is never a palatable choice, but if Carolina wants to fill the void with a bit more talent than what is currently on the roster or in free agency, making a trade might be the best choice.
Joey Porter Jr. is a popular name among trade talks, as he has wanted and not materialized a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers following the extensions of other top young corners.
While Porter would certainly be the most talented of likely available options, he doesn’t necessarily fit the zone-heavy scheme that Ejiro Evero tends to deploy.
The cost in a Porter deal would likely be too rich for Carolina to give up as well. It’s been rumored that the Steelers would want a 2nd round pick for Porter, and I can’t see Morgan parting with such a high draft pick for someone that doesn’t necessarily fit.
Another name that could make since is LA Chargers and former Carolina corner Donte Jackson. After signing in LA in free agency a few seasons ago, Jackson has lost the starting role to the young corners the Chargers have developed.
Jackson was certainly an up-and-down player among the fanbase, but would cost much less than Porter and is familiar with the Carolinas.
Good corners often aren’t available for trade, especially in-season. Any other name would likely be on the edge of another team’s depth chart, and at that point, it probably makes more sense just to play the players familiar with Carolina’s system.
Potentially 8+ weeks without your top two corners is close to a death sentence for a defense. If Carolina doesn’t make at least some low-level moves while waiting for Horn and Jackson to return, the secondary will likely be a huge weak point.
Both the fans and the Panthers alike will have to hope for the development of Will Lee III and other corners on the depth chart to hold it down for the time being.