Jeremy Chinn is going to be a special defender for the Carolina Panthers, hopefully for a long time.
Coming off a solid rookie season that was better than expected, Chinn has been named the league’s most versatile player by Gil Brandt at NFL.com.
“Every once in a while, a player with elite pro potential will slip through the cracks at the college level, and it appears this is what happened with Chinn, a second-round pick out of Southern Illinois last year who emerged as a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. . . Chinn is a back-seven defender who can match up against basically anyone, whether he’s functioning as a linebacker, safety or slot defender.”
Chinn has a lot of excellent qualities – his athleticism and range jump out on film right away. That ability to line up at so many different spots is his most valuable asset, though. The rare flexibility Chinn offers gives defensive coordinator Phil Snow a lot more options as far as the personnel packages he can put to use.
The Panthers have an embarrassment of riches in this department.
In addition to Chinn, they have another do-it-all weapon on the other side of the ball in their star running back Christian McCaffrey. He was ranked the league’s second-most-versatile player on the same list.
“McCaffrey’s spot could be justified by his 2019 season alone, considering he became one of just three players in NFL history to top 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. . . It would not be surprising if McCaffrey’s workload were to shrink a bit, given that he’s coming off a season in which injuries cost him all but three games, but it’s tough to conceive of an offensive player who can come close to achieving his status as a do-everything monster.”
From McCaffrey and Chinn to up-and-coming studs like Brian Burns and D.J. Moore, there’s a lot to like about this roster.
If Carolina can finally figure things out at quarterback, this team might just be back in contention sooner rather than later.
