theinstrumental

The Panthers defense last year: dropping eight guys into coverage constantly and basically unable to blitz anyone because nobody in the secondary could play man. The Panthers defense this year: Tops in the league across the board with Phil Snow throwing so many crazy blitzes at the Saints that Jameis started throwing left-handed, and we just added a second top-ten talent at corner to man up opposing receivers. Folks, it's a great day to be a fan. And next year's going to be a great time to be a Panthers pass rusher.

Take his draft stock out of it and he's cheap, young, absurdly physically talented, and has been underdeveloped in one of the worst situations in the NFL. That's a heck of an upside shot to take at a position of desperate need.

The very first thing that Urban tried to do was hire a coach who got fired from his last job for abusing his players. Gonna go ahead and place my bet on Urban being a prick.

Fitt's on the record with the opinion that there's a drop-off in the draft after the top ~15 guys. After that he sees a big tier that extends through the second round. At 3-0, it seems unlikely that we're too far into the top 15, if we end up there at all. A trade back in the first is likely. Regardless, it is weird to frame this trade as happening at the expense of the offensive line specifically. We drafted an offensive lineman in the third round this year, remember? It's unlikely that anyone we draft next year will be more immediately ready than Christensen is now, and he's on the bench. Plus, it's all a zero-sum game, so you could just as easily look at it the other way; any offensive lineman that we draft represents a pick that we could've used to shore up the secondary. The secondary has been in about as bad of shape as the offensive line. We needed a lot of guys in both places. We got a really good one cheap in the secondary. That's not a bad thing!

I'm confused by the lack of love for this trade so far. This is a straight up robbery. We traded a marginal journeyman out of a crowded skill position group and a third rounder for a top-ten talent who's only on the trade block because he doesn't get along with the most obviously unqualified NFL coach in recent memory. And we got a pick back! It's a massive win, this thread should just be gif reactions and pie

YES! Fitterer's going to build a perennial playoff team by fleecing the worst teams in the league over and over again. I couldn't be any happier.

We still haven't gotten Bouye back, either. The defense should only get better.

The team put up a video saying they had him graded as a 3rd round tackle and a second round guard, so they always viewed him as a swing lineman, not the solution at a specific spot. Certainly not "the answer" at LT.

That's a slightly above-average stat line with a lot of picks. It would be a huge improvement over what Teddy put up. If he does that, we've got a good chance at the playoffs. It's also probably a best-case scenario.

The flipside: How much value is destroyed when good quarterback prospects are wasted or outright ruined on bad teams?

If "do Millennials watch baseball" is a question, then "do Zoomers watch baseball" is just as important since they make up most of the twenty-something population now. It's also easier to answer: no.

An Iowa staff kind of famous for being draconian and out of touch with their players, though. I don't know what the note about avoiding suspensions indicates, but given the source, I'm not that worried about what the staff thought.

It's a real potential liability. Just look at what Burns does to guys who can't get their hands on him fast enough. The question is whether elite athleticism/movement skills for his position and good technique can make up for it. He was a consensus All-American, so we know it was good enough in college. I've got hopes for him in the pros. And if he absolutely has to kick inside, I think he'll be great there.

It is worth noting what's not included in this measure. Christensen's number probably looks worse if they include arm length with height and weight. His arms are shorter than Jaycee Horn's. Also, if you move him to guard, he jumps to a 9.97. Playing around with the positions really highlights how explosive he is. He'd have a good broad jump for a wide receiver.

Maybe I'm petty, but I'd love to turn the tables on Buffalo and steal some of their smartest guys. And if it gets to be Morgan, all the better.

It's a real credit to this draft class that we have this much to discuss about our sixth round pick. I get it, Brown was the coaches' first-team all SEC guard, he's a beast. But traditionally if we get anything out of a sixth rounder, it's a win.

I’ve never been happier

I love pairing a versatile tight end with CMC. Two guys who can flip numbers in favor of the run or pass game, they’re force multipliers for each other. Hopefully Tremble can keep teams out of some sub-packages and stretch the field with speed against linebackers.

All I could read here

This one feels like a weird scheme fit but they’re loading up on good football players. I can’t ask for anything more.

Did we get three picks for this? The two for trading back and the comp pick once we let Robby get signed by someone else since we have his replacement for cheap on the roster.

Hearing anything about the possibility of a trade down? It seems like there are a lot of offensive lineman in around the same tier now.

I think we're a safety away from being able to actually send some pressure. And it's going to be really scary when we do.

Barmore would be incredible value. He'd give us an immediate identity and a big, nasty, physical defensive front. And hey, if we can't protect our quarterback, might as well make sure the other team can't protect theirs either.

Every position but RB and RT is a position of need. I hope they pick a good football player. Ideally they'd trade back a bit so they can pick two.