David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Panthers take Samford corner James Bradberry away from the toilet

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Panthers' selection of Samford University cornerback James Bradberry in the second round, No. 62 overall, sure felt like a reach. Not even Bradberry expected to go that high.

“Um, actually not," Bradberry said. “I was actually fixing the toilet in my mom’s bathroom when they called."

Enough said.

My take: This was all about general manager Dave Gettleman’s philosophy on big cornerbacks. Bradberry is big at 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, but he didn’t play against much big-time competition at the Southern Conference school. Of course, you can argue Josh Norman, the cornerback the Panthers have to replace after rescinding his franchise tag, didn’t either. Norman came out of Coastal Carolina and wound up a Pro Bowl selection in 2015. But the Panthers used a fifth-round pick on Norman, now with the Washington Redskins. They probably could have gotten Bradberry in the third or fourth round. Thus, it felt like a reach.

Due diligence: The Panthers were the only team to work out Bradberry and bring him in for a visit, another reason the corner felt he would slip into the third day of the draft. Philadelphia reportedly spent a lot of time with Bradberry at the Senior Bowl, where he began to draw attention. But nobody indicated he would go this high. Statistically, Bradberry had only 43 tackles and two interceptions in 2015. Not overly impressive. He started his career at Arkansas State, where the coaches moved him to safety. He wanted to play cornerback, where he has been since 2012 after transferring to Samford. The biggest big-time receiver Bradberry faced was Auburn’s Sammie Coates, a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015. He had an interception against Coates, a big receiver at 6-1. The Panthers face a lot of big receivers in the NFC South in Atlanta’s Julio Jones and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, another reason Gettleman went with size.

The toilet: Bradberry was walking into his mom’s bathroom to work on the toilet when he felt his cell phone ring. When he saw it was a North Carolina area code his heart began to pound really fast. He admittedly knows a lot more about football than he does fixing toilets. “I don’t really know how to fix things for real, but I try when I can," he said. Bradberry considers his strengths to be his versatility and physicality. He is considered best fit for zone coverage, which the Panthers play a lot. As for the toilet, Bradberry said, “It’s still in there waiting on me. It may not get fixed."

What’s next: The Panthers gave up a fourth-round pick and traded third- and fifth-round picks with Cleveland to move up to No. 77 in the third. They used that pick to select West Virginia cornerback Daryl Worley, also big at 6-1 and 202 pounds. They have fifth- and seventh-round picks for Day 3 of the draft. Perhaps a safety or a backup offensive lineman will be the direction there.

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