Icege

DONOVAN EZEIRUAKU TIME?

Horn does not highlight that at all nor is the reason provided is an accurate representation of the situation then (imo). Yes, there were a ton of holes on the roster but CB is considered to be one of the five premiere positions in football (along with QB, WR, OT, and EDGE). The claim that the position isn't valuable is provably false here. We can also see who was available that plays in one of those "pillar" positions: Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Devonta Smith, Rashawn Slater, Micah Parsons, and Patrick Surtain II. After sending draft picks to NYJ for Darnold it wouldn't have made much sense to then spend #8 on a QB (and seeing as how both of those panned out, that was the right move). Micah was an LB that could rush the passer and folks were questioning whether or not he'd be able to do that in the NFL (plus the Panthers had Burns under contract and had just spent a second-round pick on YGM the prior draft). Smith was an option but DJ Moore was WR1 at the time and Chosen had been brought in to be WR2. That left Horn, Surtain II, and Slater. I was high on Slater at the time, but understood the impact that a lockdown CB1 could bring. Regarding Jaycee's health: it's a fool's errand to gaslight ourselves into believing that he was going to get hurt no matter what and that Surtain II would've played just as well in Carolina (or remained healthy). That's so far removed from reality that the only people concerning themselves with it at this point just want find excuses to be upset. Sure, Stroud was a safer option based on measurables and had a great rookie season when surrounded by more talent but we also saw him struggle last season when he had just a sample of what Bryce experienced his rookie year. But Icky? Evan Neal was considered the can't miss prospect and was drafted right after Icky was. It's clear as day which one panned out. Giants fans would've been over the moon for Neal to have followed Young's career arc so far. Worth noting that Charles Cross was in talks as well. The emphasis on Cross though was always that he had great technique but didn't have Neal's measurables nor Icky's ruthlessness. It's perfectly fair to have questions about the selections, but it also isn't fair to continue to ask questions that have been answered just because we don't like said answers. Jaycee Horn is seen as a premiere CB by the team and opponents even though he missed significant time during his rookie deal. Ikem Ekwonu is a reliable LT that has shown clear development and that he belongs in the NFL despite being a run-blocking specialist that has had an unstable coaching environment. When Bryce came back from the benching, he was throwing those deep balls that haters said he was physically incapable of throwing and leading the offense on scoring drives that put the team in position to win if not for the defensive collapses. At some point, we have to ask ourselves if those worries/concerns that we as fans have are really the deal breakers that we're afraid they are. I appreciated Marty's ability to hit on guys in the first-round, but I will take a GM that can find quality talent in the other six rounds any day of the week. Is Dan the one to do that? Only way we're going to find out is by hurrying up and waiting for the season to get here so we can see how this draft class looks and previous ones develop. Speaking of hurrying up and waiting... maaaan... I am not looking forward to the upcoming dead spell from post-draft through training camp! Especially with the recent news about fans not being at camp... those beat writers had better give us our fix come August. *wall of text crits for 9999dmg*

Horn turned out good enough to reset the CB market for 15 minutes. Icky has continued to develop and improve to the point of where he's going to likely get himself a second deal to stay in Carolina. Bryce has looked more than capable now that he's not playing behind an interior offensive line that's down to it's 8th-string and 9-string guards. XL is entering his second year with one more year of experience, professional experience at that. We as fans seem to forget that rookies immediately lighting up the league are exceptions, not the norms. Growth and development is what we should be looking for. I'd take Charles Johnson over Aldon Smith any day of the week.

I'm having a hell of a time trying to make projections for Carolina due to the giant question mark that is Jacksonville. Looking over their roster, they're a prime candidate to trade back. Most of the top prospects are going to be at positions they've already made investments in and are getting returns on: RB (Jeanty) - Travis Etienne (2021 1st), Tank Bigsby (2023 3rd) OT (Membou) - Walker Little (2021 2nd), Anton Harrison (2023 1st) TE (Warren) - Brenton Strange (2023 2nd) DT (Graham) - Davon Hamilton (2020 3rd), Maason Smith (2024 2nd), Jordan Jefferson (2024 4th), Arik Armstead LB (Walker) - Foyesade Oluokun, Devin Lloyd (2022 1st), Chad Muma (2022 3rd), Ventrell Miller (2023 4th) EDGE (Walker) - Travon Walker (2022 1st), Josh Hines-Allen (2019 1st) Looking at the investments already made, if the Jags were too go with one of those positions I could see them leaning towards a rotational edge rusher or an upgrade at tight end for TLaw. Their most pressing need (imo) is at CB. I could also see them looking to go WR as well, but all scenarios point to the optimal outcome for the Jags to be move back, acquire more draft capital, and take the best prospect rather than the most needed position. This spirals a bit when I start to try and figure out what Carolina will do. If Warren or Graham falls to them they will have to determine whether or not they're better off passing on them and getting extra depth from this class. Trying to read the tea leaves, I think that they've made peace with that and are willing to move back and look to take either the best SLB or WLB available (Mykel Williams or Donovan Ezeiruaku, imo).

oops, wrong thread EDIT: eh, it was related to this topic as well

I skipped around it a little bit before posting and just got a chance to start going through it. I found this page to be incredibly informative (pg.20) Based on the visits we get to see not only positions of interest but also the ranges that they might be interested in trading to.

