Soul Rebel

I might be in the minority, but I don't want a LB with a pick in the first four rounds. Shaq is here for at least another year. We've got Luvu and Chinn...plus I think Brandon Smith is a future baller at ILB. I'd like to let this staff work with Smith for a year before we plunk down top-100 draft picks on a backer. Question marks about whether Chinn can make a full TD conversion to LB as well.

This is the right approach. Simple, clean up the dated look without reinventing the wheel. If they can figure out a way to blend the logo more into the helmet without the white outline, we're in business. Minor, minor modernizing/rounding/shading of the logo to melt into the helmet is all that's needed. This combo, plus a white on white combo and a blue/white & blue/black combo and all is good.

I'm guessing they've got $7-8M on the table for Floyd or Ngakoue. Maybe another $5-6M for a training camp cut CB and then ~ $10M for draft picks. Still gives us about $3-5M on the conservative side to float through the year, or roll over to '24.

Everything went perfect until right after the Mingo selection. Loving the QB, CB, TE, WR moves. Mingo is about to fly up draft boards though IMO and he's probably not available after the third. Would love a LaPorta-Mingo B2B selection!

Unsure if this was posted already, but is this font type new for us? I thought we used a more angled block type with lines/claw marks through them previously. Has a very Vikings/Jacksonville feel to it....

FWIW, most teams that update their uniforms, usually do it in mid-late April right before the draft. I researched previous teams rebranding and it's usually in April at some point. I did see folks speculating about the AZ change too, the other team rumored for a change. They pointed out their draft hat's new inclusion of yellow and ties to their state flag. This would go against our thoughts of removing the silver because our hats have a heavy dose of gray/silver...or is that a matte white?

Interesting point. I see Young's style of constantly moving around and reestablishing the pocket as an equally tiresome issue for the OL as well. At least the tackles handling the edge.

Agreed. I do think Young is elite at this and already operating at an NFL level. This trait is arguably BY's top attribute and for good reason. It's some of the best processing, pre-snap diagnosing, protection calls and overall comprehension of the game that I've seen in a prospect. The Ryan Day offense is contoured to make life easy for a QB in making progressions, so there is concern there for CJ.

This is why I lean Stroud > Young. Yes, Young does some things better than Stroud and I love his leadership, rallying the team, 2 min/under pressure style which I haven't seen as much as Stroud, but overall skill wise, it seems they are neck-and-neck at 1A and 1B. If either choice would equate to a franchise QB1 and win a chip for your franchise, why not take the 6'3" 220lb guy over the 5'10 sub-200 pound prospect? It's also not like Stroud is maxed out and hit his ceiling yet. Still room to grow there.

For those following the draft and looking for insights/mocks/etc. CBS is pretty awful, IMO. Outside of Jonathan Jones who we all know from CLT days, there coverage is closer to blogs and op pieces than well-connected reporting.

Truthfully, with this staff, I don't think Richardson's wait is '24. I do believe Dalton would start, but Richardson would be a mid-late '23 starter.....maybe game 9 or 10. I do believe Young/Stroud would be week one starters though. I also agree that Richardson is in a tier below BY and CJ7 and you don't move up to #1 overall for AR. However, it could also be argued that if AR is "their guy" and the pricetag from 1 to 3 is about the same, why risk losing out on your guy if IND or LV also likes AR and moves up to #1 overall ahead of you. Again, I think CJ or BY is our choice, but AR isn't that far off.

I see that it's been mentioned by a few, but just to echo the fluidity of our personnel in and out to keep offenses guessing. It's not like we're running a strict 3-4 every play. Lots of disguising, sub packages and movement will be in play. This is where Evero and Wash will combine to offer variations of odd-man fronts and three safeties. Chinn might not fit as an every down 3-4 backer, but his presence will be that of a chameleon that offenses will have to account for as a spy, a threat in the box to stop the run and out in space making sure TEs and RBs aren't beating us. I'm excited to see what this staff does with him.

It all comes down to coaching, systems/schemes contoured to QB's traits, a supporting cast (OL & playmakers) and what's between the QBs ears. It's why a guy like Allen made it where Rosen, Baker and Darnold didn't. It's why guys like Purdy, Hurts, etc. are succeeding and higher drafted guys are not. We can't go wrong with these two and both are coming into an ideal structure with coaching and a mix of vets and hungry youngsters, as well as a top-10 OL.

No offense to an AU fan, but the game breakdown on QB School at Auburn in '21 was one of a few clips that opened my eyes to Bryce as an elite prospect. What he did in that environment translates over to the NFL.

It's hard to say because he was never asked to do that at OSU. I think the UGA game showed that he is absolutely capable of it. I did hear the Locked on Panthters podcast with an OSU beat guy that made it sound like the UGA game was more of an outlier. He did think Stroud was capable, but he didn't seem sold that he will 100% be that guy at the NFL level. Stroud has said as much that he wished he ran more in college. In that system with the insane level of talent, he really didn't have to scramble too much. I will say that when he did, it wasn't always pretty. It was 50-50 with smart angles and pocket movement vs. sloppy feet and retreating in the pocket. The biggest concern with CJ7 is what happens when the pocket isn't clean and how he navigates the noise. Also, we know he is very good at processing and anticipation (though not as good as BY), but can he do it at a high level in the NFL without the talent and ideal situation he was in at OSU. I don't guestion that Young can.

I feel like Shaq would be open to this. Zero connection to Stroud, but if Stroud were drafted, I wonder if Shaq would embrace the 0.

BY, allegedly, performed well on this. I wonder if Stroud and Young's numbers will be released. Could be another component to add to the "pros/cons" list when digesting which prospect to choose. I'm sure Decker is big on this...could also see Brown as a big analytics guy too.

I don't think we should worry about this. We should have already been planning to select a WR at 39 or 93. Chark was signed with the hope that he would be here long-term, but also in a way that if he continues to be injured, he's out after one year. They said the ETA for a return would be in time for "some of OTAs". Sounds like he should be ready for preseason and the regular season, and the surgery was done to remedy what's been ailing him the past couple of seasons.

It's so crazy to imagine it any other way. Owner - pays the bills and has input in decisions, but does not decide per se GM - key decision maker. walks the tightrope between coaching/players/personnel (Reich, coordinators, players), the directors and behind the scenes guys (Morgan, Suleimann, etc.) and the Owner HC - runs the on-field product and runs up to the GM his vision/requests/design needs. Works hand-in-hand with GM and has input into decisions.

But in two years when Hurst’s contract is up that TE will be ready for TE1 reps. This TE class is loaded with talent and deep.

I believe these FA signings have showed us that Carolina has bought 2 years to find the future at TE and WR. Hurst and Thielen are on the wrong side of 30 and are a temporary fix....though will be productive here for the next couple of seasons. We've got the next two offseasons to figure out our WR1 and TE1 of the future.

Chark Floyd or Ngakoue Shaquill Griffin was drafted by Fitts in Seattle and could add CB depth...or they wait until TC cuts and add a vet.

I'm a Cam stan and loved every minute he was in Carolina, but agree with you...there were reasons why he did not succeed as much as he could have here. Injuries, rarely slid properly, took unnecessary hits and the coaching staff did very little to surround him with talent. I think Young has learned to play a style that works to his benefit....highly cerebral, anticipatory and knows how to reestablish the pocket to open windows for himself. Whether or not this translates from college to the NFL is the big question. NFL players are faster, hit harder and everyone is a 5-star stud compared to college. Throwing windows, defensive schemes and pressure is a different animal.