Jay Roosevelt

Watson will be a Panther.

Something is up with this situation. The timing alone is VERY suspect and this lawyer sounds more like a cable news talk show host.

Maybe I'm wrong, but something just doesn't add up here.

I can't believe there are actually people who are against us acquiring a young franchise QB like Watson. You guys are still stuck in the Jerry Richardson mindset of how to build a team.

All the stud RBs, pass rushers, and successful 1st round picks we've had since 2002 and yet if you take out the one pick that was a franchise QB (Cam) we'd have gotten nothing for all of them.

Without a QB, nothing else matters. With one, you have a shot. Yes, you have to build around him, but without one to build around you might as well forfeit every game because you're never going to be more than average unless you can somehow manage to put together an all-time great defense, which is practically impossible these days between the rules and the salary cap.

He's not that good. Classic cleanup tackler with inflated numbers. Not good in coverage either.

Eww.

Whew. I'm glad we didn't pay him that kind of money.

The key thing to me is whether he's got the work ethic and drive to be great. Because with his skillset if he does the sky is the limit. Everything I've heard/read leads me to believe he absolutely does.

Watching his pro day the biggest takeaway I had wasn't what he did on the field, but the fact that they said he'd spent the season studying NFL offenses and defenses in preparation for the draft. That tells me he's willing to do what it takes to make the leap to the NFL.

I'd love to have him here, but I still think we're going to have to trade up in order to get him. The question is: how high? I'd surely hate to see the Falcons take this guy and let him sit behind Matt Ryan for a year before becoming the next Patrick Mahomes.

Vikings cut Riley Reiff. Could be a decent LT option.

He'd be an upgrade for us, but is one of those players with a better reputation than actual performance on the field. Still, for the right price I wouldn't be opposed.

Someone's been to Charlotte in summer...

If we go all-in for someone, it better not be Dak Prescott.

4 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Yes I did.

You give up a third round pick and that doesn't work out? It's salvageable.

You give up a first round pick and it doesn't work out? That gets you a dirty look from the owner, but it's still manageable.

You trade more than one first round pick and it doesn't lead to a championship? You're on thin ice...at best.

You give up some of the ridiculous trade packages we're talking about here and you don't win a championship with the guy you gave up all that stuff for in short order? Your ass is fired.

Unless you're the owner...

There really isn't a comparison to the type of trade offer it'd take to get Watson because there isn't another example of a team trading 25 year old elite franchise QB. This deal - whoever makes it - will become the new standard for 'blockbuster' trades in the NFL.

I'd go McCaffrey, 1st rounders in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and Donte Jackson as my opening offer. I'd rather not mess with our WRs. 

Who cares if we're a "playoff team" if we're 1-and-done because we have no QB?

We could fill all those holes with Pro Bowlers and still not be legit Super Bowl contenders with Teddy Bridgewater at QB. Just look at the Bucs; 7-9 with the same core team in 2019, Super Bowl champs with Tom Brady.

Fill the hole at QB first. Otherwise, nothing else really matters.

20 minutes ago, bigskypanthersguy said:

1:  A good qb can only mask so much.  I frankly do not think there is any sense in trading for Watson with the current state of the offensive line.  As sick as some people are with the bandaid approach at qb, we've tried the bandaid approach at o-line for years and failed at it.   So has Seattle.  We had years to give Cam Newton help and failed at that too.  If we get Watson I do not want to see him obliterated too.

2:  The Rams' model is eventually going to bite them in the ass and let's face it, at the end of the day, your goal is to win a Super Bowl.  To this point, McVay has not.

3:  You are correct in that we don't know what the draft will bring, but we also don't know what vet qbs may be available next year when we're in a better position as far as depth to try to better able protect them.  Hell, this Watson situation could drag on so long and get so heated he just retires in lieu of being traded.

4:  In order to try to trade for him, the Texans have to actually be interested in doing so.  There has never been any indication this is the case.

I am quite cognizant of your desire to get Watson.  It may not happen and all available evidence suggests to embrace that possibility.

