MHS831

Some have said that they do not like this draft after the first rounder--I personally do--just wonder where the OT and edge are. Based on Morgan's comments, I am not seeing WR that early, but I like Bech.

You all make some great points. I love the OT Trapilo pick but it is a round too soon. Tells me someone is doing their homework. He is a solid pass blocking RT and we need pass blockers to keep Bryce nice. About S--I want an early S too, but Richardson was not bad when he played. Most players improve the most between years 1 and 2. There are some decent safeties in this draft later, so maybe I have been looking at the Corvettes in the showroom when I should have been kicking tires in the used SUV lot. Regardless, with Moton's knee concerns, age, contract, etc. I really would like to see us draft a legit starting-caliber, second tier OT now. I watched Trapoli at the Sr Bowl and he has really strong pass pro form. 33" arms (OK) and he is 6'8". There are others I like as well: Cam Williams, Texas Donovan Jackson, Ohio St. Charles Grant, W&M Anthony Belton, NC State Emory Jones, LSU Our coaching staff just showed us how they can develop young players. Wait until the third or fourth and get one of these guys. Take a year to prepare them. Sign BC to another 1-year contract for insurance. If our OL coaches are an asset and they have a year to work with one of these OTs above, let them do their jobs. In that second round pick slot, maybe we can get that Safety--might have to move up a bit--I would not be surprised to see a draft day trade of Zavala. If other teams were scouting us properly, they should have seen a potential starter buried on the depth chart.

People forget that a lot of the first round OTs struggled as rookies--Sewell is a top 5 OT and he struggled, for example. It takes time.

and sometimes rightly so--but there are two sides to the Moton coin and I see both. I agree with you and Linville that OT is a bigger need than we are letting on--(I realize this is off topic) however, I also wonder if they think BC and Nijman (who I think will be cut) can hold down the fort. I would rather have a third round OT developed for a year than a first rounder rookie OT starting at RT. I hate to see us committing to addressing a need in the 2026 draft with the first round pick. As for your selection of GIFs, not sure you make a strong case.

I used to coach OL back in the days of leather helmets, but I can tell you that I was so impressed by the development of Ekwonu, Mays, and Zavala. Not a coincidence.

Some Huddlers call him average at best, but his trajectory has been going up. Recognize the job this OL coaching crew did this year--they were not kissing footballs--they were improving young players--Zavala is probably a starting RG on another roster; Mays outplayed Corbett; and Ekwonu is in the top half of the league as a LT.

I will say this: The Steelers used to be notorious for letting players go in what seemed to be their primes and that player would often begin their downward trajectory. Barry Foster, for example, came to the Panthers from Pittsburgh and was a dud. Kevin Greene shows the other side. If Moton's knees are not as bad as thought, he could play another 4 seasons. If deteriorating knees leads to deteriorating performance, then we held the hot potato too long. This is true with every player, and I have read articles about players on third contracts compared to first and second contracts and most NFL players seem to be overpaid--but OL tend to earn their money and hold up the best, based on my memory. I do not care about how a player retires or how a player might feel if traded--that is part of the business and they are compensated very well. I do, however, worry about the locker room; if players see vets getting sent to the slaughter house, it may impact their psyche. So it is a delicate situation. Moton is one of the high character, dependable, quality players on the roster. We have not worried about RT for nearly a decade (Flashback: Super Bowl 50). We have him under contract for another season and his knees are questionable, based on rumor. If you trade him based on his knees, you will not get value for him--the trade could get vetoed. With his age, health, and contract situation, you are not getting more than a fourth rounder for him--not enough to replace his productivity. There is a time when you try to squeeze a few more brushings out of the tooth paste tube and there is a time to throw it away. Is there toothpaste left in the tube? Yep. Is it possible that the time to throw the tube away happens during the season? Yep. I understand the logic behind the OP's point and it is nothing that should solicit personal criticisms and rude reactions that are offensive. Learn how to disagree. However, if you see the problems other teams have at OT for years, etc. those of you wanting Moton to stay are also endorsing the idea of having a rookie OT on the right side in 2026, when this team should be competitive. The coin has 2 sides. I think you draft that RT this season (day 2) and you leave Moton there--but I get it if Morgan trades Moton for more picks to help us meet our needs. We need an edge, a S, and an OT right now--with Moton on the roster--in my view. That player would develop and serve as depth (knees). You don't draft for 2025 needs only. These are 4-year contracts.

This reminded me of a Bear player in the 80s Dan Hampton who had 5 surgeries on EACH knee. He claimed that science and medicine would be so advanced by the time he got old, he was not worried about knee problems when he got old. He is 67 now. I could not find anything that suggested his knee issues were still a problem (probably both were replaced), but I did learn that he (around 2002) received his third DUI conviction in six years. (Self medicating?) Ironically, Hampton is part of a Miller Lite and Gridiron Greats promotion to raise funds for retired NFL players in need. Why Miller beer company would allow someone with knee issues and multiple DUIs to be part of something they sponsor is interesting.

