SCO96

I don't think I would have done what Atlanta did, but this was a very logical explanation for why they did it. You bring up a good point about Bryce. I think the team would be leery about moving on from Bryce if he struggles early. Doing so would indicate they made a bad decision and pretty much shatter his confidence. And even if we did bench, Dalton is pretty much a C level backup at this point in his career. I actually would have considered taking Spencer Rattler in round 4 or 5. It would have brought in some legit competition and another live arm. We all know that Rattler could have completed a lot of the throws Bryce missed last year, he's already has an established connection with XL, and the offense wouldn't have been restricted to 10 yard passes and bubble screens.

I see your point. However, what if Penix doesn’t have a stellar season in his first year as starter? If the Falcon miss the playoffs and his play is only competent at best I think the leverage swings the other way.

Everyone talks about how important it is to draft a QB in round 1 and have the "5th year option" I haven't seen it play out the well over the past several years. The good/great QB' aren't playing the first 5 years under their original deal. After year 3 or 4 they are getting mammoth extensions. Having Penix take over in year 3 may actually save the Falcons some money over the next 5 seasons. I doubt they'd give him an extension after his first year as a starter if he took over the starting position after the guaranteed portion of Kurt Cousins new deal ends in 2025. In terms of playing time, Penix 3 years as a starter would be ending with the 5th year of his rookie deal (assuming his option was picked up). The money Penix would be making in year 5 of a rookie contract would be significantly less than the upper echelon 5 year starters are making now.

While I agree with you to a point, I think the routes were simplified to deal with Bryce's physical limitations. I think we would have seen much more creativity in the offense if we had a big armed QB behind center like Stroud, Richardson, or Levis. If you take time to watch that video on page 6 of this thread, you'll see that Bryce was terrible on the deep pass last year. Teams quickly figured out that he wasn't able to throw deep with consistency and not a threat to throw outside the numbers unless it was a short curl or a bubble screen. You really only had to drop 10 yards and take the area between the numbers. Even if we had receivers last season that could get better separation, the opposing team still would have been able to defend our passing plays because it's easy to sit on the routes.

After watching this video it's quite obvious why the team went after Johnson (and XL) this offseason. We can't keep working the middle of the field with dig, hook, and crossing route and expect to be any better on offense this season.

I’d love this pick if we’re a perennial power year in a year out. Coming off of a 2-15 season and no winning seasons since 2018 means Carolina needs as many sure things in this draft as possible. We may still luck out at 52, but I hate seeing these good players fly off the board. That said, I’ll wait until I see what we get @52. Unfortunately, this reminds me of what we did in 2021 when we traded down from the top 10 in round 2 and ended up with TMJ, only to see Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey come off the board several picks later

How can the offense be "miles better" when we already have "Miles Sanders" on our roster.

DJ Clark and Jonathan Mingo were our #2 and #3 receivers behind Theilan. The two of them combined for 78 catches ,5 TDS , and 943 yards . Those are the type of number you should expect for a lone #2 receiver or a stud TE over the course of a 17 game season. To match that production level in 2024 XL would need to average 4.5 receptions per game, a TD every 3 games, and 55.5 yards per game. If XL is used properly and if Bryce is competent enough to get him the ball he should have no trouble reaching (or surpassing) those totals which would be a huge improvement for our passing game. Theilan is still a dependable #3 and the addition of Johnson gives us a true # 1. On paper we are without a doubt better at WR. Whether or not it translates to the field remains to be seen.

I subscribe to the Ron Rivera philosophy. Run the ball to control the clock and stop the run on defense. Keep the games close and let the defense win your games.......

You may be on to something there!

Guys, I think the Falcon was a head scratcher. But, they've got Penix for 5 years if they pick up the option. Maybe ATL feels Cousins only has 2-3 top years left and when they move on they'll have a potential franchise guy on the roster to take over with 2 -3 left on his rookie deal. Let's forget the GB selected Aaron Rodgers when Favre was still playing at a high level and let him sit for 3 seasons.

I've already said this before, but I think it's worth mentioning again. Not only do we have high draft choices in round 2 (#33 and #39) we also have the first pick in round 3. With all of the holes on our team, we should come come out of this draft with 3 starters with our first 3 picks...or at worst 2 starters and a player who shows enough promise to start in 2025 and contributes significantly in 2024. Anything less would be a major disappointment.

What you are saying should be true. However, our franchise has shown a tendency to either underestimate or over value players for years. Our recent draft history is proof that our front office and coaching staffs are far from perfect in personnel evaluation. We've: Given away high draft choices for JAGS (Darnold and CJ Henderson) Given away picks to move up in the draft only to pick players who make no impact significant impact in their rookie seasons (BY, Matt Corall, DJ Henderson) Used draft capital to select players only to attempt to convert them to new positions (Armani Edwards, Brady Christensen) Traded down to accumulate picks only to select JAGS (Terrace Marshall, Daviyon Nixon, Keith Taylor). With the new coaching staff and new GM things may turn around in a hurry. I certainly hope it does. But, our recent roster decisions concern me. I'd feel better drafting a younger/healthier kid out of college to play center in 2024 instead of relying on a older player coming off of an injury who has never played the center position on a regular basis.

