The Panthers can head into the draft since they don’t have a top pick, but will be on hand Thursday night to monitor the process and prepare to have two of the top seven picks on Friday. (You can see all of their picks here.)
Canales said being on the ground during the early stages of this process allows them to see projects in action, which is helpful in visualizing choices.
He said it didn’t really change the work they did on the field this week, although some new players might change what they have to do or can do, but that seeing the existing players helped to define how they see the guys this weekend.
And when they have more bodies this weekend, they might not need him on the scout team, even though he said he likes to sweat while imitating different positions. At different times during training, Canales acted as a lineman, passer, corner, among others. He’s not the only one, as offensive coordinator Brad Idzik goes out every day with cleats to run routes and work on his cardio while working with the receivers.
“First, it’s a workout for me,” Canales said. “So those are steps, if I had my tracker on them, I would take more and more steps. Moving around, it’s contagious. It shows the players, it gives the visual for the quarterback, the wide receivers, the coaching staff as well like, hey, let’s get involved, let’s get in the middle of these drills And let’s not be the coaches that are sitting back, reading from a script, let’s be. a growth mindset and be intentional.
“So that’s what I expect from our whole group. So I have to lead by example that way, and it’s fun.”