Thanks Ice and Juan. I appreciate people who produce and bring content to the table. Without further ado, my reactions, and I will try to be "laconic" (word of the day): 8- Edge/LB Jalon Walker: A great football player. He must be used properly. Does not eliminate the need for an edge--and we do not draft an edge here. 57- DT T.J. Sanders: I really liked him at SC--a beast. A DE. I am not sure how we will rotate in at NT--and I see NT as our biggest DL need IF we play Wharton at DE. 74- WR Jack Bech: Love this guy. a Dawg. Eric Decker II. 111- S Billy Bowman Jr. Good value here, but I was hoping for a S earlier. I want one of the top 2 because if both S have position versatility, and we have Walker and DL with position versatility, we'd be hard to play. 114- CB Dorian Strong: Fine. A depth piece behind Horn and Jackson (he he). However, I think CB is a bigger need than people are projecting. 140- LB Demetrius Knight Jr.: Another Gamecock--love him. Morgan will love him. A dawg. A steal here. 146- G Caleb Rogers: Don't we have enough guards? Moton is in his final year and we don't draft a T? 163- RB Jarquez Hunter: Not sure I have ever heard of him--probably suing his parents for naming him Jarquez--but the name does mean "Strong and valiant" if spelled correctly. Do his friends call him Jar Jar? I would. 230- S Maxen Hook The great grand son of Peter Pan's nemesis. He has both hands--for now, but that is because Toledo did not play the Florida Gators.

Moose Muhammed had suspect hands early in his career and seemed to improve--but my experience is this--some QBs throw a ball that some WRs struggle to catch vs. others. A tighter spin, more velocity, timing in route--I can't put my finger on it specifically, but in college we had 5 or so qbs and one or two were harder to catch than the others. In fact, I climbed the depth chart because I could catch the starter (threw it hard) better than others-but the second team QB gave me fits. Maybe that has something to do with it?

he was a good one in his prime

Most are depth--

Strong side or weak? Just kidding.

I do this so I can see it--but it is possible that we address every position group on the defense in this draft--: OLB Edge: Clowney, Wonnum, Jones, DRAFT PICK. ILBs: Jewell, Rozeboom, Wallace DRAFT PICK DE: Derrick Brown, Robinson, Wharton, DRAFT PICK DT: Brown III, Crumedy, Tuttle DAY DRAFT PICK CB: Horn, Jackson (he he), Smith-Wade (nickel) DRAFT PICK S: Moehrig, Richardson, Scott, DRAFT PICK

It would work. the question is, do we need an edge if we draft Walker?

People need to realize that saying "3-4 LB" is not very informative--that is 36.3% of the defense.

It made me sick. I told TA (I was the only coach who played football in college) that they were not doing him favors. In college, they will make you....then he goes to play for Amato, who was just as bad. He was done before he knew it, before he was 20. He could have been a beast.

Very true--I saw it in high school. I coached TA McLendon. I liked him, but he learned that he could miss practice, did not have to work hard in the classroom, and there were people who could get him out of trouble (I talked to an attorney who told me some stories). The town went crazy over the team (state champs). When TA took the SATs, he drove to South Carolina to a testing facility 100 miles away when they were offering the SAT at the high school he attended. (Reason? Believed that the head coach had "a guy" who could help--his scores were very good.) I might be the only teacher/coach who ever disciplined him (A teacher asked him to be quiet during an assembly and he told her "I talk if I want to. I am famous.") I took him to the office and told him that his attitude sucks, and they are not preparing him for success. etc. I was at a track meet that spring, and I talked to TA--he was being recruited, and he was appreciative of the time I took him to the office. I talked to a scout from Tennessee who was there, asking him if he was there to talk to TA. He said, "TA needs a babysitter. We don't do that at Tennessee." Amato, however, signed TA and the HS coach's son to babysit TA at State. I saw that attorney again, and he told me that he (while TA was at State) had to get him off a DUI charge. I told him that the town ruined TA--he agreed. When TA was a JR at NC State, he never went to a class--he told me that. He thought that he would be drafted. He was not. Atlanta signed him as an UDFA. Gave him $10,000 to sign. TA took his buddies to ATL and they partied during OTAs. I ran into a guy I knew who was with an Atlanta assistant coach in Charlotte. The Assistant coach for the Falcons said that TA would come to film sessions/meetings hung over, late, and he would sleep during the meeting--as an UDFA. The scout said that TA was allowed to do the same thing at State. I saw TA about 5 years late and he was about 280 and supposedly has several kids from different mothers. He was very nice. Told me, "you were the only one who gave a poo about me. I did not like you." TA was a good kid who was ruined by the people who somehow benefited from his play--so they tolerated him and created a double standard that became his norm. Again, I do not blame TA. He was naturally a stud and was always better than others. I watched him play basketball in middle school--he was beast. They were babying him then too (I knew his coach). These small town enablers ruined him, in my view. To your point.

I am thinking he would be the Panther's version of Micah Parsons and we would still draft an edge.

Based on his comments and the list of visits, I am thinking they feel that they are going to find a WR later in the draft--and that is probably smart. Wildcard--he has not ruled out TE, but I think he is going with Tremble and Sanders and some UDFA or something like that.

this could mean we are not announcing our pick to the pick before the draft this year, trying to keep it close to the vest, or it could mean they just don't know yet. Based on what you have shared, I see no TE, no Large, unproductive OLB/Edge like Williams or Stewart (could that be a smoke screen? I doubt it--why would you trick folks into not believing you were going to draft an unproductive college player? Jalon Walker is the pick, but if he is gone, they would like to move back and take Emmanwori or Starks (S) or Johnson or Barron (CBs). I also think bad boys Green (Edge) or Nolen (DE) could be on the menu--but they are a longer shot. That is about all I see on the defensive side of the ball...

I might speculate--Walker at 8, but we prefer a trade back where the two top safeties will be sitting there like plump, juicy melons ready for the picking to take to the picnic. I have been working on my extended metaphors

before he said this, he said, "I agree with what Dave said...." I hope he was referring to Canales and not Tepper.

As always, thanks for all you do to make the huddle productive. Now I feel bad for throwing a zinger at you on my Rumors Draft thread. Ok, I am over it.