Panthers’ trust in Chau Smith-Wade showing signs of paying off

CHARLOTTE — Chau Smith-Wade asked for this story to be titled “The greatest rookie nickel the NFL has ever seen.” He said it while laughing, so he may have been joking, but he’s always laughing, so it’s hard to tell. With no disrespect to Mr. Smith-Wade, that wasn’t going to be the title of this story because it’s way too early to make that sort of statement; plus, it’s a little long and probably a jinx.

To be fair, though, there are some stats to back up his argument for this season. We’ll get to those, but first, a bit of context.

Smith-Wade was drafted by the Panthers in the fifth round this past April. An outside corner at Washington State, the Denver native was moved to the nickel position during offseason workouts and training camp.

At the time, he was still unsure what would come with playing the slot corner position, which was relatively new. “I’m so much closer to the ball at nickel,” he said in his rookie diary. “I’m probably getting more action at nickel just because I’m either in the run fit or guarding a receiver. I can’t say if I feel comfortable either/or; I kind of feel comfortable.”

When the season began, the Panthers had veteran Troy Hill at nickel. He was released mid-October, just ahead of Dane Jackson return from injured reserve. Once Jackson rejoined the lineup, he and Smith-Wade were in rotation for two games (against Washington and New Orleans) before Jackson took over completely against the Giants and Chiefs.

“With the rotation that I’ve been seeing at nickel, me and Dane, I kind of look at it as I have an old head in front of me to be able to guide me throughout the nickel spot,” Smith-Wade said this week. “And whenever I get out there, I just got to take my opportunity. So, take advantage of them, and that’s really about it.”