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This doesn’t bother me at all. I’m old enough to remember spending all our money on LB’s and RB’s.

I see football as the ultimate team sport. High level competition brings out the best, and, as always, may the best men win.

Wow. Still need a tackle but damn. I'm thinking trade back now.

In order to trade down you will have to give more points than you receive if you are the one instigating the trade.

Once again, I feel the need to lay the cards on the table to see what you all think. I will present my views, hoping that you will share yours and stimulate discussion. Since most of us are lifeless forms who do not have the time-consuming burden of having sex regularly to clog our schedules, I figured you would not be too busy to participate. While some of us want a pure, BPA draft, every GM says it. About that: I have a theory. If you have a need and a player who fulfills that need is there, he may be the "best" option for your team--not the best player. Because he meets your biggest need, he becomes (in your brain) the "best." If my big board had a CB at the top and a QB at #2 and I needed a QB, I am not taking the CB. I will add that the more holes you fill, the more flexibility you have, but simply taking the BPA regardless of need? That is hard to do when nearly everyone in the NFL is expected to produce immediate results. I think need plays a big role, and I think overall play regardless of position does as well, but at some point, both are variables that are poured into the equation. Nobody said it had to be one or the other--it can be a combination of both--and I think that is the case here. Don't believe me? Well, I can predict the positions we are going to draft most years. How? I do not go on who I think will be on the board. I go by our needs and then I look at the players that are available and predict the round they will be taken. If I know the LTs will be gone by pick 45, for example, I am taking a LT early, regardless of BPA. If I think a starting C could be there in round 3, I am probably not taking a C over the LT in round 1, even if the Center is the better player. Enough of my wisdom. So what are our needs for STARTERS now? Free Safety: We have box safeties (Moehrig, Ransom, and Simmons. Ransom can play FS, but he is at his best in the box, imo. We need a smart center fielder. a guy who is a ball hawk. A guy who can call coverages. A guy who is a sure tackler. While I love Caleb Downs, I think Thieneman might just be our pick. We really have no player like him and he would make everyone better. Not sure how he would fit into the Evero system. Will Inside Linebacker: In my view, Lloyd is slated to play the Mike. Wallace, on the other hand, had been better in coverage than run stuffing, so I think they want to play him at the Will ILB. While his coverage is solid, any ILB who has tackling inconsistency is not a starting ILB. In my view, a starting Will ILB is a need. I see this as our second round selection. I see Golday all day. Defensive Tackle: The position nobody seems to be talking about. We lost Robinson, and 280-pound Wharton is not an early-down answer. Bobby Brown and Cam Jackson are big-bodied NTs who are not making offensive centers shiver in the night. With the 320-lb Derrick Brown able to shift to a 1-5 technique, much of the weakness is covered. However, Wharton is rotational. We need a DT who can take Robinson's place and make the front scary. I am hoping we can find a day 3 steal to fill this rotational need. Tight End: I include TE because the Panthers seem determined to find an upgrade. Tremble, Sanders, Evans, and Mitchell is pretty "meh." However, is this need big enough to spend now? I do not see the size of the upgrade we need in the draft, unless we draft a fat, slow, WR and call him a TE. If we address TE, it will be in free agency, imo. Depth: Needs that will be expected to start in 2027 Left Tackle: Walker is on a one-year deal. If he plays well, he will want $$$ and that is a real possiblity if Ickey is not fully recovered and ready to go. So the need or a depth LT who can start in 2027 is genuine, but not as dire as it was. This suggests that we should draft a smart, developing LT with the ability to play other positions. I do not see us going OT in day one or even day 2 (possibly). I like some of the developing LTs who could be available late, and we have a solid OT coach to develop someone with skills and ability. Trey Zuhn III, for example, looked good in pass pro at the SR bowl before rolling his ankle. Versatile. Day 3. Right Tackle: In my view, at this moment, RT is a bigger need than LT. Moton is 31 and has a questionable wheel. Good news. There are some solid RT candidates in this draft at RT. Expect a RT earlier than you think. I am guessing they could take Blake Miller, Clemson, Jennings Dunker, Iowa, or Max Iheanachor ASU, in round 2 (or early round 3), in fact. However, since you do not need day 1 starters, a developmental prospect could be in order. In that case, Dametrious Hightower (Tex AM) in the fourth could be an option. Cornerback: Mike Jackson has been great for us, but he is entering the final season of his contract. While 2025 UDFA Thornton was the second-rated rookie CB in 2025 before his injury, he could be the heir apparent. If you want to upgrade the nickel position, then that's different. Smith-Wade has been unspectacular, but not a liability. How you address CB depends on the love you have for the surprising, undrafted Thornton. In my view, you need at least one, I just don't know what type(s). Center: The is tough because the seem to really like Samac (25) and Fortner (27) is a half-notch above Mays. We could be set with mediocre centers for now, and opt to address the issue later. Quarterback: I think we need to draft a QB on day three with the intention of selecting our backup QB. Someone who is raw but has the skills. Maybe a player whose stock was beaten down. Last year, before the season, there were guys being projected for round 1 of the draft who might not be drafted now on days 1 or 2. Find the gem. Drew Allar, Penn State sure looked good at the Combine and he will be available in rounds 4-5. Guard: We have Zavala as a reserve and that is about it for now. So if I am the GM, what do I do? I can't meet all the needs for starters as mentioned here, and the depth players are too numerous to populate through the draft. Here goes my first mock (NFL Draft Hero) after blabbing and droning through this thread: A few explanations: Pick 113 Brian Parker is ideal for a conversion to center. He was excellent at RT for Duke and could backup Moton in a pinch, but I project him to Center or guard. PIck 152 Aamil Wagner is a Left Tackle project that could use some strength building, but technically sound, a good leader, a solid technician. A year with our OT coach should help. (I missed out on my Tex AM OT Zuhn III because he went in the third--I was going to take him in round 4) Pick 170 Parker Brailsford was a C at Alabama. Should they decide to play Brian Parker at RT or Guard, Brailsford has starting potential. I think he can only play center, however, so that could make Parker a G or T. As you can see, I was able to trade down a few times, enabling me to find a late WR and LB who might develop. Jolly (TE) is a player they have talked to. I would be happy with this draft, but it is not at all what I was envisioning a week ago.

