The Panthers are excited about their 2015 first-round pick, and he showed why Friday night against the Patriots.
On this first play, Thompson’s between DTs Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei when the ball’s snapped. Thompson then sheds the block of 6-foot-5, 295-pound G Joe Thuney before stopping RB James White short of a first down:
Next, Thompson shows off his instincts to get to the ball quickly from the slot. Not only that, but after he meets RB LaGarrette Blount at the line of scrimmage, Thompson rips the ball out:
Here’s another look at Thompson in the slot, where he’ll play plenty of nickel this season. Matched up against the highly skilled Julian Edelman, Thompson drops into zone coverage. Once he realizes Edelman’s running free on the drag route, Thompson pattern matches and forces an incompletion:
On a night when the entire first-team offense struggled, the most glaring mistake was Dickson’s should-have-been-a-touchdown drop:
Dickson is improving as a blocker, though. On this read-option late in the first quarter, QB Cam Newton is reading the edge rusher, so Dickson heads over to LB Jonathan Freeny. That opens up plenty of room for RB Jonathan Stewart to run 23 yards:
And on this play, Dickson is on the right side of the line when he locks arms with DE Chris Long. That allows C Ryan Kalil and Trai Turner to pull cleanly through the hole made for RB Cameron Artis-Payne:
After a solid showing in Tennessee, Norwood failed to capitalize on his chances against the Patriots.
First, he does a good job getting separation on this deep pass from QB Derek Anderson, but someone in a tight roster race like Norwood needs to catch the ball:
The Panthers ran a successful bubble screen to Norwood against the Titans, but this one never had a chance. Much of that is due to a bad block by TE Scott Simonson, but Norwood may have been able to escape if he caught the ball cleanly:
Finally, Norwood and Anderson weren’t on the same page here. Norwood barely had his head turned by the time the ball landed in DB Duron Harmon’s hands. Then, Norwood misses multiple tackle attempts:
Thompson and Dickson probably won’t play many snaps Thursday night, but for Norwood, that fourth preseason game against the Steelers may be his final chance to earn a roster spot.