Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Looking back at the Carolina Panthers’2013 draft, one thing is clear – they wanted to improve their defensive line. After taking the highly regarded Star Lotulelei in round one, the Panthers went with Kawann Short (another DT) in round two. With these two picks, the Panthers have laid a very solid defensive foundation for years to come.
With Short, the Panthers scored a very good pass-rushing DT. He started all four years in his career at Purdue, and he actually holds a school record there with eight blocked kicks. While the B1G has been down in recent years, there are still top-notch offensive lineman that make it to the pros every year from the conference. Point being, Short has had success against NFL-caliber lineman.
He should come into training camp at 6’3″, 300 lbs, and with a chance to earn some solid playing time his first season. He and Lotuleli have both signed contracts, so now it’s all just a matter of getting used to the pro game. As of now, it looks like the two rookies will compete for one starting spot.
Everything about Short seems to indicate that he’ll have a long and successful NFL career. He was almost unanimously considered a top-10 DT in this year’s class, and he was consistently good throughout his college career. He ended up getting to the quarterback 19.5 times at Purdue, which is a pretty good number for a DT. The Panthers will no doubt hone in on his pass-rushing skills, and will likely use him primarily in those situations during his rookie year.