I can say confidently that this is NOT the same Hornets team we’re used to.

I think 2003 might be one of the best FA classes we've had as far as results go. The 1995 class was the largest group of course.

Unless you're year 2 Dan Morgan, of course

Gives us some options too. Draft a project one to learn behind him, extend him if he plays great, move on from Icky, move Icky to another spot depending on his recovery etc…

Wonder if we see an extension for Moton. We have no OT’s under contract beyond next season. Still playing at a high level. Could distribute dollars across an additional season, maybe two.

I don't get why he is pissy. He signed a 1 year deal and parlayed it into a salary increase. Wasn't that the goal?

more than impressive when you look at the whole thing @mike_e_kaye Something that’ll likely get lost in the Rico Dowdle conjecture and the Devin Lloyd-Jaelan Phillips headlines for the #Panthers is that Dan Morgan and Brandt Tilis have done the following with the use of one-year deals: - Retained all four of their restricted-eligible FAs on deals substantially less than the lowest restricted tender - Retained JJ Jansen, Akayleb Evans, Trevis Gipson, Robert Rochell and David Moore on near-vet minimum deals (but with additional perks for most). - They signed a starting-caliber LT on an incentive-laden deal that won’t hinder them in 2027 if it doesn’t work out. Plus, they don’t need force an OT pick in April. - They’ve been able to do all this while simply cutting one player and restructuring another (more likely to come but not necessarily dire) - The bulk of the signings being 1-year deals makes the inherent risk quite low - They only lost three players from last year’s division-winning team thus far: Mays, Dowdle and Robinson (released). D’Anthony Bell was waived during the playoffs. - They’ve done this all while staying “whole” with seven picks in the draft. https://x.com/mike_e_kaye/status/2032810061806866673

Beason

If the right prospect falls sure. I just don't want to take one to take one at 19 if there is also quality defensive talent still on the board. I mean not to sound like a dick. But only the Panthers and their fans think you have to draft one in the first to hit. For all the praise of Morgan's FA which is certainly looking good. Where he will truly cement his role is picking those mid to late round gems in the draft. Without those winning free agency doesn't mean squat

and if we are being honest, all things considered, this is the bigger signing of all three. Not having a quality starting LT would have imploded the season.

If BPA is tackle at 19 I am not crying about it. Would love more defense but you can never go wrong with oline help if its warranted

Sounds like a stand up guy to me.

At the end of the day we were always walking a tightrope with the OL we were amongst the top 3 or 4 paid units in the league even before Icky got hurt. Injuries are very unfortunate but they are going to happen to any team. And besides even if he hadn't gotten hurt we would have given him a contract extension and we would still have the highest paid OL in the league right now. That's why we should have been addressing the OL in the draft more. I hope to see us begin that approach with the upcoming draft.

No pats fan, but they gave me some of the best schadenfreude in sports evah

Good luck to him! He certainly made the most of his opportunity here and I hope he gets to back the big truck up to the bank another time with the Cowboys as well.

There's been a lot of moves that make me give them that raised eyebrows nod of hmmm, looks good. I hope it works out on the field like it is on paper. Picking up that OT at a reasonable price was unexpected!

Kind of feel like he was big against the bad defenses, but not so much against the good ones. Brown, Lloyd and Moehrig are really good tacklers on all 3 levels. He'll have a tougher time against this defense than he did at Dallas.

The Phillips deal was bold, but absolutely a move that we had to make. We’ve tried to fix our pass rush with Vikings rejects for 5 years. We weren’t going farther in 2026 without an instant improvement in the rush. No brainers for the rest of the signings. The major holes are filled. Time to BPA the draft.

Maybe where you live it is

Soccer today. May go heavy two leg on a couple of the home teams but I'll decide in a bit