Don't you dare give me hope

There's a lot of great info in this for the Huddler that isn't intimidated by reading. Take just the stuff on defensive philosophy + scheme for example. Right away, we see where the loss and return of Derrick Brown will play a big influence. It also gives us insight into why the team targeted Moehrig as aggressively as they did despite his coverage grade since he's going to be likely down in the box often. I also had a suspicion when trying to do some armchair scouting that the defense paid less attention to the power-side and more to the field vs. boundary. Going to be interesting going back and rewatching film with that in mind. I'm wondering if this was due to the rebooted CB room and making it easier on them. Might do things slightly different this season if they're more confident in the personnel?

DT Derrick Harmon has a top-20 grade. DE Jordan Busch has a top-50 grade. LB Jeffrey Baasa has a top-100 grade. DT Jamaree Caldwell has a top-125 grade. CB Jabbar Muhammad is projected to be a UDFA target. Saying they were exposed as a fraud in the playoffs is like saying that Cam got exposed in SB50. It just doesn't make any sense... but that also does not seem to be the intention of the thread so I guess I can understand the buffoonery. Facts are that Jeanty didn't just run up on a decent defense at the end of the season. He put up nearly 200yds on a good one at the beginning of the season.

Maybe for casual fans that only watched him during the CFP. Folks that paid attention though saw what he did vs. Oregon early in the season and knew it was gonna be a wild run.

As much as I want Tyler Warren to be a Panther I just don't seem him making it passed the Jets. That'd give Fields... RBs: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen WRs: Garrett Wilson, Malachi Corley, possibly a draft pick TEs: Tyler Warren, Jeremy Ruckert

Great work gents o7

Direct link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F7XpNzc9eTOZ_P247ZZcQsoMZC7Zzauc/view This is incredibly well put together. Some examples:

According to the Google spreadsheet, the team has met with: Nick Emmanwori (local visit) Malaki Starks (Combine) Billy Bowman Jr (Senior Bowl) Andreas Keaton (top-30) Jonas Sanker (pro day) They must be a lot higher on Demani than fans/media are aware, or could also be very select in who they're targeting.

Jalon is going to be a victim of his environment, unfortunately. Fortunately, we have a couple of blueprints (Haason Reddick + Frankie Luvu) for different development paths that might work out for him.

I was high on Mykel Williams to start the season, then very low on him during the scouting process. Now, I'm comfortable with the pick. Him and Shemar Stewart are the two best strong-side front-seven guys in this draft and Mykel has tape from earlier in his college career to show the production that you expect from his measurables. If the decision makers feel that getting a guy for life after Clowney would be best to keep the run defense strong after this season, I can understand that. Though I could also understand them looking for a pass rusher on the weak-side that can attract double teams and open up things for the LBs + Moehrig on blitzes the way Burns was used.

Daaamn. I didn't realize both squads had so little draft capital. Got me curious as to who might be trade up candidates based on capital. 11 picks - BAL 10 picks - BUF, CLE, DAL, JAX, LAC, MIA, SEA 9 picks - CAR, LV, NE, NO 8 picks - ARI, GB, KC, LAR, NYG, NYJ, PHI, SF, TEN 7 picks - CHI, CIN, DEN, DET, HOU, IND, PIT, WAS 5 picks - ATL 4 picks - MIN Can't help but wonder if NO is considering a deal with JAX to jump up and take Shedeur since they've got the picks...

Looking over the roster and the team has positioned themselves fairly well for this upcoming draft when it comes to addressing the edge group. Clowney and Wonnum are the definite starters with Pat Jones II having split time evenly both on the strong- and the weak-side last year in Minnesota. DJ Johnson is a strong-side guy, Amare Barno weak-side. Further down the roster, Boogie Basham is a strong-side defender as is Kenny Dyson (primarily a ST-contributor tho). Thomas Incoom splits time on both sides of the line. The team seems to be approaching the strong-side with a platoon approach with the weak-side needing the biggest injection of talent. However, they might also be looking to have an answer for life after Clowney as part of the offseason's theme of killing the run on defense. I can better understand the allure of Mykel Williams and Shemar Stewart when trying to look at it through that lens. Manifesting a trade back for Donovan Ezeiruaku... (シ_ _)シ

Fwiw we do have an example to pull from re: trade value In the 2016 draft, Tennessee sent #15, #76, and a 2017 second-round pick to Cleveland for #8 and #176.

Any particular reason Noel over Higgins? I haven't looked at any WRs this year but have heard nothing but good things about the Iowa State duo.

Feels like the draft doesn't start until #5 and then it's madness. 1. TEN - QB Ward 2. CLE - CB/WR Hunter 3. NYG - EDGE Carter 4. NE - OT Campbell 5. JAX - OT Membou/DT Graham/TE Warren/Trade 6. LV - RB Jeanty/DT Graham/LB Walker/Trade 7. NYJ - TE Warren/DT Graham/LB Walker/OT Membou/Trade Good chance of Warren, Graham, and Walker all being available when the Panthers get to the podium. Not a bad problem to have... especially if any of those guys have a team that's head over heels for them and willing to overpay to move up. Apparently, the Jags are toying with the idea of trading Etienne and taking Jeanty at #5. If they're trying to get Chicago to hop up to #5 so that they can take Warren at #10 and grab additional picks then that ain't too shabby.

I was riding with the Mike Evans comp as well up until the combine and T-Mac came in with arms nearly 4" shorter than Evans' Play style I can see the comp still tho, esp given how both were forced into going for a ton of contested balls in college.

Mans really came in like

That's the pre-snap disguise and as already stated the strong safety is going to be one of the underneath or a deep 1/4 guys. That is a reduction in coverage responsibility. Moehrig is more than capable of getting down into the box from a two-high look as well. I don't think he'd be in the NFL if that were the case, let alone be considered a top-10 run stopper.