Ransom made his first NFL interception in Thursday night's preseason game and followed it with a turnover celebration he said he will improve over time. By DIAMOND VENCES
If you’re going to make mistakes on an NFL defense — and we all know the Carolina Panthers have been experts at doing that for years — at least make them at 100 mph.
Given that theory, consider this my personal plea for rookie Panthers safety Lathan Ransom to get a lot of playing time in Week 1 at Jacksonville. He’s going to make his share of errors, and he might well get burned a time or two by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But the way that Ransom plays is the way the Panthers should strive to be.
Carolina, as you remember, is coming off a 5-12 season in which the Panthers gave up more points (534) than any NFL team ever has in a regular season. While it’s tempting to talk about the offense and whether Bryce Young and company can get untracked in 2025, in reality it won’t matter that much if Carolina is still giving up an average of 31.4 points per game, as the Panthers did in 2024.
That’s where Ransom — a fourth-round draft choice in April out of Ohio State — can play a part. He’s physical, optimistic and creative. Check out what he did — or at least tried to do — when he made his first NFL interception in a Week 3 preseason game against Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Ransom had pre-planned a turnover celebration, which was a play on his last name. The idea, he said, was to mime pulling a ski mask over his head, then demand a ransom and walk away with some money. Or, as he explained it: “Ski mask on; money; pay the ransom. That’s going to be my celebration for sure. I’m gonna work on it and get better at it over time. I was too excited to do it how it looked in my head.”
Carolina Panthers safety Lathan Ransom (22) and linebacker Claudin Cherelus celebrate Ransom's interception of a pass by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday at Bank of America Stadium. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Indeed, what Ransom did after picking off Mason Rudolph and returning the ball 16 yards didn’t look much like that at all. He sped through the celebration so quickly that it looked more like a rookie who was just getting excited. And given the NFL’s fairly strict rules about celebrating, I’m not 100% positive we’re going to see it again. The idea of ski masks and ransoms could be problematic for a league that likes to penalize a whole lot of celebratory antics, including any that hint at violence.
Maybe there’s a way to cleverly incorporate the idea of “ransomware” instead? Or maybe not.
Nevertheless, my larger point is that Ransom can make some plays. And although it doesn’t look like the Panthers want him to start — yet — he’s going to need some significant snaps right away.
He’s a mostly sure tackler, and gracious knows the Panthers need as many of those guys as they can get. Ransom was the team’s leading tackler and Pro Football Focus’s highest-graded Carolina defender in Week 3 (the caveat being that all the starters took the night off). And when Ransom did miss a rare tackle Thursday, he got visibly upset.
“I take a lot of pride in my tackling,” Ransom said, “and I don’t miss tackles. So for me to miss that tackle, I think that was out of character. ... I’m extremely hard on myself. I’m my biggest critic.”
Said Panthers head coach Dave Canales of Ransom’s progress so far: “His physical style of play is exactly what we’re looking for — to show up in the run game angry. He’s still got a lot to learn. But he’s certainly growing in terms of just trusting his leverage and communicating with the other guys.”
Carolina Panthers rookie safety Lathan Ransom, center, intercepts a pass Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an exhibition game. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Ransom knows how to win, too. He was an all-conference selection for an Ohio State team that won the national championship a year ago, and of course now he’s a major Buckeyes fan that wants a repeat.
Since the Panthers players will get Labor Day weekend off, Ransom plans to travel back to Columbus, Ohio, to watch the biggest college game of Week 1: No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday. Ransom, of course, is picking Ohio State to win.
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