Why do you just assume the OL has to be garbage if we get Watson? Our cap situation will improve SIGNIFICANTLY next year and we always have the option of restructuring some contracts to create cap space for this year. There's no reason we can't re-sign Moton, draft another tackle in the 2nd round, and sign a couple of solid veterans for a year or two.

Not saying we wouldn't have to continue to build the OL after that, but it's not like we'd have the worst OL in football either.

@Verge What do you think of Liam Eichenberg from Notre Dame? I wouldn't be upset at all if we took a shot on him in the 2nd round, but I wonder if he could actually sneak into the late 1st? He seems like a pretty solid OT option for us, if a bit 'boring' as a prospect.

I'm curious as to what the armchair GM's here who are against trading for Watson think is going to happen if we continue to play it conservatively and just stock pile draft picks. How long do we wait before addressing QB?

Mac Jones at #8? Hope we're bad enough to get the #1 pick next year? Draft someone else in the 2nd or 3rd round or later and hope we get the next Russell Wilson or Tom Brady instead of the usual backup or washout teams get with QBs after the 1st round? Ride with Teddy until he's ready to retire?

The Rams haven't had a 1st round pick since 2016 and won't have one again until at least 2024, and yet since 2017 they're 43-21 with a Super Bowl appearance and will go into next season as a legitimate contender to get back there.

Despite what conventional wisdom may say, there are more ways than one to build a winner. To be so disliked by so many on this board, it seems Jerry Richardson's philosophy of team building remains in vogue with many people here. How many 1st rounders did Marty Hurney hit on? Pretty much ALL of them, and yet what did we really win during his tenure(s) as GM? One NFC title + 2 division titles in 15 years between his 2 stints as GM.

The Rams have done exactly the same since 2017 and they've done it without a single 1st round pick during that time.

Look, I'm as big a fan of CMC, D.J. Moore, Brian Burns, and Derrick Brown as anyone. We've had a great run of 1st round picks, but the truth is the value of a true elite franchise QB eclipses all four of those guys combined. That's not to say I'm advocating trading all of them as part of a Watson deal (you want to keep enough talent around him that you're not in a total rebuild on offense) but what I am saying is we could draft 3 players of comparable talent with our next 3 1st rounders and unless one of them is a top-tier franchise QB (let's be honest, QBs are always a crapshoot) then we'd still be worse off come 2023 than we would be with Deshaun Watson under center.

And that assumes we hit on our next 3 picks in the 1st round. Sure, they could all be CMC or Brian Burns, but they could also be Shaq Thompson and Vernon Butler. There's just no way of knowing what we'd be getting, but there is a way to land a franchise QB: trade for Deshaun Watson.

I'm sure we won't be the only team interested, but we MUST try and every signal the organization has sent this offseason indicates that we absolutely WILL try.

11 minutes ago, Basbear said:

He looked awful, Im FIRMLY in "Panthers got faaaar too many holes/dont overpay for Watson/early first group". FIRM!

No one of the trade everything for Watson crew has answer my question about the OL or how they feel about putting him behind it. NOT ONE. They must feel watson can block the whole DL, be the starting TE, and not get injuried during this. Walker isnt Teddy, since many have a hate boner for Teddy. 

You fix the f***ing OL as quickly as possible. Our cap situation gets MUCH better next season. Plus, the cap can always be manipulated.

Franchise, then extend Taylor Moton. Draft a tackle in the 2nd round. Sign a solid veteran guard for a year. Restructure some contracts to make it work.

This really isn't rocket science.

I've always thought we should move Moton to left tackle. I see no reason why, if we're going to pay him big money, we shouldn't do it now. I think he can be just as good on the left side as he's been on the right.

17 hours ago, Ship said:

This kid looks like a douche to me therefore I don’t want him

At this point I'd just assume trade up for Justin Fields or Zach Wilson.

I would have been pissed if we'd have given up two 1st rounders for a 32 year old Matthew Stafford. Trading next year's 1st to move up and get Justin Fields or Zach Wilson is a MUCH better plan, IMO.

It... is what it is?

Stafford isn't even that good. He's Teddy Bridgewater with a stronger arm.