CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two days into the NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers made good on the notion they would be looking at defensive players.

Thursday night, Carolina selected defensive tackle Derrick Brown with the 7th overall pick, and on Friday, two more defenders heard their names called.

In the second round, Carolina drafted Yetur Gross-Matos, a defensive end from Penn State. Later, the Panthers made a trade with Seattle, sending their third-round choice, 69th overall, to the Seahawks for the 64th overall pick and the 148th overall pick.

That deal moved Carolina back into the second round, and the Panthers addressed their secondary by selecting safety Jeremy Chinn from Southern Illinois.

Head coach Matt Rhule and General Manager Marty Hurney had the chance to see both players up close, before the coronavirus pandemic closed down opportunities for teams to hold “Pro Day” workouts. Gross-Matos made a big impression on both the coach and GM.

“He’s a young guy, he’s only at the beginning of his physical development at 266 (pounds), 267,” Rhule told reporters Friday night.  “I think he’s going to continue to get big, and provide us with that strong side defensive end presence to go along with Stephen Weatherly and Efe Obada.”

“Everything about him just checked all the boxes,” Hurney said.  “He was a guy we liked from the first time we put eyes on him, and he just impressed us more and more as the process went through.”

The Panthers looked ahead to Saturday where they held four more selections.  The team holds one pick in each of the final four rounds, lining up with the 113th pick overall (R4), followed by the 152nd (R5), 184th (R6) and 221st (R7).