MHS831

JETS supposedly intrigued by Dart. That is a bit ironic.

That made them release a statement that said they were not moving on from him---

I am in the "overthinking it" stage, but I will share where i am mentally right now, excluding my therapist's most recent diagnosis: Jalon Walker makes me nervous because if his versatility is his most redeeming quality, that versatility may not be as effective in the NFL. I am not sure Evero would use him correctly, but that is not fair to Evero. James Pearce Jr. scares me. He just does not knock me over like Carter and I am not sure he is NFL ready right now. Don't ask me to explain it, but I watched for him in games and did not come away overly impressed. Not sure his is top 10 either. However, I would love to have him on the team, just worried that he might be a great college player but would be figured out in the NFL. I also think we should start drafting first rounders who did not grow up within a 50 mile radius of Charlotte. (this includes Walker). Thank God we are not in need of a starting QB.... Travis Hunter is a great story, but how much of his rankings and celebrity is based on his dual role contribution? While it has been tried at times in the NFL, never really worked. I think he is a good athlete, no doubt, and a good CB--but not worth a top 5 pick when there is a better CB and a better WR in this draft. Having said that, I think Will Johnson would be a great pick if we don't sign Mike Jack back. He is probably a better CB than Travis Hunter. What bothers me? Having 2 injury-prone CBs. I think we should sign Mike Jack,draft DL and edge and pressure the QB--that makes all CBs better. Tyler Warren is a great TE and offensive weapon in many ways, but TE is not a top 5 need on this team. Maybe after free agency I would be interested, but he is no Brock Bowers (picked 12th); very, very few TEs are taken in the top 10. Many don't transition to the NFL that well, and TE is a position that can usually be found later in the draft. Too many needs (right now) to be chasing a TE. T-McMillan might be the best WR in the draft, but he would probably be drafted at the end of the 2024 draft, fourth or fifth overall. I think we need to after 3 studs at DL and edge. We have to be careful because we drafted XL knowing he was raw, and he was not that bad if you compare his stats to rookie WRs. Let Coker and XL grow, and draft a WR later. I would not be mad if we drafted Walker or Johnson--but Jeremy Chinn's usage and Horn's injuries have me hesitant. Having broken this down, I would love Graham, take Walker, Warren, or Johnson, and I just realized that taking an OT might be smarter than I thought. My take would be, Graham or trade back. If I took OT, I would trade Moton to save cap room and to get younger and a player at a need position. It could be a Win-win-win.

In his career, he has missed 2 full seasons with groin injuries.

Moton, even at 31, is still the team's best Offensive lineman. Technically, and OL at 31 is actually in his late prime whereas a RB is headed for Shady Acres. However, maybe the are having difficulties extending him--maybe he wants too much and too much guaranteed money--I dunno. But the Panthers are building for the future, more or less, and Moton is not a liabilty on the field, but he is on the spreadsheet. I think the OL is essential, but you do not keep Moton and draft a T at 8. Currently, there are about 8 teams desperate for OT help--and Leeroy's point about KC demonstrates the cost of not having an elite OL. These days, RT is about as important as LT, since most of the dominant edge rushers are playing Defensive left end--Crosby, Watt, Bosa--etc. If I draft a T, I immediately call some of these teams who need OT (Ravens, Texans, Dolphins, Chiefs, Rams, etc) and did not find one in the draft and shop Moton. I save about $17m and add a draft pick or even a player. I have 2 tackles and only 1 would be nearing a second contract. That would make the Bryce deal easier and give the team a fairly youthful OL, with OTs and the C in their mid 20s or lower. You might end up getting and saving more from drafting an OT and dealing Moton than if you traded back with a team that needs an OT. I have not done the maff.

Good points--and if he can play both, great. I am liking a few edges who are at 280 and can move inside to a 5T for the same reason...but you need to make sure the scheme does not take a player away from his primary skill set--your point. I think walker is an Edge right now.

I get the BPA approach, and I know it works for teams that are successful. however, we are coming off a half decade of having 15-20% of our cap in the dead cap trash bin and we have 8 or more needs for starters. I think KC or Baltimore can live by the BPA creed, but I am not sure we can yet--unless we overspend in free agency...Morgan has a full plate.

Ravens, Chiefs, Dolphins, Texans, Bears, Rams--all desperate for a T to protect their franchise QBs--and the free agent market sucks. We could get a nice haul.

Yeah, this kinda makes it fun though.

I saw him too!!! Here is the photo I got at the Hornets game!!! I found a pink backdrop too. He looks smaller without the pads on.

I trust your insights 100% and will not doubt a word on this topic--ever.

