Soul Rebel

You also have to think that HOU is not a QB away from being good in '23, so that future 1 is looking like a potential top-10 selection....maybe higher. That would be a nice ace to have in the back pocket if BY isn't "their guy".

Any of these guards they've brought in thus far would be a smart decision to draft. For depth, kicking BC out to swing/rotational OL and bringing in a younger reliable true G would strengthen our rotation. Having Christensen (who will be 27 this fall), Mays, Tecklenburg and Coleman as backups would keep our boys fresh. Ekonwu-Zavala-Boze-Corbett-Moton is a nasty, gifted and balanced OL for Young/Stroud to be behind.

Isn't Gilly in Dallas now?

This is where I'm at with the whole situation. I prefer Stroud but man....BY, IMO, has more superstar potential. It's a matter of whether he can play 17+ games a year, and do it in December/January in cold weather, harsh environments. Young could be a superstar though. He's an outlier, but at some point, someone of his stature will break the mold. It would be horrible in retrospect to have missed out on it....serious FOMO.

Bryce: 5-Star HS QB #1 Dual Threat HS QB #1 Overall HS QB 2021 Heismann winner 2022 Heismann runner-up #1 overall QB in college two straight years Stroud: 4-Star HS QB #2 Pro-Style HS QB #3 Overall HS QB 2021 Heismann runner-up 2022 Heismann runner up #2 QB in college two straight years I'd say Bryce would do this at most programs that he was heavily recruited by within reason of calibre of program. Would he do it at Vanderbilt, Duke, Colorado State? Probably not as well...but the heavy hitters that #1 QBs go to, I'd say yes. Young has always been the #1 prospect and it's hard to argue otherwise. For me, not every collegiate QB translates over and succeeds in the NFL. Usually it's for the reasons that are not related to BY..... IQ, headspace under pressure, processing, speed of the game, etc. For every successful QB, there's lots of Leafs, Tebows, Gabberts, Darnolds, Sanchezs and Weurfels.

Outstanding synopsis and if I could give more pie, I would. Thank you for pointing out the larger need at CB that seems to be not as high on others' respective radars. I have a feeling a R1 talent will be there at 39 and we will have to go bpa between CB, EDGE and maybe TE if a guy like Washington, Mayer or Musgrave falls. I think DJ won't be the same guy after his latest injury and will turn 28 this year. Not out of his prime yet, but we do need to plan for a future running mate opposite Horn. I wonder if Jayden Reed can make it to R4.

I hate this for Stroud and any other collegiate draft pick. This is their time to optimize their brand and go as high as they can in the draft. IDK if it's the media or other organizations starting the rumors in order to get his value to drop, but it's an ugly action regardless of where it's coming from. I know I want CJ here, but I'd say the same if it was BY, AR, Will Anderson, etc. Maybe it's true...who knows. The only thing in this arena that I've seen said about CJ was positive. I read that he is a humble kid that treats the best player the same way as he treats the 105th player on the team. I l also read that he was the first and last one on/off the field consistently. Again, maybe something new came through in the interviews/visits, but I smell bs.

Fair point. I still think he's got upside and needed to be in a different location, but yeah, getting benched is pretty rough.

idk....it seemed like the light bulb finally turned on after the midway mark last year. Drafted at 21 by a different regime, lost a year to injury as well. Not saying he's the second coming of Revis, but for a fifth...yeah, I'm seeing what he's got as a CB2. Horn on one side and Evero and DeAngelo working with him at 24 years old.

Damn, I would've 100% sent a fifth for Okudah. Would take CB off the table in the draft too opening up EDGE, WR, TE, G with our first four picks. Plus, he's in the division which blows.

Maybe Eason has a place on this roster long-term after all. Goalline QB that can give you those Cam-esque sneaks at 6'6". Also might be why we are bringing in some heavy hitters at G for our top-30 visits. Bozeman is here for the long haul, but maybe want to beef up/improve one of the guard spots.

Soooo, we take Young, Houston takes Stroud. After that, an unknown team (Vegas or ATL maybe?) trades up with ARI to select Richardson and Lamar is going to IND? QBs 1-2-3-4. Wow, Seattle landing Anderson at 5 would be a coup. More than likely a glitch or someone at NFL.com trolling, but it is entertaining.

Exactly. We watched a QB built in a lab for 7+ years fall off practically overnight. The years and years of hits he took because he did so little to evade, rather chose to bully over people, cost Cam years. It was highly entertaining and he's on my Panthers Mt. Rushmore, but that playing style leads to shortened careers. We're already seeing that with Josh Allen and Justin Fields...and they are so early in their respecitve careers. There's definitely reason to be concerned about BY, but not enough to solely pass over him because of his frame. Since everyone loves the Steph Curry - PG comparison, look at the Kings who took the taller Tyreke Evans over Curry. Hell, Minny took two PGs back-to-back right before Curry and combined, are nowhere near the level of Steph.

