Could Daviyon Nixon be the Hidden Gem of the 2021 NFL Draft Class?

The Panthers may have got a steal in the 5th round by choosing Daviyon Nixon.

One area the Panthers had to address this offseason was the interior of the defensive line. After releasing Kawann Short in February and Zach Kerr signing with the 49ers in free agency, the Panthers were low on bodies and experience on the inside. 

Signing guys like DaQuan Jones and Caraun Reid will help but it's this year's 5th round draft pick that might be the biggest get of them all: Daviyon Nixon.

Many thought Nixon would be a day two pick and possibly even have a chance to go in the back end of the 2nd round. Fortunately for Carolina, he continued to slip down the board and it got to a point where Panthers head coach Matt Rhule knew he couldn't wait any longer.

"I think he is a guy who did a lot of good things in college and I’ll just say we were happy that he was there when we picked him. We were excited to have a chance to get him and he has all of the potential to be a really good player in this league. We just have to coach him and he has to just attack that process and just become a really smart, reliable football player because he has all of the physical tools.”

No one really knows why Nixon slid as far as he did but if you base everything off of his tape and his measurables, you could make the argument that the Panthers are getting a steal with Nixon. To draft someone with a day-two grade and get him in the 5th round is incredible. 

Last fall, Nixon was virtually unblockable. In just eight games, he totaled 45 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and one interception returned for a touchdown. Yes, the big fella can catch the ball too.

As far as the transition to the NFL is concerned, things appear to be going really well for the former Iowa star. 

“Yeah, you know he’s eager to learn," Rhule said following a rookie minicamp practice. "You recognize his physical tools, the 35 and a half-inch arms. [He is] explosive coming out of the blocks. They play a different style at Iowa so we changed his stance a little bit just to fit our style. He has got a lot of potential, so we’re going to just work with him and hope we can get him to a point where he can provide some depth for us and then compete to really go play for us. I’ve been happy with him so far."

Nixon told reporters that he is getting a good grasp of the defense and understanding what his role will be. Now, the only thing he has to worry about is picking up the terminology of the defense and adjusting to the speed of the game. 

"Coming to Charlotte, it’s like a whole different speed to the game now," Nixon said. "Being at Iowa playing in college and things like that, up here practice is ten times faster, ten times harder. You’ve got to be on the go nonstop so it’s definitely a change in pace and a change in reality for me. I would say the expectations that are on me right now would be to just probably come in and learn the system as fast as I can and retain everything, not have to think about plays while I’m playing and practicing and things like that.”

How does Nixon plan on attacking year one in the NFL? It's all about mental toughness and stacking several good days on top of each other.

“It’s just a mindset thing. If you’ve got the mindset that you can go out every day and just do what you’re asked to do and just get one percent better like Coach Rhule tells us, then your mindset is perfect and you should be able to do anything that you put your mind to. So I would say just coming in the league, you’ve got to have that mindset that no matter how hard practice gets or how rough life gets for you, especially in the league when you first get here. You’ve just got to have that mindset that you can push yourself through anything and that anything is possible for you."

Derrick Brown and DaQuan Jones figure to be the two starters inside to start the season but that could change at any point. Bravvion Roy, 7th round pick Phil Hoskins, and Nixon will all be battling for playing time and it wouldn't be surprising to see Roy or Nixon push Jones for a starting spot. As you saw in Nixon's pick-six above, he has tremendous athleticism for a big guy and can play at a high speed. It's rare to see defensive tackles be labeled as elite pass rushers but that's what Nixon could evolve into. He can pressure the nose of the pocket and force the quarterback to roll outside, right into the arms of Brian Burns or Haason Reddick. If he can apply pressure consistently, you will see Nixon's name in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

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