CHARLOTTE — All Chau Smith-Wade is looking for is a chance.

So, having a familiar look was fine with him Saturday night.

Since being drafted in the fifth round this year, the rookie cornerback has gotten most of his work inside as a nickel. But with veteran cornerback Dane Jackson injured and expected to miss regular season time, the Panthers are looking for a starter on the outside, and Smith-Wade looked at that as a chance.

"I always go to every game, every practice with the mindset of getting better, and with that comes the opportunity, and the competing aspect of it for me," Smith-Wade said after Saturday's loss to the Jets, when he played a more expansive role than he had previously. "So, you know, it doesn't really change anything.

"I do want to go out and go get that. But I'm the same way every day; just go get it, go get better every day. And if it does happen to become my spot, then it does."

He laughs a little when talking about the difference between playing outside and inside. Because throughout his career, he had only played on the boundary.

In the same way the best offensive lineman on a high school team becomes the left tackle whether he's a tackle or not, the best cover players play outside, no matter their size.

And at 5-foot-11, 176 pounds, Smith-Wade does not fit the profile for what most NFL teams are looking for as outside cornerbacks. That's also a large part of the reason he was available in the fifth round of this year's draft, where the Panthers took him 157th overall.

So he wasn't necessarily surprised when he got to Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl this year, and they asked him to try playing nickel. But it was a new experience, because as long as he'd played football, he had never done it.

"I had not. I've had zero reps on the inside, so it was brand new at the Senior Bowl," he said with a laugh. "I knew, I was kind of expecting it, you know, since I'm a smaller guy. So going into the league, I've heard talks that I'm going to have to play nickel.

"So, I kind of expected it, but I didn't overreact. I just went out there and just tried to make as many plays and get as many plays in as I could."

He did a pretty good job of that in Mobile, showing some fight against larger receivers in the practices and picking off a pass late in the game and returning it 83 yards to win the National team MVP honors.

So, at that point, he kind of accepted the fact that he better learn as much as he could about playing nickel. It seemed to be his future.

It's more than just the place they put the little guy, as playing inside opens a world of possibilities. The nickel has to react more to motion and has to be aware of what's going on in front of him against receivers who are often on the move. Where an outside corner can kind of play sic'em with the receiver in front of them and turn it into a 1-on-1 rep, a nickel has to understand the whole defense because of the increased traffic.

Veteran Troy Hill ended up playing there for the same reason Smith-Wade did, which is because he's on the smaller side (5-10, 182). But the 32-year-old corner also has developed into a trusted defender in there and was one of the guys Ejiro Evero lobbied to bring here last season as they were building a new defense. So he knows what Smith-Wade is going through.

"The way he played outside tonight, I think that's going to be big for him," Hill said. "That's going to be big because being able to do both is going to help him understand different routes and the defense more, and how it's supposed to work.

"So I think the fact that he's picking up on it so fast is great for him. He's honestly like a student of the game, and you can tell he takes it seriously. I think that's big, especially for somebody his age, right?"

Hill said he's given Smith-Wade tips on playing inside throughout the offseason, but he's impressed with the work the rookie has done on his own throughout camp. He followed the same path in his college career and said shifting inside a year into his NFL career was the best move for him. But it's a demanding job, because it's an extra job to learn when you're already making a big transition to the league. So, as he sits next to Smith-Wade in meetings, he likes the way the rookie takes notes and absorbs.

"He grasps the concept so fast and things like that," Hill said. "You don't really see it as early in his stage with a lot of other players. So he's probably a little bit ahead. I feel like he's a little more comfortable in there."

Smith-Wade was active on Saturday and drew the notice of head coach Dave Canales after the game.

Canales mentioned all the candidates for the Dane Jackson job — including Lamar Jackson, Dicaprio Bootle, and D'Shawn Jamison — and said Smith-Wade "was all over the field."

"At corner, he made a nice play in the end zone on a go-ball," Canales said. "And then really looked savvy in there at the nickel spot."

That's saying something for a guy who was introduced to the position in a January all-star game and is continuing to learn on the fly.

Smith-Wade admitted the transition was "a little rocky" at first but said defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley and longtime NFL corner DeAngelo Hall had "given me the information and the material in order for me to play fast and play physical."

And now, doing the thing he's used to doing gives him a chance at a bigger role. They're looking at a number of guys for the job, and they figure to be looking at the waiver wire closely at that position in particular, so nothing is given.

But he also knew that Saturday night was a chance for him, and he wanted to make the most of it.

"We kind of had a general talk, all the DBs in the room, we just need somebody to step up," he said. "I love football, and I'm a football player, so I was open to the opportunity to play wherever. And so far, so good."