No matter how good your team is at cornerback, they can always use more depth. The 2026 Carolina Panthers are a walking, breathing example of that fact.
Coming into the season, the Panthers had one of the better cornerback rooms in the league. However, injuries have put both Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson on the sidelines, exposing their depth on the boundary.
Looking ahead, it might not be a bad idea to draft a corner early. After all, Horn has missed roughly half of his NFL career due to injuries and Jackson will turn 30 years old at the end of this season.
A new 2027 mock draft from CBS Sports has the right idea. Ryan Wilson has the Panthers taking Georgia cornerback Ellis Robinson IV at No. 19 overall:
Robinson doesn't know — nor does he care
— that he's only 180 lbs. In that sense, he's a combination of Denzel Ward and Devon Witherspoon. He's a twitchy, instinctive outside CB who can play man or zone and has the ball skills to turn tight coverage into takeaways.
It's difficult to say exactly what Carolina will need defensively going into next season, as they'll have a new as-yet unnamed defensive coordinator after firing Ejiro Evero this past week. However, whoever it is will need an infusion of fresh blood at cornerback and Robinson (six-foot, 180 pounds) might be the answer.
Robinson has the requisite length the Panthers like at the position, plus ball skills to boot. He led the SEC with four interceptions last season and has six in his career, to go with 12 pass breakups.
For now, Robinson would project as the top boundary backup. But if the Panthers don't re-sign Jackson, he could potentially start as a rookie.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers select 'twitchy' prospect at position of dire need in new 2027 mock draft
