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Benwikere was a "victim" of the WR numbers game (Person's latest)

top dawg

By top dawg,
in Carolina Panthers

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top dawg

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Joe Person gives us a little bit of the background of Bene Benwikere in his latest article.  Person even tells how to pronounce Bene Benwikere's name (Ben-ay Ben-WICK-urr-rhee).  For the dude that was referring to him as Bullwinkle, I implore you to cease and desist (because, yes, that is akin to a crime). Apparently the name is Nigerian.

 

Benwikere wanted to be a receiver, but he just couldn't crack the talented high school corps.  He was moved to corner.

 

Carolina Panthers rookie Bene’ Benwikere became a cornerback in high school when he couldn’t crack the receiving rotation at his Los Angeles-area Catholic school.
 
There’s no shame in that: Three of the receivers at Junipero Serra – Marqise Lee, Paul Richardson and Robert Woods – are now in the NFL, and a fourth – George Farmer – plays for Southern Cal.
 
“That’s how I moved to defense,” Benwikere said.
 

 

 

 
 
"Fortuitously", as Person said, Benwikere became an adept corner, so much so that our very own Dave Gettleman did the "unthinkable" and moved up in the NFL draft to take Benwikere in the 5th round. Now, of course, it's not necessarily prudent to get excited over a 5th round draft choice, but what some of us may not know is that G-man considered taking Benwikere in the 4th round. Benwikere apparently had a 4th round grade which hopefully will make Panthers fans feel even better about Benwikere's future in Carolina.  Like so many of his picks, there was something that tipped the scales in the rookie corner's favor. Like Tyler Gaffney's blocking skills made him a valuable pick in G-man's mind, Benwikere has a good knack for the ball.
 
“He’s got excellent ball skills. He’s got 14 career picks,” Gettleman said last week during the Panthers’ rookie minicamp. “One thing I’ve learned over the years (is) if you’re an interceptor at college, you’ll be an interceptor up here.”

 

 

You gotta love G-man's simple "truths" as it pertains to football.
 
At the end of the day, Benwikere may get to play WR after all. It's just that he may be doing it on defense.
 
 
“My coaches would tell me, ‘Once you get down the field and you’re running stride for stride, you turn into a receiver now.’ I’m a step behind them because they know where they’re going and they know when to look back for the ball,” Benwikere said. “So I just use their eyes or their body language to understand where the ball is going and by that point turn into a receiver myself.”
 
Abracadabra, Bene. "Turn into a receiver, now." Here's hoping for continued magic. 
 

 

 

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Beast_3000 Proficient

Beast_3000

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Dude made a highlight reel play while going against Bersin.. slipped his hand underneath and popped the ball up in the air, then caught it and ran. Looks like DG might have found another "diamond in the rough".

That's pretty cool. Just curious were you able to see this at the rookie/undrafted camp or is there a video I can watch?

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