BrianS

It's a very floor level ranking, yes. I think the big takeaway is that he believes we need a lot of young players to step up in order to really make any ground up. He's not wrong.

I mean . . . raise your hand if you're surprised so we can all laugh at you . . .

Theilen, at this point in his career, should be that guy who comes in on third and eight and gets you nine yards every time. That kind of player has insane value in the league and it's well within what he is still capable of.

Honestly, that's the worst case scenario. Just good enough to not be obnoxious, not really good enough to carry the team. I want last game of the year Bryce or first game of the year Bryce.

I am not one who gets behind the idea of "unlocking" a player. Did Barry Sanders need much in the way of blocking to "unlock" him? I still maintain that Sanders career was far more impressive than Emmit Smith's. Did Larry Fitzgerald need an elite QB to "unlock" him? Antonio Gates? Etc. Great players play well if you care to watch with an objective eye. Now, some players work better in a given system. I do see that. A player who is playing well can be made to look better by sticking him in a better / more tailored system. I'm not sure Brock Purdy looks like a franchise guy in another system - but I would say the chances are probably 50/50. He's a good player, you could see it in any system, but in THAT system he's great. But for our specific example - and I hate to use TB12 but it's the easiest to see - you need look no further than the NE dynasty. Did Brady need Randy Moss to "unlock" him? No, of course not. Brady was just a great player, in a well designed system. Up until the end of the year last year, we hadn't seen anything resembling greatness from Bryce Young. I hope that he continues to improve. I hope he turns into our next franchise QB. But it's on his shoulders. If TMac is part of that, great. If TMac flops, it should not affect an evaluation of BY. BY doesn't need to be unlocked. He needs to perform.

This is an important point. When you let the offense choose the matchup so easily you are only hurting yourself. At least make them work to get the matchup they want.

I agree, Young is completely out of excuses. I'm not saying we just straight up get rid of him if he doesn't show top 10 potential, but I think we start looking for a QB who does and let BY be the bridge.

Exactly. Please give us Drake London numbers. Right now, the last Panthers receiver to hit 9 TD's? Kelvin Benjamin. The last Panther with 1300 yards? Agent 89.

The heck? How is this even a question? The answer is Mahomes. There is no other answer.

We also signed a guy who made 135 tackles last year in 11 starts during free agency. Yes, it was a career year for the guy who bounced around a lot, but you don't make 135 tackles in the NFL sitting on the bench. We might have more than we think.

I like the idea of numbers - for example 58 - being "reserved" but not retired. I would think it should only go to players on their second Panthers contract, and if former holders are part of the decision process, it should be a non-public conversation to allow former holders of the number to honestly say "Nah" without offending.

I think the business plan / concept is probably solid, but the market (Panthers) is probably wrong.

No. You don't go to battle with "middle of the road" at the most important position. You need to see real potential to win games from your QB. You're not trying to find "Don't lose this game for us", you're trying to find "We need you to win this game for us." Last year's first overall pick threw for 3500 yards, 20 TD's and 6 INT's and his season was considered disappointing. Now, I don't really get that, because his stats were very similar to Jayden Daniels, who people just gushed over. All that to say, stats don't really tell the complete story. They can be a guidepost, but only one of a number. Bryce needs to look like a guy who is going to win games for you. Like this:

Yes. He either improves or he goes. I'm still not sold on the guy. He looked better end of the year, yes. But a great deal of that was simply that he had looked so bad before it would have been difficult to not look better. BY9 was still one of the worst QB's in the league when it comes completion percentage, air yards per attempt, yards, yards per attempt . . . the list goes on. Again, I agree that he looked better toward the end of the year, but he has a lot more ground to make up before he will be looked at as a guy who can go out and win games for us. He seems like a great guy, and maybe we keep him as a backup, but if he doesn't get it done this year the Panthers need actively seek the answer.

No. But he has a chance to get stuck on the practice squad if he looks like he might have a future in the preseason. When you sign a guy like that, it's really all you can hope for.

I actually wouldn't mind drafting S. Sanders. The dude got the message. The last day of the draft is made for taking shots. Yes, I know we have Bryce. What if he regresses? Using a fourth round pick on a guy some thought was a first round talent isn't dumb. What if Bryce works out? The honest answer is it's not about Bryce. Bryce will either work or not, and it's totally in his hands. What about Sanders? Maybe Sanders is never more than a backup. Getting a backup QB in the fourth round is great business. Maybe he shows the ability to be a starter. That's a great problem to have! If you have two starting quality QB's on your roster, you can keep the one you feel fits you the best and flip the other for draft capital.

I will say that I can see Dan Morgan putting his mark on the roster, for sure. It's still a very thin roster in numerous places but you simply can't fix it all, all at once. That said, this is his second offseason. He's quickly running out of excuses . . . which isn't a negative, it's just the truth. If we can get to 8 wins this year, I'll be impressed. Most teams feel like they "win" the offseason . . . but reality in the form of regular season games will kick most of them in the *&@.

What happens this year isn't relevant. All we want is to see improvement this year and verify that what we saw at the end of last season from Bryce is what we really have. Our best opportunity for that is for Moton to remain on the team. If we come out of the season with a clear picture of what Bryce really will be, and 6-8 wins, that's a great season. Next offseason, we can find out if he really wants to be here his entire career or not. If he really does, he can take a friendly deal to help us groom a replacement. If not, we thank him for being one of the best OL we've ever had and move on.

I love, *love* Warren. Unfortunately, it would be criminal roster management to go TE in the first round with so many problems on defense.

I put our ceiling at 8 wins, and that assumes BY continues to develop in a positive fashion. If he stagnates or regresses we'll be lucky to see 5 wins. The defense will be better, but it's a dang long climb from 32 to average, let alone a legit playoff caliber defense.

^^^ This right here.

You're right, it wasn't a bad decision to move on from TB5, it was a DISASTROUS decision to move on. How many draft picks, how much dead cap, how many players did it cost us when we decided to move on? The number of dominos that move set in motion is just now beginning to stop.

All we need is a strong edge player (and of course a healthy Derrick Brown) and our DLine is going to be really, really good. Our LB's should have no excuses. I am a little worried that we don't have a rock star LB. We have a bunch of guys who would be great . . . with Kuechly, Beason or Morgan in with them. Hopefully someone steps up.

We can't take that kind of risk. Our roster is bad. While the upside is there, we cannot afford to get our draft picks wrong if we ever want to win again. Grab whichever of Carter or Walker is still available at 8 and let's get this team pointed in the right direction.

I know you think you're being funny, but seriously, if we didn't have so many problems on defense that guy would absolutely be a candidate at 8. He's a really, really good player and would give us a legit WEAPON at TE. Sanders is great downfield - no doubt - but Warren actually blocks. He's not a GREAT blocker, but he gives excellent effort. And as a receiver . . . man, he just makes plays. I don't see us pulling the trigger, especially with Sanders on the roster and Tremble returning. But Warren is worthy of a top 10 pick.