Is Chau Smith-Wade's Role in Carolina Already Set?

The Carolina Panthers desperately need some help at corner after losing Donte Jackson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was already a relatively thin group, considering Jaycee Horn has only been on the field for 22 games in his first three years in the league.

Carolina did sign veteran free agent Dane Jackson and drafted Chau Smith-Wade out of Washington State. But as things stand today, only Jackson to projects to play on the outside.

"It's to be determined," said Panthers defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley when asked what the rookie can bring to the outside. "We haven't played him as much out there. I think he translates immediately as nickel, but as we go through training camp and preseason, we'll get to experiment with him on the outside. What he does have is he's got a great mental aptitude. He attacks his learning and then he just does a good job of getting around the pros and modeling himself after them."

Due to his lack of size, I figured this would be the role for Smith-Wade from the day he was drafted. You can't line him up in press man coverage on the outside against big, fast, physical receivers. He'll lose way more battles than he'd win and that's not a knock on the young man's talent. Very few players his size can hold their own on the outside in the NFL.

What this does, however, is solidify the Panthers' need for more competition on the outside. They can't go into the season relying on DiCaprio Bootle and D'Shawn Jamison to push for playing time. Although Stephon Gilmore would be a huge add, they don't need to grab a big fish.

Over his last two seasons at Washington State, Smith-Wade notched 78 tackles, 14 passes defended, and a pair of interceptions.