Personally, and those using stats are on point to do so, I think it is fairly misleading to judge a DL/OLB based on sacks. How well does he hold the edge? How many times does he pressure the QB? Can he cover if he needs to? You can have 4 sacks in one game because some third string emergency hybrid OL from the practice squad was pulled up for a week. If you get one sack every other game after that, you have 12 sacks and you are negotiating your contract based on that number. Derrick Thomas of the Chiefs faced Seattle and he had 7 sacks in one game. FYI, the average number of sacks for an NFL edge is 10--I found that to be a bit high, but the internet does not lie.

It would. That is why what looks decent on paper is not necessarily the best move. The most successful CEOs know that the culture is more important than the bottom line. In my doctorate of Organizational Leadership classes, I used to teach a text that said--"if you make decisions based on side effects, you are not addressing the core that leads to those side effects. No company or business or school was ever successful without a shared vision and a supportive culture."

yeah, most of us are so tied to DL (DE, DT/NT, Edge) or WR for this pick, we sorta have blinders on. As I said 2 posts earlier, they might add a future draft pick, knock $17m off their cap number (because the option is to extend a RT with a possible knee issue), and get younger. He could play swing T for a season to learn both sides, moving to RT (or having Ekwonu move to RT) and Moton's deal is voidable in 2026. However, it is my opinion that we do not need a T right now, and later in this draft we should draft a swing T. However, other teams need a LT and they will be willing to trade up. I think the presence of an elite college OT when we pick could get us a nice trade back package offer.

While I would not like the idea of this, I might put my emotions aside to analyze the logic and strategy behind it. Understand that Moton (followed by Hubbard and Coker) might be my favorite Panther, so I am struggling here: Moton is starting to have a few knee pains--could be nothing, but knee pain is not ideal for a 320 lb OT who is 32 on his next birthday. He has value now, so we could trade him for a third rounder in 2026, for example, and dump a lot of his cap hit (up to $17.5m). That money could be used to pay for a stud DT, and we know that our T position is still solid. Not sure if he can play RT, but I will assume he can be taught. So we would get younger and add a stud free agent or two and get a day 2 pick. I don't like it--I think we have enough to fix without fixing that which is running fine--but there could be an argument made for a strategy/logic behind it.

Cant trade our way to being competitive--gotta fill spots and draft the best. I'd love to have him, but we lose to much and pay too much. I think we need to use free agency wisely. We need to sign free agents and draft people. If we give up draft capital to take in huge salary, what are we doing?

Mays stepping up was huge. Expect him to improve. He seemed to be accepted by the OL, especially Hunt. that is a good sign. He had a 75 PFF pass blocking grade and a 67 run blocking grade. That is starting material for a developing center.

Milton was not good vs the run, per PFF.

If he was 5'11" from Beaufort NC he would have been a third or fourth rounder. Seriously, I could see where a 5'11", 300 lb DT could be a real problem for some OL consistent. Should be in the $16m range.

I like the DT from Dallas. I think Morgan will splash with a few big signings day 1 like he did with Hunt and Lewis last year. I agree. Stay away from the big $$$ if possible

Had not thunk of that. That is a better comparison.

As a guy who was a defensive coordinator at Walker's high school years ago, (coincidence and not related to my point), I look at the fact that some teams will try to keep your run defense on the field and transition a back and TE to WR roles without subbing and forcing you to keep your run D on the field to defend them. However, if we had a Strongside Edge who could move inside to a 3, 4i, or 5 technique, Parsons could then slide in beside him as an edge. In other words, the way I am seeing it without giving it a ton of thought, it would give you a dominant pass rush on passing downs. If you did that, your NT would stay put, which is why Evero likes smaller NTs that can pressure the passer. Then Brown, for example, could slide out to a 3, 4i, or 5 technique and your rush edge (only in this situation) could rush--giving you 5 DL/Edge getting after the QB from any number of alignments, with the option to drop Walker or the rush edge into coverage. Then the MLB, Nickel, and maybe a S could blitz because a RB and TE in this formation can be covered with a lone S or even the LB in some cases. Whew. I have seen offenses running the hurry up doing this more and more, and the large edge-holding Edge and a hybrid ILB could be the answer.

It is really hard to gauge Walker because he is not nailed to one position, so your comparisons are very limited--that probably explains the range of opinions on him. I think he wears 11 for a reason, and that is to make people compare him to Parsons. The Combine will be huge for him.

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I can always count on you being up, Aussie, when nobody else is here!! Yeah, that is my problem--a tweener for a first round pick and a system that may not know how to use him.