Smartest Selections from Each Round of the 2021 NFL Draft
By Liam Gorman
Round 5, Pick 158 – Daviyon Nixon, DT, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers add to a thin defensive line group late in the draft with the talented young Iowa product.
By the 5th round, it is exceedingly rare to find a starter, especially during a player’s rookie year. As mentioned earlier, teams look for prospects who can fill a specific role within the scheme – as a backup or rotation player, or a player who has some athletic traits that can yield developmental upside.
The Daviyon Nixon pick provides the Panthers with a bit of both. Nixon did not contribute much before 2020 but had a very solid year this past year. He is an ascending player with the athletic traits that conceivably should make him have some upside.
Nixon projects as a penetrating 3-technique, who will be able to wreak havoc in the backfield, highlighted by his 13.5 tackles for loss last year. The Panthers did address this role last year with first round pick, Derrick Brown, and with the signing of DaQuan Jones on a one-year stopgap deal from the Tennessee Titans, but the position group could still use an infusion of additional young talent. Nixon can be a young depth piece that the Panthers need. He has a great chance to end up in that defensive line rotation in his rookie year and has starter upside later in his career.