Why Jeremy Chinn's Time Ran Out in Carolina

Examining the surprising parting of ways between Jeremy Chinn and the Carolina Panthers.

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Rewinding back to 2020, Jeremy Chinn looked to be well on his way to becoming one of the game's top young defensive players.

As a rookie, Chinn accumulated 117 tackles, five passes defended, five QB hits, two fumble recoveries, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and an interception. That year, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Washington's Chase Young.

So, what in the world happened for Chinn to not earn a second contract in Carolina? I can think of a few reasons.

Removing him from the box

In his rookie year, Chinn played 392 snaps in the box which is where he belongs. It's not a surprise that his most productive season came in 2020 when he played closer to the ball. He has a linebacker body and is not one you can necessarily trust in pass coverage, especially deep down the field. Former defensive coordinator Phil Snow and head coach Matt Rhule decided to move him to safety and while the tackles were still there, the overall production and impact on the game wasn't the same.

Mixed messaging/unclear role

In 2022, Snow mentioned on a handful of occasions that he'd like to play Chinn in the box more. There would be some weeks where that showed, but not consistently enough for him to find his groove. Of course, the hamstring injury didn't help but it felt like Snow and eventual interim DC Al Holcomb just didn't have any clue of how to deploy him.

Scheme switch

Moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 ultimately left Chinn position-less. Ejiro Evero raved about his potential this time a year ago, but he never saw the field. He appeared in only 39% of the team's defensive snaps on the year, which is a drastic decrease from the previous three years where he played over 90% of snaps. K'Waun Wiliams and David Long Jr. played the nickel at Evero's previous two stops and were smaller corners who could naturally defend the pass. It's no surprise that they took a rookie, Chau Smith-Wade, who is comparable to the height and weight of Williams and Long. Chinn just didn't fit the protoype for a nickel or even a linebacker, for that matter, in this defense.

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