Dan Morgan made seven selections in his very first draft as the Carolina Panthers general manager. None, however, came at the center position.
Why?
After wrapping up their picks on Saturday, Morgan and head coach Dave Canales took some questions from reporters—with the first concerning the lack of a new center.
“We feel really good about Austin Corbett there at center,” he replied. “I think he’s progressing well and I think Dave would say the same thing to you guys. I think him, along with Brady Christensen—he’s been getting some snaps at center. We feel like he has a lot of potential there as well. So we feel good about it, but we’re always gonna be looking to challenge our roster and get better and create that competition.”
Both Corbett and Christensen have been pushed out of the starting guard spots following the team’s pricey free-agent additions of Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt. But, as Morgan has stated, the plan is to convert Corbett to center—a position he has never taken a regular-season snap from.
Nonetheless, Corbett has said that he also feels good about the transition.
“Everywhere I’ve been, everybody on the line will tell you I talk too much as a guard,” he said on Wednesday. “So it’s natural just to kick me in there now and have control anyway. It was inevitable at some point in my career. Every offensive line coach told me, ‘You’re gonna play center at one point. This is what you’re made to do.’ And here in 2024, it’s finally happening.”
