Brandon Smith Updates?

[CanadianCat]

Any news out of camp on this guy? 

Everyone had high hopes that he could be 'Parsons lite'.. Im interested to see how they use him..

[Wundrbread33]

Might not mean anything, but he was listed 4th string on the 1st depth chart. 
 

Doesn’t necessarily mean he isn’t liked by the staff. Could just see him as a developmental guy with vets in front of him. Then again he may be super lost out there. 
 

More will become clear in preseason. He remains an intriguing prospect to me for sure. 

[The Huddler]

Havn't heard or seen a thing about him, positive or negative. 

[TheCasillas]

he is one of my favorite prospects on the team, but it isnt look good.

[TheSpecialJuan]

He’s gonna get his ass cut 

[Ricky Spanish]

21 minutes ago, TheCasillas said:

he is one of my favorite prospects on the team, but it isnt look good.

I had the exact opposite view of him. Seems like they drafted him simply for his athletic profile and they felt they could coach him up. Last staff showed how incompetent they were at the whole developing talent thing, but even so, the biggest knock against him in the draft was he just didn't have the instincts to play LBer. It's why I don't like drafting based on athletic profile alone, something Rhule seemed to love doing.

[Jon Snow]

19 minutes ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

He’s gonna get his ass cut 

This is the most likely trajectory for him unless he establishes a special teams spot at minimum. 

[ladypanther]

INSIDE LINEBACKER (5) Who’s in: Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, Deion Jones, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Chandler Wooten

Who’s out: Brandon Smith, Ace Eley, Bumper Pool

The Panthers signed Jones midway through training camp, and he has looked pretty good in practice. Carolina is now four deep with veteran players at inside linebacker. With Grugier-Hill’s presence on special teams, there stands a chance that the brass decides to go with just that quartet as the entire group. Thompson and Luvu will be base starters, while Jones should see plenty of action. Grugier-Hill can be a dime linebacker and serve as a backup to Luvu. Wooten, a special teams ace, makes the team because of his work in the third phase, beating out Smith — a 2022 fourth-round pick — for the final spot on the depth chart.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article277952928.html#storylink=cpy

 

ILB Brandon Smith: Like Johnson, Smith’s traits — rather than his productivity at Penn State — prompted the Panthers to draft him in the fourth round in 2022. Smith played almost exclusively on special teams as a rookie. Now he’s buried on the depth chart behind Jones and Grugier-Hill and is in danger of not making the roster.

https://theathletic.com/4766597/2023/08/11/panthers-stock-report-rising-falling/

Edited August 11, 2023 by ladypanther

[philw5289]

I think he’s in danger of not making the roster. Bumper pool is having a better training camp. 

[RevJ]

He's looking very athletic in camp. Not necessarily making any plays but if they develop a decathlon tiebreaker we might need him on the roster.  

[LinvilleGorge]

1 hour ago, Ricky Spanish said:

I had the exact opposite view of him. Seems like they drafted him simply for his athletic profile and they felt they could coach him up. Last staff showed how incompetent they were at the whole developing talent thing, but even so, the biggest knock against him in the draft was he just didn't have the instincts to play LBer. It's why I don't like drafting based on athletic profile alone, something Rhule seemed to love doing.

It's just a college mentality. Your roster is so huge and you have so many scholarships to offer that you can take a bunch of fliers on athletes hoping you can make something out of them. Then you get to the NFL with much smaller rosters and a lot less draft picks than you had scholarships and you have to start realizing that you have to adapt that strategy. You don't have to completely stop doing it but you definitely have to be more selective with when you roll those dice.

[The Huddler]

Seems like he could be a pretty good special teamer with his athletic ability

[Seltzer]

The signing of Deion Jones was the death knell for Brandon Smith making the roster, especially with how well KGH played.  And it sounds like from the beat writers Chandler Wooten will make it based on ST if they keep 5 ILB's (which I'm skeptical they will).

I do think with the draft investment and potential they might try to bring him back to the PS if he clears waivers, but I could also see him wanting to go elsewhere.

I don't see any conceivable way he makes the 53 man roster this year (unless there's an unfortunate injury over the next few weeks).

Making (and staying) on an NFL roster is not easy.  A new coaching staff (especially if you are a fringe guy and they didn't draft you) is a tough hill for anyone to overcome.

I wish Brandon Smith the best, and I certainly won't be disappointed if he ends up back on the PS here to continue to develop.

[MHS831]

I might take a look at him outside--he is a great athlete--before cutting him