Jeremy Chinn named Panthers most underappreciated player

On every NFL roster, one or two players are, for lack of a better term, underappreciated for what they do on the field. And recently, the team at NFL.com revealed their list of the most underappreciated players in the NFL.
And making that list for the Carolina Panthers is safety Jeremy Chinn.

“Chinn’s positional versatility creates the type of middle-of-the-field problems that QBs,” wrote Cynthia Frelund. “– especially younger ones who didn’t face a variety of defenses in college — have a hard time solving. Among DBs, Chinn ranked ninth in tackles (106, leading the Panthers), fourth in stops (47) and tied for seventh in QB pressures (8) in 2021.”

Chinn Is Carolina’s second-round pick from the 2020 NFL draft out of Southern Illinois. He has been impressive in Carolina over his first two seasons. His stats alone do not do him justice when highlighting his importance to their defense. While he is now listed as a defensive back, free safety, that is not where the second-year player started his career. Because of his six-foot-three 220-pound frame, the Panthers use Chinn inside of the box at right linebacker. But Carolina could not deny his nose for the ball and ability to play the pass, and he quickly found himself in a hybrid linebacker safety-style position. Chinn’s performance in his rookie year didn’t go unnoticed as he came in second in voting for defensive rookie of the year, behind Washington commanders Chase Young.

Chinn still has two years left on his rookie deal of $5.2 million over four years. And given all that he can do within the Panthers defense, Carolina would be wise to make him feel overappreciated when negotiating his next contract.

ESPN ranks Carolina Panthers 18th worst offseason of 2022

The team over at ESPN has released their rankings of NFL franchises’ offseasons, and they have the Carolina Panthers as one of the teams with the worst offseasons. ESPN ranks the Panthers 18 out of 32 teams, putting them in the middle but in the bottom half of the rankings.

There is one thing that primarily has Carolina in the bottom half: their quarterback situation. It’s not like the Panthers did not try to address their quarterback woes as they attempted to trade for Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson. However, both quarterbacks landed in Denver and Cleveland, respectively. Carolina also had a plan to land Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but he elected to stay with the franchise that drafted him.

Carolina settled for a consolation prize at quarterback and drafted Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Corral is a bit undersized for the position but has tremendous upside potential.

The Panthers aren’t out of the quarterback market just yet. Recently they have been linked to the Browns’ Baker Mayfield and the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo but have yet to make a move for either quarterback. A recent report came out that Carolina does not have an interest in paying the fully guaranteed 18 million that remains on Mayfield’s contract, which is stopping a deal from happening.