The Carolina Panthers agreed to terms with their last unsigned member of their rookie class on Saturday night.
According to Adam Schefter’s report, Nic Scourton, the Panthers’ 51st pick in the second round, signed a four-year deal with the team. Scourton is one of many second-round picks who are signing with their teams right before the start of training camp. Many were holding out in the hopes of securing fully guaranteed contracts.
Panthers general manager Dan Morgan used this year’s draft to improve the Panthers’ defense by selecting two pass rushers in Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. Panthers team website writer Kassidy Hill wrote about Morgan’s excitement for the duo.
“(These) are two guys that we think very highly of,” Morgan said of the duo. “They can get to the quarterback, they can play the run, and they can do all the things that we’re going to ask them to do.”
Help for Much Maligned Defense
Scourton, the Panthers’ outside linebacker pick out of Texas A&M, should provide immediate impact to what was one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season. The Panthers ranked last in the league in points, yards, yards allowed per play, and first downs given up.
At Texas A&M this past college football season, Scourton was productive. He led the team with 14 tackles for loss and had five sacks.
Nobody can question Scourton’s drive. He is obsessed with football and is constantly wanting to review and assess his game to make improvements. Scourton details this in a June 18 article for the Panthers team website, written by Kassidy Hill.
“Literally, whenever I get home, I just go in. I have a little room where I have a TV, and I just watch practice, and then I watch the plays we’re going to have the next day,” Scourton said. “I just love to watch pass rushers. Like I always have football playing.”
Scourton is joining a revamped Panthers defense that is hoping Scourton will be one of the many band-aides needed to fix 2024’s woes.
Rookie Pass Rush Duo
Nic Scourton is being paired up with another rookie pass rusher. Princely Umanmielen was the 77th pick of the third round by the Panthers out of the University of Mississippi. Umanmielen spent his first four years of college at Florida University before transferring to Mississippi as a fifth-year senior. At Mississippi, Umanmielen put up a career high in sacks with 10.5.
The selections of Scourton and Umanmielen show the Panthers’ dedication to getting after the passer this year. The rookie duo has been quick to build up chemistry with one another before the start of training camp.
Back in May, Kassidy Hill, for the Panthers’ team website, detailed how Scourton and Umanmielen used a hotel ballroom to practice and review plays.
“We’re trying to be prepared for practice (Saturday), and that’s the type of guy (Princely) is, and that’s the type of guy I am, and I’m excited to get to work with him,” Scourton said.
The Panthers’ defense is looking to turn around a disastrous 2024 into a prosperous 2025, and the work ethic of their two rookie pass rushers will go a long way in completing that turnaround.
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