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MOBILE, Ala. – Panthers coaches have two hours a day to train at the Senior Bowl, and they still have two hours of meetings a day with the American team.
There are a few other opportunities to get to know some of the college stars gathered in Alabama this week, but head coach Matt Rhule is using every second he can to assess.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic still impacts all facets of the screening process, limiting face-to-face time with prospects, Rhule said even chance encounters would all be classified.
“There was a player there last year, and I won’t say who, but he was supposed to be drafted high enough,” Rhule said Tuesday. “And I got in the elevator with him at the combine, and I thought at the end of that elevator ride, I was like, ‘There’s no way this guy is suitable for us. . ‘ ‘
These short interactions will be essential this year as each team has less personal contact with college players than ever before. With the Scouting Combine replaced by workouts on professional days, the opportunities for conversations will be limited.
This impacts every team, which makes the Panthers’ brief window on that group more valuable.
“It would be a year when everyone in the NFL knows less about the players than any other year,” Rhule said.
Of course, knowing whether a guy is good at football remains the most important part of the assessment, but Rhule said getting to know this group of players is an “invaluable” part of the process.
“We think we know these guys, and our scouts do a great job,” Rhule said. “But that’s just information from a third party. It’s a chance for the players to speak for themselves and say, ‘This is who I am. This is what I am. “Coaching them, being in a meeting, just being in an elevator with them, you guys have meaning.
“We are looking to find who is tough, hardworking and competitive, who is smart, who enjoys the game. And who is a good person. We spend six months a year together, so we want to be with people that we love and are suitable for us. . “
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