MHS831

TE might be a luxury pick that we cannot afford this year--that is why I dropped them on the priority list. If they re-sign Franks and possibly Matthews, we could go with that.

I struggled with that one, and you are probably right. I personally was hoping we cut Robinson, and that is still a possibility. However, with Wharton's weak performance last year vs the run, I put Robinson (not much better) as the starter).

BC is a natural OT from the waist down. His arms are fairly short, which gets you moved inside in the NFL. However, he is not bad outside. I had been mocking a RT to us. With BC, I am not sure we need to do so any longer. Mays can play T as well, so I think we might be set. If a RT is sitting there and is a great value, take him, but if not, don't go looking. We should be fine. We have depth at C (Corbett, Mays), depth at G (Lewis, Hunt, Zavala) and Depth at T (Ekwonu, Moton, BC). I think we can say goodbye to Nijman and do not need a RT in the draft unless it is simply a steal.

WR is a real problem

This is rough. I do these for myself-helps me keep up with all the chaos and see the blueprint at times. It never hurts to share this with you, but the roster is very fluid--when I do this, it changes the next day. I see 12 areas that must still be addressed. If you consider that only 3-4 draft picks make a difference, we still have work to do. Of course, we have some depth players that could be in the plans and I am not aware--such as CBs Evans and Bartholomew, LBs Windmon, Rattigan, etc. Hope this helps to see it all--I am sure there will be disagreements. However, depending on what we do in free agency over the next few days, it seems the draft will address FS, WR, Edge early on. Yellow areas must be addressed. This thing will not be valid by Thursday, so enjoy it now. Offense RED: IR or PUP; PURPLE: PRACTICE SQUAD (0) Offensive Line: The Panthers are set, but they may still add a RT for depth and an eventual replacement for Moton. The key depth players (Mays, Zavala, and Christensen) have starting experience. Nijman will probably be cut, and Kingston could go back to the PS, Mays and Christensen can play every position on the OL. (2) Wide Receiver: Considering Moore and Devin Thompkins are free agents, the Panthers are currently with 3 Wide receivers. 2 more are needed, probably 3. Expect the Panthers to watch the waiver wire, sign an UDFA if possible, and draft one. (1) Running Back: After Chuba, nothing. I think we will draft a RB on day 3, perhaps finding a UDFA or two for the PS. How the Panthers approach RB will tell us about Brooks. (0) Quarterback: The roster is set at QB, but the PS may not be. Is Plummer the #3? (1) Tight End: Similar to Wide Receiver, the Panthers have some horses in the barn, but no thoroughbred. The fact that the Panthers have not signed a TE in free agency might indicate they are drafting one or going to go with what they have. Assuming they can’t address all needs, can the Panthers go with Sanders, Tremble, Franks (special teamer)? That depends on the offense and their opinion of Sanders. Analysis: The Panthers must address WR and hit on two players who can contribute immediately. Legette and Coker need to improve; AT needs to stay healthy. I think they will sign a free agent WR before the draft. Of course, the TE room could use a name brand TE to go with Tremble and Sanders. TE can be a strength. RB? Don’t get desperate, but look for quality on day 3 of the draft. Frankly, I am sure that some very good RBs will not be drafted and would sign with Carolina knowing that they would have a shot at playing time as a rookie. Offensive Needs: WR, TE, WR, RB, and possibly RT Defense Edge: Jack OLB Linebacker Defensive End Defensive Tackle Defensive End Edge: Sam OLB Linebacker Jadav Clowney Derrick Brown Bobby Brown A’Shwn Robinson DJ Wonnum Shy Tuttle T’Shwn. Wharton Pat Jones Amare Barno Jaden Crumedy DJ Johnson Cornerback Will LB Mike LB Nickel CB Cornerback JC Horn Trevin Wallace Josey Jewell Chau Smith-Wade Mike Jackson ChanderWooten JacbyWindmon Akayleb Evans ClaudinCherilus John Rattigan S. Bartholomew Free Safety Strong Safety Tre Moehrig D. Richardson (0) Defensive Tackle: Bobby Brown and Shy Tuttle with Crumedy on the PS. I think the Panthers are set. (1) Defensive End: Derrick Brown, A. Robinson and T’Shawn Wharton. Robinson had 5 sacks in 2024 and Wharton had 6.5. Robinson is better vs. Run. The draft is deep at DT. It is possible that the Panthers draft one later that is strong vs, the run. (0) Sam Outside Linebacker: Over TE and holds the edge. DJ Wonnum, Pat Jones. DJ Johnson and Barno could be cut. (1) Jack Outside Linebacker: Nine technique who gets to the QB. Jadaveon Clowney needs an edge to limit his plays and mentor. This is interesting if Walker is the pick–not sure what it means. It should be noted that Pat Jones had more sacks as a reserve in Minnesota. (1) Will Inside Linebacker: Trevin Wallace should be the backup. The Panthers need a starter. Wooten will likely be cut. (1) Mike Inside Linebacker: Jewell is getting up there in age and could use an understudy. Rattigan and Windmon showed some promise, I see an addition to this position in the draft. (1) Cornerback: Horn and Jackson are solid, Smith-Wade could be the nickel, but it is not his job at this point. There is no depth unless the Panthers like Evans and Bartholomew, a pair of CBs who played down the stretch and were decent. I think they will add one at some point. (0) Strong Safety: Moehrig will be an upgrade at SS and he can play deep zone S. Richardson is adequate depth. (2) Free Safety: The Panthers will draft one and sign one in free agency later this week, imo. There are some solid Safeties in the draft, but most are SS. Analysis: Morgan and company are focused on the defense, so they paid a lot of money to players who are good tacklers and strong against the run. It is interesting that Morgan did not address LB in free agency, and we cannot expect Jewell and Wallace to hold it down in the absence of Shaq. The Panthers need an edge rusher, despite having Clowney, Wonnum, and Jones. This could suggest that they like Javon Walker, planning to use him as the Will LB and an occasional edge rusher. However, the Panthers have nothing at S. This is a difficult analysis because, as it stands right now, they are going to need to prioritize some areas and leave others in need of upgrading. Defensive Needs: Free Safety, Edge (depth), Will Linebacker, Cornerback (depth), Defensive End (depth), Sam Linebacker (depth), Free Safety (depth) Prioritized Needs Wide Receiver Free Safety Edge (depth, future starter) WIll Inside Linebacker Running Back (depth) Mike Inside Linebacker (depth, future starter) Tight End Defensive End (depth) WIde Receiver (depth) Cornerback (depth) Offensive Right Tackle (depth) Free Safety (depth)

