CHARLOTTE, N.C. — General manager Marty Hurney felt he needed to upgrade team speed after the Panthers failed to win the NFC South the last two seasons. The Panthers selected field-stretching tight end Ian Thomas from Indiana and speed rusher Marquis Haynes from Ole Miss in the fourth round, and middle linebacker Jermaine Carter from Maryland in the fifth. “I have always believed that you can’t teach speed — and that is a big part of this game,” Hurney said. Coming into this off-season that was one of our goals to add speed, especially to the skill positions.”The Panthers had won three straight NFC South titles before Atlanta won in 2016 and New Orleans triumphed in 2017. Rivera says Haynes’ pass-rushing skills remind him of current Panthers defensive end Mario Addison.

Source: National Post April 28, 2018 23:15 UTC