Mr. Scot

Whether it should be or not, his age is a big deal. So is his opting out. It's valid to question how good he could have been with another college season under his belt.

Truth is none of us have any idea what the Panthers draft board looks like. Whatever it is though, I'm hoping they stick to it. One of the complaints that's been reported about the Eagles draft rooms is that they'd have a draft board set, and then when their pick came, Howie Roseman would just go rogue. (some have theorized that he was actually covering for Jeffrey Lurie, and that's a legitimate possibility)

I don't get a lot of agreement on this, but I still think Carr could have been good if the Texans hadn't given him such lousy protection and sh-tty coaching. For the first two years, they didn't even teach him to frigging read defenses. They just told him to throw to a spot.

I'm not a fan of Jones, and when he started getting mocked to the Panthers I tried to think of ways I could get on board with it, but I just couldn't. I'll grant that he's superintelligent and is said to be able to fully grasp complex systems. That's cool. I still don't know that he'll be a great player though. If I were making a prediction, it'd probably be that he'll be one of those marginal players who later turns into a good coach.

Double post

The seasons that Matt Rhule referred to as his "junior and senior years" which tells me that while he may not be a rookie, that's how the team sees him (and frankly how I think they should). The good part is that he doesn't have to adjust to the speed of the NFL game like an actual rookie might.

I've said before that I think college systems these days make it much harder to evaluate quarterbacks than it used to be. Same with receivers, honestly. Seems like hardly anybody uses a full route tree anymore.

Disagree, but you already know that. I said previously that I had questions about every quarterback in this draft class not named Lawrence, but truth be told I actually have questions about Lawrence too. He's talked about like a quarterbacking god, yet every time I've sat down to watch a game he's played in, I just haven't seen it. I'd never say he isn't good. He just doesn't seem to fit the description I hear. Granted, it's possible that no one could. Maybe I'm just not seeing his best games. I don't know.

That's a bigger discussion than this topic, honestly. Common saying for the draft is "BPA, except quarterback", but practically speaking, need always factors in there. It's just a matter of how much.

Since we've brought up the topic, what is it that's primarily bringing him down? Is it the poor performances that he had in a couple of games late last year, the perception that he might not be as pro ready as others or something else? I've seen different opinions, but there doesn't really seem to be a consensus.

I don't want us to draft a quarterback, but I actually agree regarding the notion that Fields is sliding. He was 1a with Lawrence forever. Granted, he had a couple of bad performances in big games and might be a tad inconsistent, but it's also true that nobody is a finished product right now. Hell, Lawrence had some lackluster performances too.

Or pick someone else...

I get the Wilson love. I just don't necessarily share it. His skill set is phenomenal. On the flipside though, the durability concerns about him scare the hell out of me. Part of me is glad that's not a decision we have to make.

I agree it's an unknown. Verge doesn't think we take a QB. Other analysts like Jeremy Fowler have said that a lot of the teams around the league don't believe we will either. I hope they're right, but again nobody knows.

It may be the guy we take, but yes I still see that as a dumb move. Darnold may not pan out, but whether he does or not I still think drafting a QB high right now is just a lousy idea.

Daniel Jeremiah and others inserted Darnold into this year's draft class and put him only behind Lawrence and Wilson.

Other positions aren't like quarterback. We're a rebuilding team. Yes, they've signed free agents, but that doesn't mean we don't still have needs. And again, you've already got what basically amounts to a rookie quarterback. Taking another one would be silly.

Already said if we make a move I disagree with, I'll get on board and hope for the best. On the flipside, I'm pretty sure if Fields (or Lance) is available at pick 8 and we don't take them, a load of people are going to have meltdowns.

For reasons I've already outlined. You're suggesting the team go ahead and basically supplant the guy they just traded for without even seeing him in action, and this while also bypassing the chance to shore up another spot on a team that has a lot of needs. I think that'd be a dumbass move.

And they might. I've never said they won't. What I've said is that it's a stupid decision if they do.

Tomlin's ducking the question. Per various sources, he's actually the guy who has final say now. For years it was Colbert, but the team has shifted to Tomlin over the past few years. It's been reported as one of the reasons why Colbert is only year to year now. As to Tepper, he said that he's not an evaluator and he's not going to try to be one, which is good because the last thing I want is the least football knowledgeable guy in the room being the one driving decisions.

You asked about top three picks. I answered.

And again, how you think it happened doesn't square with what the team says. Your response to that so far has been that if what's reported doesn't that's what you think happened, it must be a lie. I'm not ready to buy that.

Well if you don't want to count rings as an indicator, there was this guy named Collins that led his team to a Super Bowl (I forget who drafted him). If you do count rings, then there's a quarterback named Plunkett who was taken number one overall. He wound up getting two of them. Another guy named Dilfer got a ring with another team after not working out at his first stop too. Of course there's that Tannehill guy too. No rings yet, but you said that isn't the only indicator. And likewise, while they weren't all necessarily top three picks, there are plenty of guys who were considered "busts" who wound up being pretty good with their second team, or third or more in some cases. It's not like it's unprecedented.

That's the way you see it. As I've mentioned many times, the Panthers don't necessarily see things the way you do.