CHARLOTTE – One moment, Samford cornerback James Bradberry was trying to fix the toilet in his mom's bathroom. The next, his phone vibrated with a life-changing call.

"I saw a Carolina area code," Bradberry said. "That's when my heart started beating real fast."

He heard good news when he answered the phone. The Panthers selected him in the second record (62nd overall pick).

"I had heard anywhere from the second round to the fifth," Bradberry said of his draft outlook. "I tried to keep a level head, and I was ready for anything."

A night of amateur plumbing had suddenly led to the start of Bradberry's first night in professional football.

"(The toilet) may not get fixed," Bradberry conceded.

The 6-1, 211-pound corner is now an important part of Carolina's retooled cornerback corps.

The Panthers double-dipped at the position on Friday night, taking Bradberry in the second round and trading up to select West Virginia cornerback Daryl Worley in the third.

"We are very pleased, to say the least," general manager Dave Gettleman said. "They're both big, they're both long, they're both physical and they both have great ball skills. We had second-round values on both of them."

Bradberry finished his Football Championship Subdivision career with eight interceptions. He was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection as a senior in 2015.

"I'm very confident," said Bradberry, who believes press coverage is one of his strengths. "I started four years at Samford. I went against top level competition like Auburn, TCU and Louisville. I think I played pretty well against those teams. I feel like my height and my length can be an attribute for me in the league."