The Panthers secondary is betting on 2 rookies to turn things around

This offseason, the Carolina Panthers have quietly started to rebuild their defense’s biggest weakness from a year ago: the secondary.

Safety Kurt Coleman and cornerback Daryl Worley, who both played more than 70 percent of the snaps last season, moved on to different teams in the offseason. To fill that void, the Panthers spent their second- and third-round picks on cornerback Donte Jackson and safety Rashaan Gaulden, respectively.

Rookies typically aren’t counted on to hold together a defensive backfield, but Jackson and Gaulden are going to have to be thrown into the fire. This wasn’t the Panthers’ initial offseason plan, but an injury to Ross Cockrell and a wide open safety competition forced their hand.

So far, so good for the rookies.

Despite his size (5’10, 180 pounds), Jackson has been a solid tackler for the Panthers in the preseason. He’s shown an ability to protect the sideline and make tackles in the open field.

Jackson has used the preseason as an opportunity to showcase his world-class speed. The 4.32 40-yard dash manifests itself on the field, especially in short areas where he needs to make a tackle before the first-down marker.

Almost no second-round cornerback comes in as a lockdown corner from day one, but Jackson has shown that he could be a viable starter for this team from the jump. Besides James Bradberry, the Panthers’ top returning option at cornerback is veteran Captain Munnerlyn, who played less than 40 percent of the snaps last season. Jackson’s avenue to playing time is crystal clear — he just needs to deliver.

Gaulden has a legitimate chance to start for the team at safety next to Mike Adams. He received the start against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in their Week 3 dress rehearsal, and he didn’t stand out as a obvious weakness. That sounds like faint praise, but it’s not bad for a rookie safety making his first start against one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

At 6’1, 200 pounds, Gaulden is a little more built than Jackson, and that’s clear in his style of play. Gaulden is a downhill presence who isn’t afraid to make a tackle in the box — a bit of a rare trait for a player who spent most of his collegiate snaps at cornerback.

Even with two rookies in the lineup, the Panthers secondary faired well against Brady and the Patriots. Holding Brady to 12-of-18 passing and 102 yards is a good night. They kept the Patriots receivers in front of them and didn’t allow any touchdowns or big plays after the catch.

That’s a positive sign considering the division they play in is the NFC South. The Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints have two of the best aerial attacks in the game. Even Tampa Bay had a decent year through the air last year, ranking 12th in adjusted yards per attempt.

Reshuffling any part of a defense is always an arduous task. Their pass defense admittedly struggled against Nathan Peterman and the Bills in the first week of the preseason. But since then, Jackson and Gaulden have been solid for Carolina.

Granted, putting too much stock in preseason performance is a useless exercise, but Jackson and Gaulden have given the Panthers a reason to hope their pass defense will stay afloat in a transition year.