The guy we have on the roster is no slouch, but if we keep 9 draft picks, I could see a late draft pick on a Kicker. i never understood why the K is so undervalued. Arguably he wins or loses a lot of games. In fact, (Googled it) nearly 12% of all drives end in a field goal attempt. That is 1 in 8 drives. And since most games are determined by 1 score or less, it makes no sense that kickers are usually undrafted free agents.

I mean, when they drafted Danielle Hunter out of LSU, he had 4 career sacks. In the NFL, he is averaging 11 sacks a year for nearly a decade. How???

It is. Shhh.

He had that fake punt pass option.

You are assuming I was bothered--no, just exhaled with gusto because it was not something I wanted to debate. However, you did offer information that contradicted my statement, which could be taken as a "call out," making your "question" seem rhetorical. So I shared my information because I deal in facts and things I know and felt that I needed to be more specific. No biggie. In fact, The punter police comment was a joke.

This is not the point, but here: When I say, "worse stats" and you decide to fact check based on your rankings, maybe there is disconnect. you could have asked what I was referring to. The last thing anyone on here would want to happen to them is they get labeled "Punter Stat Police," am I right?

Basically, they swapped Nijman for BC and saved nearly a million.

Interesting. I might have tried to get 2 years for security if Moton leaves after this season. He might be thinking, however, if he wins the RT job, he does not want to play a year at $3m. Pure speculation.

Especially when the draft is loaded at the position.

I would make him a swing tackle first, reserve guard second. We have Zavala, who played well. The OL is set. Corbett, Mays, Lewis, Hunt, Ekwonu, Moton, Zavala, Christensen, Nijman I doubt we keep more than nine on the roster, so these hybrids are valuable. I expect the Panthers to draft a RT to play behind Moton and to take the RT job in a year. HOWEVER, BC can play RT and at age 29, he could compete for RT. I wonder if this depth behind Moton prevents the Panthers from drafting a RT this year? I hope we did not overpay--no more than $3-4m.

