Jeremy Chinn named Defensive Rookie of the Month for October

Oct 29, 2020 at 08:36 AM

Myles Simmons

CHARLOTTE — Safety Jeremy Chinn on Thursday was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Month for October.

In four games, Chinn recorded 30 total tackles, four passes defensed, and an interception. He led all rookies in tackles and was second in passes defensed. While he still has one game left in the month, as the Panthers will take on the Falcons on Thursday night, the rest of the league won't play until the calendar flips to November.

Chinn joins Brian Burns (September 2019), Luke Kuechly (December 2012) and Julius Peppers (October 2002) as the only Panthers to win Defensive Rookie of the Month honors.

The Panthers traded up to pick Chinn at No. 64 overall in the second round of this spring's draft. He's quickly become one of Carolina's most important defensive contributors, playing 97 percent of the unit's snaps through seven games.

Chinn leads all rookies with 56 total tackles and is tied for 13th in the NFL entering Week 8. He has the most tackles by any Panthers' player through the first seven weeks of a season.

Last week, cornerback Donte Jackson heaped praise on the rookie, acknowledging Chinn as a tone-setter.

"He's a guy that pops off the film," Jackson said. "I don't think you have to ask a guy who's in the locker room with him to see that, I'm sure you can see that. I'm sure that people who don't even play football want to play football at the level that Jeremy Chinn plays with. That's not even talking about the large amount of talent he possesses. It's just his motor, man, his energy.

"It makes you want to go harder. You see that on film, you see that guy run past you, it kind of makes you think about it, like, 'Damn, am I really going that hard?' So he definitely brings out the best in a lot of the guys on defense, and a lot of guys look to see how 21's going."

Chinn is enjoying that role, saying, "I have a very high standard for how I play on the field, how I'm moving around. The fact that guys see that, too, and they try to match the energy, it's definitely encouraging."