Mr. Scot

Campen went to his workout.

He fits their offensive system perfectly. (technically, ours too)

Unfortunately, the guy with the least interest in the team's long-term future has final say.

Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan thinks the Pitt QB could be a target. From the article... Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune believes that, if the Saints go with a quarterback in round one, the guy they take could be Pitt’s Kenny Pickett. The hand-size issue may not deter the Saints. The Saints play their home games indoors, eliminating the potential impact of the elements for at least eight or nine games per year (plus road games in domes). Also, Duncan notes that Saints assistant G.M. Jeff Ireland drafted quarterback Ryan Tannehill a decade ago. Tannehill had (and presumably still has) hands on the smaller size, at only nine inches. You know how this goes, of course. If the Saints take him, he'll be a Hall of Famer who will torture us for years. If we take him, he'll be a complete bust

I have a tough time buying the choice to stick with Dennis Daley.

You're not Matt Rhule though...

Didn't know this, but Howell and Ekwonu don't count toward the Panthers quota because they're local guys. That's a nice little bonus.

From Albert Breer (Link) I don’t think Kyler Murray will be an option for the Panthers, or anyone else but the Cardinals. But the Panthers’ situation is a perfect illustration of why Murray’s camp viewed timing as so important to his situation in the first place. Carolina’s one of just a few teams left out there (Seahawks, Falcons, Lions) that don’t have their QB plans set for 2022. Once we get past the draft, you figure more, if not all, of those teams will drop off the list, because they’ll either take one or they’ll dive in on a Mayfield or a Garoppolo. And that organically takes an arrow out of Murray’s quiver, when it comes to trying to leverage a deal out of Arizona, because it’s tough to pull the trade-demand lever if there isn’t a team out there willing to give him the kind of contract he wants, while also handing over a war chest of draft capital to acquire him. That’s why when Arizona told Murray and his people back in February that they’d take care of him in the summer, after the rest of the offseason business was done, that was met with strong resistance (and that strongly worded statement from agent Erik Burkhardt). So here we are now, and I’d expect Murray’s camp to try to keep the temperature high for the next couple of weeks, because there’s really no guarantee that what the Cardinals come to him with a few months from now will be what he’s looking for. And if they get there, well, given the holdout rules, Murray may have no other recourse than to play out the fourth year of his deal. Which didn’t work out really well for Mayfield, who happens to be a close friend and ex-teammate of Murray’s.

Here's Albert Breer's perspective from his latest MMQB Just as last week was important for the Panthers, this week is too. Just as the team had the quarterbacks in en masse last week, Matt Rhule, Scott Fitterer & Co. are having N.C. State tackle Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross in to Charlotte together on Tuesday. And I think there’s an interesting dance that’ll play out in the aftermath with the sixth pick. As I see it, the Panthers can gamble, barring someone trading up (which I think is unlikely), that they’ll have their pick of quarterbacks at No. 6. What’s hard to forecast is whether any of the top three tackles—Ekwonu, Cross or Alabama’s Evan Neal—will be on the board when Carolina’s up. If those three are gone, maybe it’ll be simplified for the Panthers and they’ll take a quarterback. But if one or more of the tackles are there, it wouldn’t stun me, or others in the league, if the Panthers grit their teeth and go with the offensive lineman over the quarterback—with perhaps the idea that they could go and get Jimmy Garoppolo after the first round, or even Baker Mayfield, who’s been seen internally as a sort of redundant gamble to what the team did with Sam Darnold last year (and would probably require the Browns eating a whole bunch of his $18.858 million base). Having Mayfield and Darnold, the top two quarterbacks in 2018 (both of whom were drafted before Allen and Jackson), together would be interesting, for sure. But right now, my guess is the Browns would be pushing that more than the Panthers are looking for it. Which, again, could change, depending on what happens with the sixth pick.

I've seen a couple of people on here suggest that Malik Willis could be a generation talent. I call that a pretty extreme projection myself.

From what I've read of his comments though, I think Fitterer wants to draft a quarterback so that he can build around him. Rhule seems like the reluctant one on that front. Now whether or not he really wants to do it this year is a valid question.

