We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2022 season.
We’re 90 days away from the Panthers 2022 season opener, so that means today’s countdown piece is devoted to No. 90 on the roster — defensive end Arron Mosby.
Mosby joined the Panthers this season as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Fresno State where he played a number of different positions. He began his college career in 2017 and played safety during his first two seasons, moved to linebacker in 2019 and 2020, then finished his 2021 season at defensive end. If nothing else, Mosby’s versatile.
Across five college seasons he played in 46 games with 156 total tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and one interception, per Sports Reference. He was an All-Mountain West honorable mention defensive end last year. Here’s a highlight package from his senior season, including a pretty sweet 95-yard interception return for a touchdown.
At Fresno State’s Pro Day he ran a 4.71 40-yard dash and a 7.5 second 3-cone drill. According to the Relative Athletic Score database, Mosby’s 40 time is quite good and puts him at an 8.59 out of 10 among defensive ends. His 3-cone drill, however, is on the lower side with a 3.54 out of 10 for his position.
While the 6’2, 245-pounder is versatile, he never really broke through during his college career to dominate at one single position, and that’s concerning. Most UDFAs need to have at least one superior skill to stick in the NFL and it looks like Mosby’s still looking to find his. The fact that he can’t hang his hat on something like an elite speed rush or solid coverage skills means he’s going to need to develop quickly to make it at the professional level. While the Panthers have him listed as a defensive end, he could also be looked at as an outside linebacker.
What Mosby has going for him is plenty of opportunity to compete for a spot on a thin depth chart among the Panthers defensive ends. While Brian Burns, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Marquis Haynes have their roles locked up, the depth behind them appears to be wide open.
The odds are stacked against UDFAs making it in the NFL and the same will probably hold true for Arron Mosby. He was a versatile player in the Mountain West Conference who will now need to show enough valuable skills at one position to make it in the pros.