I think they're just softening the blow on draft night, depending on which camp you're in. Judging by this board, twitter, reddit and WFNZ, fans are going to be torn initially regardless of who we pick. There's nothing else to talk about until July when they start throwing and getting closer to preseason. It's amazing that we moved up to #1, but there's a LOT of pressure on nailing this pick correctly. Not for the fans, but the franchise. There isn't a wrong answer with these two and the true value won't be seen for a few years. It's the nature of our culture....instant gratification. No patience. I will happily change my pic to Young in the black and blue as soon as he's picked. I just want to win again and rid my memories of the sh!t show we've watched for the past five years.

It does seem like the tide is turning towards favoring Young at 1. He has been the #1 QB in college the past two seasons, without a doubt. I do find it odd that one of the most popular comparisons to Young is a PG rather than an NFL QB. The best comp is to a different sport? I get the correlation and what they're implying, but it's very hard to pindown an NFL QB comp for him. Yes, I've seen the Rodgers, Burrow, Flutie, Russ, Brees comps, but I feel like this obsession with point guard is an odd conversation that keeps coming up. Also, this coaching staff would seem to want someone to take snaps from under center, as well as in the gun. Young is not good at this, but Stroud is exceptional at it. I just keep coming back to if both quarterbacks are separated by the thinnest of margins, both are seen as franchise QBs, and you're staff is pretty evenly divided, why not take the guy that's 4 inches taller and 20+ pounds heavier?

Well done, sir. Hahaha.

I'm not knocking the insight and always appreciate your contributions on here and social media. I do think best guesses from industry sources is nothing new than what's already being discussed on all of the major media sources....NFL Network, ESPN, WFNZ, Draft Network, etc. A lot of opinions and speculation vs. concrete proof, Panthers' organization leaks, etc. Two-ish more weeks of this back and forth....keep the popcorn, popping.

I'm a big fan of this draft. If we can come out with Washington, Reed and Evans, while also adding Icky's old neighbor at NCSU on the o-line, it will be a coup. I think adding an EDGE is still in the cards of FA, post-draft.

It would be nice if people spent an equal (if not more) amount of time on the OC as they do the QB coach. Yes, McCown is huge in the grooming and evolution of whoever we take at 1, but Brown is a future NFL HC from a very strong offensive system and building out the architecture of our offense. Brown is the afterthought in this whole process and we keep hearing about McCown this, and McCown shooting hoops, etc. I also think Caldwell has a bigger influence in this then people think too.

If you think AR would be there at 9, you'd be sad on draft night. Staying put at 9 would give us either Levis or Hooker. Richardson goes top-6.

For context, QB at 1 can go a few ways. Here's 2018's draft and the article posted two days prior to the draft... Apr 24, 2018, 5:52 AM A well-connected NFL executive with ties to the Cleveland Browns told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Browns could take quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday. In a recent survey of 13 NFL Draft experts, Mayfield had an average draft position of 6.5 overall and wasn't projected to go any higher than No. 3 to the New York Jets. Of those experts, nine had Allen going No. 1, and the other four speculated that the Browns would take Darnold. For all the AR fans, there's still hope. Haha.

CJ7 is my choice, but I trust the staff and abilities of Young and AR. Each of these brings such different traits and I truly think all three will succeed here....for different reasons. Should be an interesting 20 days!

Agreed about cleaning up the threads. IDK if some posters need the cred of starting a thread (no offense to OP in this thread...more of a general observation), but it would be great to have a pinned Stroud, a pinned Young, a pinned AR, etc. thread and dump all of the general topics into these. If there's some ground breaking news that comes out....Panthers have decided on **** or **** arrested for DUI, etc. then those can get their own threads. IDK....maybe I'm just getting old and cranky. Just seems to be a lot of repeat new posts while also having to navigate the bot thread topics getting started.

Is the helmet considered part of the "uniform"? Hehe. Was hoping that we would lose the tiny numbers on the shoulders and fixing the trim on the shoulders, sleeves, pants, and helmet. Update the font/numbers and smooth/polish the logo a tiny bit. Maybe the 30-year anniversary will be the year we update. I mean....rounding off the jawline a decade ago and this process blue are about as deflating of uniform news anyone can expect. Especially knowing AZ is about to overhaul theirs. I'd compromise if Tepper is willing to bring back natural grass though.

Something that could be a question mark for Young over the course of 17+ games a year is his ability to step into an important road game in December/January. HS ball at Mater Dei in southern CA, college ball at Alabama and never playing in a cold environment given the concern with his durability is something to consider. Cotton Bowl at ATT stadium in late December looks to be the coldest temp he's had to play in. Philly, Green Bay, New York, and Seattle are not fun places to visit in a playoff atmosphere. Not a decision changing element, but I'd think it's a thought when the Panthers brass is discussing durability. Taking a pounding for at minimum, 17 games when he's averaged 13 games/year in a warm environment.