This is very much worth remembering when you look at stuff from various draftniks... Actual GMs may have a better sense of this, though even at their level there's a lot of smoke being out out.

Actual GMs are a much better source.

Ekwonu and Cross tomorrow, Howell today...

More regarding Howell...

For his latest FMIA column, Peter King talk to a dozen GMs about this year's draft. Here's what three of them had to say about the Panthers pick (and about GM Scott Fitterer). ON CAROLINA WITH THE SIXTH OVERALL PICK GM4: “[GM] Scott Fitterer is well-respected, and I feel bad for him. I’d hate to need a quarterback this year, with an owner all over you to find one, and have to draft one with this group. No one feels great about any of these guys. [Pitt’s Kenny] Pickett is probably the best one, and he’s a maybe.” GM5: “There’s not a generational talent in this draft, and there’s certainly not one at quarterback. You get in trouble reaching for a quarterback. Somebody’s gonna reach for one because of need, maybe more than one, and then you put more pressure on the guy you pick because your fans expect a first-round quarterback to play.” GM6: “I could actually see a scenario where if Carolina is focused on one guy at quarterback, they might have to move up a spot or two to make sure they get their guy. I say that because you look at the teams in the middle of the round. New Orleans might want to move up, and with two ones now [at 16 and 19], they’ve got the ammo to move up. Pittsburgh [at 20] has had all their people at all these quarterback workouts—Mike Tomlin, [GM] Kevin Colbert, scouts. I’ll be really surprised if they don’t take one, and if they’re fixed on one guy, they won’t be shy about moving up to get one. This is Colbert’s last year [as GM], and I’m sure he wants to leave the team with options at quarterback.” Note about quarterbacks picked in the top six recently, and Carolina picking sixth overall: In the last 10 drafts, 18 quarterbacks have been picked in the top six. It’s too early to know about the three from 2021—Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance. Of the other 15 passers picked in the top six since 2012, two and maybe three appear to be long-term answers for their teams: Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and maybe Kyler Murray. Tua Tagovailoa might be one. But the others—Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Blake Bortles, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Mitchell Trubisky, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones—are either long gone from the teams that drafted them or a long shot to be a 10-year starter there. That’s a daunting thing, to pick a quarterback who’s not a sure thing with all the pressure to make it that has eaten alive some of the previous high picks.

Oh hell, no

I don't have one.

FYI: Found the comments in question... The stuff about Murray not watching or "grinding" film come from a New York Times profile. He basically feels he doesn't need to "kill himself" watching film because he can just go out on the field and "see stuff". Excerpts: From the start, he has unapologetically refused to conform, either to football doctrine or to the perceptions of how a quarterback should act, look and lead. ... Murray does not watch much game film. He tends to hold the ball outstretched when he runs, anathema to every coach who has instructed him not to (to which Murray has said, “When they get close, I’ll tuck it”). ... “I think I was blessed with the cognitive skills to just go out there and just see it before it happens,” Murray said. “I’m not one of those guys that’s going to sit there and kill myself watching film. I don’t sit there for 24 hours and break down this team and that team and watch every game because, in my head, I see so much.” Link: Inside the Mind of Kyler Murray So essentially, Murray is the smart kid in class who feels like he doesn't need to work all that hard because he's so smart. Probably worth pointing out that didn't go so well in the playoffs.

Steve Keim probably should have been fired years ago but the Bidwills like him, so...

I'm not big on listening to players opinions on personnel decisions either. As for Robby, all I can say for certain is my own opinion of him was way more positive last year. When he got the contract he did, I raised an eyebrow but didn't scream about it. Then he started dropping passed and welp...

Someone had it in one of the Murray threads a while back. I forget where it came from but I remember thinking it was a legit source (Cardinals beat writer from somewhere probably). And honestly, the fact that he's as physically talented as he is and is arguably the ideal fit for their system (handpicked by the coach) yet the team still isn't sure they wanna commit to him counts as one of those things that make you go "hmmm"

I care. I just don't have an answer. Someone asked me in one of these recent threads who I wanted at quarterback, and I realized there isn't anybody available I'd say "yes" to.

Even with the "I don't need to study film, I just wing it" comments?