BlitzMonster

I like Willis but picking him at #6 would be a disservice to both him and the Panthers. The expectations would be way too high and fans/media would demand to see him play. Which is exactly what he SHOULDN'T do his first year. The later the pick, the less pressure there is on him. Willis needs time to learn the NFL game, reading defenses, progressions, etc.

Washington Red Hawks would have been so much better.

It's a much more appropriate fit for him. In not too long I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the OC discussions.

Yeah, I was thinking strictly in terms of QB mobility. Not his skill level or anything else. If Tampa's offensive line can protect old man Brady, another immobile player like Carson Strong might be able to succeed behind it as well.

Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan is interviewing. Obviously he won't go anywhere now until the SB. But either to fill his spot or one beneath him if somebody in-house takes his position.

the Cliffs Notes version: Carson Strong, Nevada - big arm but will his mobility (and knee) be good enough ? Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati - his accuracy woes followed him from college Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh - clean mechanics and a high floor but just how far does his ceiling go ? Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky - better arm strength displayed than in college but can he make the intermediate throws ? Sam Howell, North Carolina - a body clone of Baker Mayfield but not nearly as much consistency or big play potential Malik Willis, Liberty - his college offense was basically backyard football but he has a live arm that can deliver rockets all over the field

For Joe Brady's career I was hoping he'd take a position with the Bengals. His previous relationship with Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase from their LSU days would have made working their enjoyable, I'm sure. But the cake job with Josh Allen is definitely also good for him. Allen is already a top 5 QB so not much to do but cash those checks and get some street cred toward his next job.

Some teams wouldn't be so bothered. Bruce Arians had Brady who's not the most fleet footed guy. I think Tampa Bay would be fine drafting Strong. Arians would probably love his big arm as that would allow him to play a downfield passing game.

Carson Strong might have an elite arm. But does his knee check out ? And does he fit what a team wants to do? That would be the old-school idea of the QB as a statue in the pocket. Which is the antithesis of the running QB so valued in the NFL today.

All of the top 4 LT or the Iowa Center would be fine by me. Any player that Campen signs off on will be good.

Going with the strength of the draft is usually a good plan. Do that a few seasons in a row and you've added a lot of talent to your roster. Compare that to reaching for a player. If we took Willis as a QB, he'd need at least a couple of years to really start producing at a decent level. Whereas one of these LT could be 'the guy' from his very first OTA. So it's just no contest. I expect with Campen as OL coach the Panthers are committing to building up the OL. That gives me some hope that common sense will prevail on draft day. We shall see . . .

The physical talent is clearly there. But his mechanics have to be refined. And he doesn't have much experience reading defenses or going through progressions. So he should really sit for a while behind an experienced QB. Any team that plays him too soon will be in for a wild, crazy rollercoaster ride. And pretty likely for him to bust.

Carson Strong and Malik Willis looking good on the first day of Senior Bowl. I still think of Willis as a 1-2 year project. But a team that has the patience and coaching to develop him could really get a nice return. article

In light of the new information and other insightful comments, I'll amend my earlier conclusion. As Luciu5 says, a game manager QB isn't really worth a high pick. The opportunity cost is not worth it to pass on a super talented guy (DE, LT) who could be a game-changer. So it looks like 2013, 2014 and 2015 all have QB that are best skipped. The key is to only draft a FRANCHISE QB and they just don't come along every year.

You are right ! I just looked at 2013 and here's what I found: 1 16 Buffalo Bills EJ Manuel QB Florida State ACC 2 39 New York Jets Geno Smith QB West Virginia Big 12 3 73 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Glennon QB N.C. State ACC 4 98 Philadelphia Eagles Matt Barkley QB USC Pac-12 4 110 New York Giants Ryan Nassib QB Syracuse Big East ] 4 112 Oakland Raiders Tyler Wilson QB Arkansas SEC 4 115 Pittsburgh Steelers Landry Jones QB Oklahoma Big 12 7 221 San Diego Chargers Brad Sorensen QB Southern Utah Big Sky 7 234 Denver Broncos Zac Dysert QB Miami (OH) MAC 7 237 San Francisco 49ers B. J. Daniels QB South Florida Big East 7* 249 Atlanta Falcons Sean Renfree QB Duke ACC That's a pretty wretched list. Some years really don't have any talent.

One more takeaway from Icege's QB list: most every year had at least one or two good QB's. Even 2014, which seemed like the worst of the bunch, had Teddy Bridgewater. He may be limited in a lot of ways but Bridgewater can game manage OK. Maybe 2015 had none with Jameis Winston currently a FA. But almost every class has talent. It's all about finding the guy who's a good fit for your system and developing him correctly.

Great list. Thanks for posting. With a quick analysis, it looks like around 1/2 of 1st round QB's make it as decent starters (depending on how you want to define "decent"). And of these starters, many went 1.1 in the draft. After that, it's basically nobody. Derek Carr and Dak Prescott were starters from the later rounds but that's 2/65 if I counted correctly. And that ratio ignores the multitude of UDFA. I'd guess most of the UDFA QB's were just training camp arms. My takeaway is if you don't get a QB in the 1st, it's not going to happen. And actually it should be high in the first, like the top 10 picks or even top 5.

I still hope the Panthers take an LT with their #6 pick. But with Campen now on the staff, I have confidence the OL is going to be fixed in some way, shape or form next season. So this leads me to be somewhat OK if the coaching staff really likes one of the QB in the first round and takes him. The Panthers should have their choice of the entire class since I don't think any team before us needs a quarterback (except maybe the Giants ??).

Rhule: I deal with the damn coordinators so the players don't have to. I have people skills. I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that ? What the hell is wrong with you people ?

I think there's some big financial maneuvering behind the scenes with Brady. If he waits until the first week in Feb he gets a 15M bonus. Also the Bucs may want to wait until June to split the cap hit up into two years. Brady could also renegotiate his contract to the NFL minimum to give a parting gift for Tampa Bay. That way the cap hit would be much less. Brees did that for NO his retirement year. Brady would likely be able to keep his bonus $$ with a maneuver like that.

That's the thing which makes me really excited. Now the Panthers have a guy who I AM CONFIDENT will help the OL play up to their best ability. That means rookies learning their craft, existing Panther OL getting better and good FA being attracted to come here. Even getting a couple of mid-level interior FA linemen to come to Carolina would be huge ! And Campen is the best guy to evaluate who to sign or draft.

I don't know about Armstead but I am sure that Campen will be helpful in attracting free agent OL to play in Carolina.

This is great news for Brady Christensen and Deonte Brown. The team is finally going to see what these two can become. Also I wouldn't be surprised if the team got better play from Cameron Erving and Pat Elflein (though that's not saying much). Maybe these two can become competent backups or spot starters now ?

The Texans HC he was working under got canned. So who knows if the new guy would have kept him or not. I think the comfort level with OC McAdoo (who he worked with for many years at Green Bay) was a big part of Campen's move to Carolina.

Rhule might have been NFL naive when he took over the Panthers but I don't think he's completely stupid. If he has any self-awareness at all, Rhule must have known he needed more experienced guys to help him lead the team next season. I also wouldn't be surprised if his boss Tepper nudged him in that direction as well.