The Carolina Panthers need a Draymond Green. Everyone does, sure. Every team needs an unrelenting leader, someone who fights and cusses and protects its stars, who provides the force so others can deliver the finesse. Every team needs someone who’s fueled by a moment being doubted — significant or trivial, apocryphal or true — and who harkens back to that moment after every championship, even as his beard grays and time blurs. Everyone could use an All-NBA star and four-time NBA champion whose head coach, who played with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, once called “the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life.” The NFL franchise based in Charlotte really needs a talent like that. And it might’ve just gotten one in Nic Scourton.
The comparison, at least in the rookie pass rusher’s own words, wouldn’t be that far-fetched. Scourton was a high school basketball player as well as a football star, and when asked about his NBA player comparison, he didn’t hesitate. “I would say a baby Draymond Green,” Scourton told reporters two weeks ago. He then smiled. “Except my post-scoring game is much better.”
There are a lot of interesting things about Scourton, who the Panthers took after trading up to the No. 51 spot in the second round. What jumps off the page is his size. The Texas A&M Aggie entered his junior season at 285 pounds. “After the first couple of games,” he said, he dropped to 275 pounds. And then as he prepared for the draft, through nothing more than being on a simple but disciplined nutrition plan, Scourton got down to 257 by his pro day. There’s more, too. There’s the fact that he is 20 years old — and the second-youngest player to be selected in this year’s draft behind Dylan Sampson. There’s the fact that he looks up to Brandon Graham and Dwight Freeney, with a spin move that he hopes to hone to rival them both. There’s the fact that he still carries a chip on his shoulder earned from the days Texas A&M — the school located just outside his Bryan, Texas, hometown — neglected to recruit him out of high school. (Scourton ended up transferring there after two productive years at Purdue.) But what truly ought to be considered is how Scourton can impact the Panthers — in the short-term
First, the short-term, as explained by head coach Dave Canales. “I think if Nic and Princely (Umanmielen, another edge rusher drafted) were here talking, they have high aspirations for themselves,” Canales said. “But for us to put those types of expectations on them, the goal is for them to first and foremost get in the building, learn what we’re doing, learn the calls, the techniques we are asking. There’s a discipline that goes with playing this game, and so I don’t think they’re naive to the fact that there’s a lot of hard work in front of them.” The coach added that Scourton adds immense possibility to an outside linebacker crew that includes incumbents Jadeveon Clowney and DJ Wonnum, along with free-agent addition Pat Jones II. And this defense needs it, too. The Carolina Panthers gave up a worst-all-time 479 points in 2024 — a season where they had the 28th-ranked sack percentage (5.69%) and the worst run defense in the league (allowing 179.8 rush yards per game). “It just gives you a lot of versatility with what you can do, and (general manager) Dan (Morgan) alluded to it, too: It’s a long season,” Canales said. “All these guys are going to play. They have to play. For us, the goal was to add more guys to the arsenal to just keep those guys fresh and make sure when we have those critical downs — end of half, end of games — that we’re able to keep that intensity level up and just keep throwing guys at the offensive line and affect the quarterback.”
The long-term is just as compelling. Scourton’s age means that should he have success, the Panthers could re-sign the playmaker when he’s 24 years old, and do so again before he reaches 30.
Guys who are still developing, still growing, working on their arsenal, working on their craft,” Morgan said, when asked to describe Scourton and Umanmielen. “To get these young guys that are energetic and super-motivated to get out there and improve our team and roster, it’s exciting.” Of course, 30 years old for Scourton is a long way away. So it was for Green in the 2012 NBA draft, when the then-22-year-old was a second-round pick out of Michigan State, famously memorizing the list of all the players who were selected before him. Upon his arrival to the Golden State Warriors, Green helped break a six-season playoff drought and has been an integral part of winning four championships.
It’s true Green is polarizing in many ways, and that Scourton, conversely, is immensely likeable, from his heavy hands as a prospect, to his off-the-field presence the Panthers fell in love with. But the two seem to have a grittiness in common. A relentlessness. Scourton made that connection on the court. On the field, the Panthers could use a Draymond Green. They might’ve just drafted one.
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