Is this what took all day? Meanwhile FS Justin Reid just signed with the Saints.

the way I see it, we just increased the $ for a punter and got a guy the same age with worse stats. Explain this so my wife can yell what you type up to me on the roof, where I will be contemplating things.

I think, if we draft Walker, we will also draft another ILB. Good draft for LBs.

A LB ignoring the LB position is almost a "tell" for the draft. Makes me think that Walker is the pick, and that could be why we did not splash at edge.

How are the 49ers not at the bottom???

Last season: I did not like drafting XL, Brooks, but we did not have a first rounder, so I give him a good grade for Wallace (who was below average as a starter, imo). I liked the TE Sanders--good value in the fourth. Smith-Wade seems to be a good pick for a late CB. In free agency, he overpaid two guards, imo, but it worked. To me, overpaying suggests that you have a complex and need money to convince a player to come to Carolina. You want players to come here because we win, not because we overpay. Motivation is important. I think Morgan and company did not have a good year. I give them a D+. This year, in free agency, I hate the contract they gave Horn. He has not earned it--full stop. I would have traded him for a third rounder before paying that. He is not Darrell Revis. He is not Deion Sanders I get that he is trying to develop a core and not ship it when key first rounders hit their primes--Burns, CMC, and Horn, for example. So this year, we started off with the same insecurity we had in 2024. After locking up Tremble, Mays (sorta), and Corbett (all good moves that may not have had too many other options), he jumped back into free agency and went after Milton Williams, willing to pay him $100m, giving the Panthers four $100m players (Hunt, Brown, Horn, and now Milton). It is best to give huge contracts in house and not to free agents--yet 2 or our 4 would have been free agents chasing a huge payday. Fortunately, the Patriots bailed out Morgan. He then does well, his best signing of the day, grabbing Bobby Brown and Tershawn Wharton--a run stuffing NT and a pass-rushing DE (which is what Milton is) for less money than Milton was paid to sign with New England. Moehrig (SS) will become a huge fan favorite on the defense and he was paid well. Pat Jones (Edge) is basically Wonnum II right now, but with reason to think his upside is higher. Not a bad signing at $10m per. In relation to the draft, Morgan is a former player and a lot of them have a lower expectation from rookies than you or I do. I think he addressed the issues at IDL, with room for another addition in the draft. I am not confident that he addressed areas of need that are not deep in the draft, like WR. We still need a FS, and the FS position is not that deep. He did not address LB, which might suggest they target Walker. He did not address WR, which might suggest that he feels XL will improve. I am not satisfied that Edge has been addressed completely. So is he setting himself up to find quality players in need areas that are deep in the draft? We drafted 2 IDL and an Edge. They are plentiful in the draft. Did he overpay for CB when that $25m could have been used to find 2 CBs with better track records? To answer the question, I like Morgan's aggression. I like the fact that he determined the biggest need -- run defense--and he brought it a bunch of players who are really strong in run support. Moehrig, Jones, and Brown are run stuffers. Horn and Jackson are solid vs, the run. Until we get a solid free safety and pass rushing edge, I will worry about the pass defense. So far, I am going to give Morgan a C+. A C, but a + for signing all younger free agents. If we add a free safety and/or a stud WR I will raise his grade. If I were reading tea leaves, I would say that we are not counting on Graham being there, so we are going to target a WR or Jalon Walker. If we do nothing at WR before the draft, he could be in position where he feels that he has to draft a WR in the first round. It seems, however, that most obvious "tell" is that he has not signed an ILB or an edge who can get to the passer. All signs point to Jalen Walker. If he takes Walker, I see his strategy. It makes sense, in a weird way.

https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/44207500

I think he had a roster bonus coming up. Someone posted yesterday that he was asked to take a cut to stay. I am guessing a Shy Tuttle offer, and he must have refused.

I am hoping the Panthers sign this free safety: Julian Blackmon (Colts)

Brissett is the quintessential backup QB to me--gets the job done. Heinicke is my second choice. Mac Jones? If you want someone to compete more than mentor.