CHARLOTTE — Chau Smith-Wade asked for this story to be titled "The greatest rookie nickel the NFL has ever seen." He said it while laughing, so he may have been joking, but he's always laughing, so it's hard to tell. With no disrespect to Mr. Smith-Wade, that wasn't going to be the title of this story because it's way too early to make that sort of statement; plus, it's a little long and probably a jinx.

To be fair, though, there are some stats to back up his argument for this season. We'll get to those, but first, a bit of context.

Smith-Wade was drafted by the Panthers in the fifth round this past April. An outside corner at Washington State, the Denver native was moved to the nickel position during offseason workouts and training camp.

At the time, he was still unsure what would come with playing the slot corner position, which was relatively new. "I'm so much closer to the ball at nickel," he said in his rookie diary. "I'm probably getting more action at nickel just because I'm either in the run fit or guarding a receiver. I can't say if I feel comfortable either/or; I kind of feel comfortable."

When the season began, the Panthers had veteran Troy Hill at nickel. He was released mid-October, just ahead of Dane Jackson return from injured reserve. Once Jackson rejoined the lineup, he and Smith-Wade were in rotation for two games (against Washington and New Orleans) before Jackson took over completely against the Giants and Chiefs.

"With the rotation that I've been seeing at nickel, me and Dane, I kind of look at it as I have an old head in front of me to be able to guide me throughout the nickel spot," Smith-Wade said this week. "And whenever I get out there, I just got to take my opportunity. So, take advantage of them, and that's really about it."

Smith-Wade got that opportunity again this week, and he took advantage. Coaches elected to make a change ahead of Week 13 against Tampa Bay, plugging the rookie back into the lineup as the primary nickel. He played 62 percent of the defensive snaps against the Bucs whenever the Panthers were in nickel defense.

He finished with eight tackles (second on the team for the game), an interception off Baker Mayfield that he ripped out of the air, and a pass defended.

"Chau took advantage of an opportunity," coach Dave Canales said on Monday. "He made tackles; he owned his leverage for the most part. There were things that he still has to clean up. He had an opportunity on an interception, and he made it, and he came up with the ball, really proud of that.

"Proud of him just taking advantage of another opportunity. He had (one) a couple of weeks ago, and then Dane got a shot in there, so I was really proud of Chau just really being focused on the week and then for it to show up on game day."

That focus has been apparent since Smith-Wade first arrived in Charlotte. Once he realized he would be molded as a nickel in the NFL, he took it upon himself to learn everything he could about the defense, ensuring he knew it from every direction.

"A good player, a smart player," said cornerback Jaycee Horn of what he's seen in the rookie so far. "Since he came in during OTAs, just really detailed with the way he attacked the day: meeting, practice, he takes a lot of notes. I mean, it's paying off for him right now. So, you know, he's a good player, and I know he's going to keep balling."

Now, the promised stats that give some credence to the title that wasn't but almost was: Smith-Wade is one of only seven rookies to play as the slot corner for their team this season (minimum 100 defensive snaps). Of those seven—according to Next Gen Stats—Smith-Wade has the best quarterback pressure percentage (30 percent), the shortest time to tackle (meaning he's staying around the ball) at 5.25 seconds, and the best tackle percentage at 16 percent (27 tackles to 169 snaps).

It wasn't always easy, and frankly, it still isn't. Smith-Wade would be the first to acknowledge that as so, and even did so on Sunday night following the Bucs game.

"Coming from corner is rough, and you're trying to go to nickel," he admitted. "So just focusing in on the fundamentals of what it is to be nickel. A lot of the space. So just honing in on those things."

Smith-Wade is part of a seven-man rookie class that has seen the top five picks all become starters or major contributors this season. The other two are Jaden Crumedy, who spent the better part of the season on injured reserve before returning to practice early in November. The other is Michael Barrett, who was sent to the Seahawks as part of the trade for corner Mike Jackson, who has started every game.

These sorts of contributions from Smith-Wade and his fellow rookies are part of the plan Canales and Dan Morgan put into place early in the season when they explained they were OK taking some lumps to provide calluses. Smith-Wade is a microcosm of that plan and how it is working.

"It's been happening for weeks now," Canales said this week of his rookie class. "Guys that just have been thrown out there to play that we're counting on, with Xavier Legette, with Jalen Coker, with Trevin Wallace on the other side, and Chau coming in and getting another chance.

"So, we're seeing these things pay dividends down the road as we continue to play, and they keep stacking more football."

As the rookie class continues to stack that football, Smith-Wade will remain committed to learning his position, the league, and all he can do in both. It's what has brought him this far.

"I would say my will to improve, my will to be confident, play in and play out, and to hone in on being consistent and just having a prudent next-play mindset," Smith-Wade said. "That's kind of the thing about playing nickel. You're going to get beat sometimes, and sometimes you're going to make plays. So, you kind of just got to be level-headed in playing nickel."

And who knows, maybe you end up becoming the greatest rookie nickel the NFL has ever seen.