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See! Sometimes patience makes for a better draft analysis (and a better attitude).

top dawg

By top dawg,
in Carolina Panthers

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top dawg Grand Master

top dawg

Posted
Posted

I wonder if this Bama student is a Huddler.  In my opinion, he pretty much has the Panthers' draft down to a tee. Props to Scott Braswell.  It's not always the person the comes out with breaking news or the first analysis of a situation that provides the best information.  Sweet, concise, and complete.

 

Link

 

 

I have some excerpts, but suggest you read the whole thing.  It's not too long.

 

I like the pick. Benjamin hasn’t even began to reach his potential and can become a dominant receiver in the league once he has time to get acclimated. When I watch him on film he can at times remind me of a Calvin Johnson or Anquan Boldin. He does struggle with route running and occasionally has the case of the drops but he’ll have some great mentors in Jason Avant and Jerricho Cotchery who can help him with that. Expect to see him compete for reps right away

 

 

I just knew we were going Lee, but was pleasantly surprised when we picked Benjamin.  it made me see a new side of G-man.  I love the pick, even if it takes Benjamin a couple of years to fully develop.

 

Even though the Panthers have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL and didn’t have a need here, I love this pick. Ealy was a projected first rounder on many draft boards and fell into Carolina’s lap towards the end of the 2nd round. Panthers GM Dave Gettleman is all about drafting the best player available and he followed through on his strategy with this pick.

 

 

I hated the Ealy pick at first, but it has grown on me.  How can you not like the reincarnation of Osi Yumeniora 

or Justin Tuck?

 

Turner brings a nastiness the team lacks on the offensive side of the ball. Not only does Turner give Carolina another “hog molly” as Gettleman likes to call them, he gives them an athletic and quick guard. Turner ran one of the fastest times at the combine among offensive linemen. I can easily see Turner getting some starts this upcoming season.

 

 

Turner can come in right away and have an impact. I am almost looking forward o the running game...almost. As an old school guy, "nastiness" is always a good thing.

 

Call me skeptical on this pick. I understand the Panthers need depth in the secondary, one of their weak spots from last year. I’ve followed ACC football for years and have seen Boston play over the years. The former Tar Heel is very physical and a competitor no doubt but when I watched some of his game film, I saw him get beat a good bit in coverage and sometimes get lost in coverage. A lot of that can be contributed to the North Carolina coaching staff moving him around different positions. The learning curve for Boston will be steep but he’ll get to learn from some of the game’s best in Roman Harper and Thomas DeCoud.

 

 

 

I was looking for more with this pick, but I thought I'd wait until today to ask my UNC-crazed friend at work.  He doesn't care for Boston, but did add that perhaps Boston can be a better safety with that stout D-line in front of him. Oh, well...

 

This is the sleeper in the Panthers’ draft class in my opinion. Benwikere is a great ballhawk who had 12 interceptions his last two seasons for the Spartans. To go along with that, he also had the best vertical jump among defensive backs at the combine at 40 inches. Given his 5-11 height, that vertical jump will be key when going up against the big physical receivers of the NFC South like Vincent Jackson, Julio Jones, and Jimmy Graham.

 

 

At first I was like "OK..whatever...", and I really didn't see the need to trade up for this guy, but I had read about him before, so I can live with it. We need someone solidity at CB. Perhaps Benwikere and Godfrey will be pleasant surprises. Competition! It's just speculation on my part, but once Desir was snagged right in front of us, i suppose getting Benwikere became more of a priority (not a reach), though I hated losing that 7th in retrospect (not that G-man would have done what I wanted).  I always had my eye on Antone Exum who would have saved our 7th, but G-man apparently believes that Benwikere has the upside that justified trading up, so I can live with that.

 

This is a head scratcher. Carolina already has a deep backfield that includes DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, and even little-used Kenjon Barner. There were still some decent offensive tackles on the board at the time of the pick. This isn’t to say that Gaffney isn’t a great running back. He’s a great physical back that reminds you of another former Stanford running back, Toby Gerhart. He’ll be a great backup who can spell Williams or even fill in if Stewart has more injury issues. His biggest asset according to scouts is his pass blocking ability.

 

 

I wanted to keep this mostly positive, So I am not going to belabor points about our sixth round pick that I have already made ad nauseum (Shoutout to  TheRed...I've let it go), plus maybe G-man will surprise us come June 1. 

 

Final Thoughts: Overall, the Carolina Panthers were able to address some key areas in this draft and get some steals in the process. These draft picks will have to grow up fast as there is a good chance most of them will be asked to contribute right away.

 

 

I don't necessarily think that most of the guys will be unnaturally pushed to contribute right away, except for maybe KB, but if they can be impact players right away it most certainly will be a bonus as far as i'm concerned. We did get some steals with Ealy and Turner though (and that makes me question whether it's more about getting lucky or G-man's drafting).

 

 

There you have it guys, Mr Braswell apparently keeps up with the pulse of the team, and Top Dawg is no longer somewhat gloomy and critical about what transpired Saturday.  I am still a supporter of G-man, even though I don't necessarily agree that the man walks on water (No Gsus, OK?  :P ).

 

 

 

 

 

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carpanfan96 Grand Master

carpanfan96

Posted
Posted

I gotta say quite a few players are going to be asked to contribute.

KB and Turner will likely be starters

Ealy and Bene will be asked to contribute a lot on defense. While Boston will probably end up being the backup safety and a big time special teams player.

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

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top dawg Grand Master

top dawg

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I gotta say quite a few players are going to be asked to contribute.

KB and Turner will likely be starters

Ealy and Bene will be asked to contribute a lot on defense. While Boston will probably end up being the backup safety and a big time special teams player.

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

 

Yeah I think they will all have their role, but I don't believe that they will necessarily be pushed into something if it becomes obvious that they need more time making the transition.  I think the plan will be ti bring them along "slowly".  

 

I gotta believe that G-man is going to bring in some more vets as well, not saying that it's a surety.  But there will be some cuts and opportunities to add starters or depth before it's all said and done.  As you may know, I've had my eye on Denarius Moore for a long time (though The Raiders didn't draft any receivers), and there is now a logjam at WR for the 9ers, as well as at the position of tackle for the Titans.

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JJman Newbie

JJman

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Posted

I was content with this draft, however I find it funny that most of y'all think that anyone who likes our draft is spot on and smart. But anyone who dislikes it is stupid.

The fact is, these little analysis of drafts are pointless because no one will know how they worked out until at least 2 or 3 years. Plus, how desperate does it make our fanbase look when we start digging deep for articles of people who like our draft. That's a dangerous road this fanbase is heading down. One similar to the Raiders, 49ers, Eagles and Saints

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Jackofalltrades Proficient

Jackofalltrades

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"Hasn't even began" wasn't very good, but the rest of the piece was. Well informed and understands Gettleman's plan.

As for Gaffney, I think DG is hedging his bets that Stewart returns to IR and has a downhill runner ready to fill in at a moments notice. We want to be more physical, that's hard to do when your power back is pounding on the stationary bike rather than on defenders.

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