If a starting caliber WR is available at 33, picking him would be the ideal move. However, I would not be upset (or I would at least understand the rationale) of taking a center with this pick. From what I've seen in the mocks, Graham Barton (Oregon) and Jackson Power-Johnson (Oregon) are the only 2 centers expected to come off the board in round 1. Both are projected to be effective starters in th3 NFL. But, if there is a run at certain positions one of them could slide into day 2 of the draft. I couldn't fault the Panthers if we took either one of them at 33. Zach Frazier (West Virginia) and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Georgia) are projected to go in rounds 2 or 3 and are viewed as solid starters at the NFL level. If we went WR at 33, we'd still have a chance to get one the these guys at #39 or with our first pick in the round 3. Having a stout interior is only going to help Chubba, Miles, and Bryce. If Bryce ends up as a bust at least the next QB would join a team with a solid interior line in front of him.

If we could trade down to 35/36 and pick up an extra high draft choice in the 3rd round I “might” consider a move down. But as someone pointed out earlier, we are more likely to find a starter the higher they are selected in the draft.

If the Panthers are indeed locked in on Legette, they should have told him to keep quiet about it for the reason cited in your post. However, I do think that there is a good chance that we won't get leap-frogged this year. A team may take Legette in round one with their original pick make all of this a moot point. But if a team wants to move up from the 2nd round into the back end of the 1st round, they're probably going to have to give up a #1 pick in next years draft. I think most teams will find the price a little too high to go thru with a deal. Having the first pick in the 2nd round means we can't be leap frogged on Day 2. We could be if we were in any other draft slot.

All of us were upset (and a bit embarrassed) to be to have the worst team/record in the NFL and head into the 2024 season without a first round draft choice after picking #1 last season. Now, we have the first pick in the 2nd round and people are actually in favor of trading down for more lesser picks. First round caliber talents are going to fall into the 2nd round....and we are not going to have to pay them a first round contract. Why on earth would you move down? I could see doing so if we had a stacked roster and was not in need of an immediate starter from this draft. That's not the case. Our poor drafts this decade resulted in Carolina having the least talented roster in the NFL last year. We should come out of this draft with starters with those first 2 draft choices. To be frank, even out first choice in round 3 should make a significant contribution to the team, even if he doesn't start immediately. Until Morgan and the rest of the FO proves that they are sloid talent evaluators, they should take the bpa. On paper we have done a great job addressing a lot of holes via FA. No need to get cute with trade dowsn.

On the surface that may sound bad. But, with the exception of our recently acquired pick from Pittsburgh, the 9th best receiver in the draft may still be better than anyone currently on our roster. On the flip side, because so many receivers are projected to go in the first, a first round talent is likely going to fall to us at some other position of need. We may be able to wait until #39 to grab a WR or even later as you pointed out. The O-line is already significantly better so I doubt we're taking an O-lineman at 33 or 39. No matter what we decide to do, if we don't come away with 2 (and arguably 3) solid starters after day 2 then this draft will end up being a massive disappointment.

This is off topic a bit, but I’ll toss it out there. Rattler made some nice throws in those clips. If he’s on the board in the 4th (or even the 5th) should we roll the dice? He’s got a better arm than Bryce Young. He definitely has chemistry with Leggette. If we did take Leggette in round 2, I think it would be hard to pass on Rattler if he’s still on the draft board late on day 3. Thoughts?

If only one of the above is true, I still think that's commendable. Our coaching staff doesn't appear to have done either for Bryce during the 2023 season. We're all hoping for the best. But, if Bryce is plays like he did last season, do you guys think Tepper would just face reality and go into 2025 knowing that still need a franchise QB?

Based on what he did last season (or didn't do last season), I don't think any team in the NFL would give you a 3rd for Mingo. I hate to say it, but you can probably be able to find a better WR in the 3rd round this year. If I were a GM, I wouldn't trade anything for him.

If he doesn't show up and show out this season all of us are going to have to agree with you. I do want to see how he does in the new scheme before I write him off as a bust.

These 2nd QB contracts have got out of hand. Every QB isn't worth $40 million. The Giants were crazy to give Daniel Jones all of the money. If Bryce gets better, but doesn't become elite QB over the next 2-3 seasons, then you need to start negotiating with him before he hits his 5th year...preferably after year 3. You let him know that we can't afford to get you a $5o mil deal and keep the rest of the talent around you. If you realize that Bryce wants more than he's worth you draft a guy high in the draft before the 5th year and let him hit the market. Unless he's become a stud by the end of year 5, he's going to realize that he isn't going to get a $50 mil deal from another team. Bryce seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He may realize that he needs to stay in Carolina to have the best chance to succeed in the NFL.