Carolina Panthers vet Patrick Jones II unbothered by rookie gunning for his job

Following Monday's practice, Pat Jones II was asked about Scourton's comments about gunning for his job and gave the perfect response, providing a little laugh.

“That’s part of the game. That’s how he should think. That’s how his mindset should be. Of course, I’m not going to let that happen, but for sure, you want that competitive edge in the room, and when everyone’s competing like that, it just makes the whole room better. I sit beside both of them in meetings, and any chance I can get, I help them out when I can and answer all the questions that they got.”

Panthers GM Dan Morgan felt comfortable with Jones and Wonnum in addition to the pickup of Tershawn Wharton, but you can never have enough pass rushers. Wonnum is entering a contract year, Jones is here through 2026, and Wharton through 2027, so the thinking is that by double-dipping on pass rushers in the draft, they'll find a long-term answer (or two) there.

After a breakout year with Purdue in 2023, Scourton, formerly known as Nic Caraway, transferred to Texas A&M, where he proved he could do it in the best conference in football, logging 37 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and five sacks.

As for Umanmielen, he increased his numbers across the board every year he was at Florida and then in his one and only season with Ole Miss, where he totaled 37 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks.