panthers55

I like Warren alot and could see him as our pick if the defense didn't have so many holes. With a deep class of TEs, I would go defense in the first 3 picks and then consider offense and special teams. Yeah I might draft a kicker in the later rounds.

Yeah under Gettleman and Hurney we either way overpaid for free agents or only shopped in the bargain basement but had little consistency which is why we have more losing seasons than winning ones. I would like us to bring in a 5 technique, a nose tackle (maybe both) and safety free agent on defense and draft some other guys to help out with linebacker and safety. I am not as worried about WR as many others and would like to get a stud TE in the draft.

If I see several guys I want one consideration for me would be which positions cost too much to find a quality starter in free agency. Like drafting Ickey in the first for left tackle because they cost so much in free agency. So can we find a good safety in free agency at a good price or do we use one of our top draft picks on the best safety in the draft. Edge is expensive as is WR and quarterback among others. I wonder how much cost factors in and make you reach instead of BPA if the BPA is not one of the expensive positions.

He comes here because he has a new contract and likely a new start. Look at Theilen, he was tailing off and now he is revitalized in a new place. How many guys get traded who are doing great and perfectly content where they are? Maybe DJ when we traded him but he went there with a chip on his shoulder to prove we shouldn't have traded him. So they usually have good motivation to excel one way or the other. Sometimes positive sometimes to prove someone wrong. But we get a motivated guy usually.

You mean the cap would include those incentives he is likely to earn based on past performance? Yes. But the incentives wouldn't be paid until after the season and if he didn't reach them don't we get a credit or something? As for trades if you are the Panthers folks aren't coming here in droves as free agents unless we overpay. So by trading for them you make sure you get your guy at a price which is known and can be restructured for cap help. The best thing is you can often get a former first or second rounder for much less because the salary is attached.

I think we could definitely afford him if we thought he could help. In looking over his contract with the Giants I loved his contract in 2024. It had 2million n incentives like yards, TDs, making the probowl etc. Really pays if they produce which is how it should be. I wish more contracts were filled with incentives instead of guarenteed money.

If we are going to burn a 4th or 5th in the draft on a maybe, just trade the same for a proven vet. Samuel's went for a fifth right. Why not go for proven talent? Just saying...

Your assumptions about rookies coming in above average is unrealistic and not supported by our history. When have we had 3 rookies drafted who were above average out of the gate. Even in 2001 which may be our best draft ever, Morgan, Smith and Jenkins were not all above average as rookies. Secondly you admit that rookies don't shine until well into the year if at all. And no all 4 of them were not above average. starters in the second half when they were injured or struggled like Legette to catch the ball. He surely wasnt even average. Coker played due to injuries to Theilen for example. Otherwise he would have been a role player. Also how many guys started on the defense last year who won't be here this year? I agree the offense will be better when we add an RB and a upgrade at TE along with another wide receiver. But I don't agree that rookies will take us to the playoffs. Vets with experience will, with rookies being backups until they are ready to play. If a team has multiple rookies starting and they make the playoffs it would be rare to start with and likely because they have solid vets and and a quality quarterback. If you are starting multiple rookies you are either really bad, have a dearth of talent or both. I think the playoffs could be possible if Bryce picks up where he left off and our defense is much better. But no I don't want any rookie starting if we can avoid it. I like them as rotational players until they are ready to start. I will agree with the premise that with a lot of work, upgrade in talent, lack of injuries and some good luck we could be a playoff team but we better have huge free agency success as well as a solid draft to get there

Why assume above average? With the rookie wall which is real, common injuries which have befallen just about all our rookies, and the common refrain it takes at least half a season to let the game slow down and learn proper technique the likely of any rookie starting all year let alone playing above average is small. Look at our past top ten draft picks and tell me who was above average out of the gate. Even Kueckly started out on the weak side and needed time to learn the game. For every rookie signing that produces a stsrter right away, I can shpw you a dozen who struggle. And how good have we been picking instant starters in the second or third round. Not very. All your assumptions belie reality which is if you want starters you pick up vets. If a rookie starts and plays well it is a bonus and unexpected. When has it been different for us? Maybe Cam in 2011....

Big assumption these guys will be that great to propel us into the playoffs. Most rookies struggle like Brown did. No if you want playoffs you need vets with draft picks as backups while they learn to make the leap to the NFL

Can't decide until we know who is available. No one thought Brown would be there at 8 but he was. There are several players that if they are available at 8 we jump on it. But if someone wants to jump up and we like the compensation, then it depends on how far back we have to fall and who do we miss out on by waiting.

I would rather trade for one than pay bigger bucks in free agency. Deebo went cheap and there are others we could get for a middle round draft pick whose salary for now is doable. As to who that could be I will leave that to others who follow this more than I do.

Defenses play multiple packages beside their base package so the distinction between a 3-4 and 4-3 aren't as big as folks want to make it out to be. The bigger issue is often how they try to get pressure and how aggressive they are. Last year we generated little pressure, played a passive zone shell and avoiding giving up big plays by surrendering small ones and yardage on every play. It wouldn't have mattered what scheme we would have used. And without an influx of talent in free agency we will suck for several more years waiting for the rookies to develop into studs. It took Brown years to become the probowler he is. No you can't have all pros at every position but honestly you still win in the trenches and spending money there won't be wasted.

Every team is built differently. We have a cheap quarterback which saves us 30 million a year to spend elsewhere. We chose offensive line and went from bottom 10 to top 10 in one year. Good use of our money. If we bring on a stud DL in free agency with Brown back our D line instantly improves and run defense is a strength instead of a huge weakness. Brandt has a plan to fit everything under the cap while getting rid of dead cap money like Moton's instead of kicking it down the road. I get you have been traumatized by past mistakes and that is understandable but I think we are in a better position this year than in the past. If he can do half of what KC has done while he was there we are clearly up and coming. You have to live in the present and move forward instead of living in the past which has been very rough on all of us. And bringing up past mistakes with a new regime is living in the past and not always germaine.

I am glad we are going hard improving defense this time. I trust the front office finally to manage the cap. If we can bring in some free agent studs to allow us to draft BPA I am all for it. As a fan I only want to win baby. All the posts about not being able to afford it are coming from folks without a clue as to our plan to manage the cap. Just saying.....

Yeah he will get paid way more if he shines but if the cap keeps going up his 50 million contract will be very doable. Plus we get to see how he turns out before breaking the bank.

He is under contract through 2026 but since he has no salary attached for 2025 and 2026 they are voidable years which were set to trigger on March 11 unless something is done. So if we want to keep him we need to negotiate a salary without kicking too much of the dead cap down the road. Or if we don't reach agreement and the contract automatically voids, we get an 8 million cap hit and Corbett becomes an unrestricted free agent. I think the ball is in his court actually. Does he want to be here or not?

If we part ways with Corbett we have 8 million in dead cap space. Trying to keep without guaranteeing anymore (since we guaranteed most of his last contract with little return.), would be the smart move. Make it incentive based with roster bonuses if he goes along with it. Otherwise you have little choice but void him out.

Rich people are looked up to in general. People see billionaires get 99cents of every dollar while 99% of the people fight over the remaining dollar. But the myth is you can be them one day if you work hard enough. The same in football. A few undrafted guys make it big and the myth that anyone can be a star if they work hard enough keep JAGs from complaining. So as long as success is always pegged to hard work and not the other myriad of factors that also contribute, players will support the system as it is. If Dalton doesn't get hurt when he did, would Bryce be the starter next year? Sure he earned it but he got the opportunity we didn't think he would get and he killed it like no one expected. Those kind of turnarounds keep everyone thinking I could be next. So they aren't going to vote for something that restricts their potential even if they won't ever get there.

It is always how far back and what compensation. When you trade back let's say five spots you have to assume that none of those picks matters and you can find equivalent talent later. Then again if you meet your needs in free agency you have a lot more flexibility to avoid reaching.

We already did on the offensive line with Hunt and it worked out great. Try to keep up.

I am reading that both Sweat and Williams from the Eagles might command 20 million or more a season so with our cap we have no chance. But if we control the cap this year things ease up if we don't kick too much down the road. But a 4 year contract with a voidable year gives up 5 years to spread the signing bonus which could be half of his 80 million salary or 40 million which is 8 million cap per year for 5 years. You give him a 1 million dollar salary for a total cap of 9 million this year. The other 40 million gets spread over the 4 years at 10 million each and we can fit it in our cap. You can figure out multiple scenarios to manipulate the numbers, build in roster bonuses, restructure down the road, but if we want him we can figure out a way to pay him. Tepper having all that cash over cap gives us flexibility to do what we want.

I have been reading articles about other teams needs like the Patriots and what do you think they said? They said like every article that their biggest need was to build up the lines and used Philly's dismantling of the Chiefs as proof. Just like we think our biggest need is defensive linemen how many teams are going to reach for a guy because they get desperate when there is a run on linemen. Not all 31 teams besides the Eagles will be able to upgrade their line and likely will reach for players who would have gone much later than they would otherwise. Should be interesting in free agency as well when JAGs get big paydays because they are a linemen and little else.

Exactly. So other than Brown, why do we have no one else who can collapse a pocket instead of dancing around it.

So who is our best defensive lineman? Brown hands down. He can play any of the three positions. I think we need to draft the next Derrick Brown in the first and his best clone in the second. Seriously, if all three guys on the line were interchangeable and able to go inside or out we have flexibility in case of injury and can collapse the pocket from all sides. I dont know who that guy is but I know he is out there and that could cement our DLine for years to come instead of the yearly patchwork which doesnt really work.