Cornerbacks James Bradberry and Daryl Worley had large shoes to fill as rookies as they attempted to fill the vacancies created by the departure of Josh Norman and retirement of Charles Tillman last season.
Now with a year of experience under their belts, the second-year tandem feels much better suited to handle the jobs.
“We’ve been to hell and back at this point,” Worley said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer. “I feel like there’s nothing we haven’t faced. So we should be able to prepare and shake off anything that may happen, and get ready for the next play.”
“It’s the second year. Things are definitely starting to slow down.”
Bradberry started all 13 games he played in last season while Worley started in 11 of 16 games for the Panthers. Bradberry racked up 59 tackles with 10 passes defended and two interceptions. Worley accounted for 88 tackles with nine pass breakups and an interception.
The learning curve was steep and the rookies didn’t have much in the way of soft landings when facing Julio Jones and Mike Evans and a Drew Brees passing attack twice a year. Now that the crash course is in the past, Worley and Bradberry feel confident they can built upon their rookie campaigns.
“Last year, I was a little confused (during minicamp),” Bradberry said. “Things were happening so fast. Now I’m able to read the offense a little bit more. I’m familiar with the defense and I’m able to play a lot faster.”