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Panthers coach confident with trio of rookie cornerbacks

Ben Queen / USA TODAY Sports

After rescinding Josh Norman's franchise tag and releasing Brandon Boykin a month after signing him, the Carolina Panthers are going to be asking a lot of their rookie cornerbacks

The Panthers selected three players to help fill the void of their lost veterans. James Bradberry was selected in the second round, a third-round pick was used on Daryl Worley, and Zack Sanchez was added in the fifth.

After spending extended time with each player in the pre-draft process, Panthers assistant head coach Steve Wilks is confident all three can contribute next season.

"They're smart. They're long. They can run. They're physical. That's what we like about them," Wilks told Bryan Strickland from the team's website. "Right now they're just going through the process. I think it's going to be an easy transition. They've just got to get up to speed.

"I think we targeted the right guys, and we got the guys that we wanted ... They're learning. They're picking things up very quickly, which is great."

Third-year veteran Bene Benwikere is expected to win one of the starting cornerback jobs, while the other will be up for grabs in a position battle between all three rookies and 27-year-old Robert McClain.

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