A look at players the Panthers might consider with 25th pick: Phillip Dorsett

[LUUUUUKE]

David Newton article

http://espn.go.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/13380/a-look-at-players-the-panthers-might-consider-with-25th-pick-phillip-dorsett

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]Career highlights: Had only 36 catches in 2014, but 10 went for touchdowns and he had 871 yards -- an impressive 24.2 yards per catch. He averaged 22.8 yards on kickoff returns in 2013.

Why he would be a good pick for Carolina: When you talk about pure speed at wide receiver, few if any in this draft are faster. Dorsett ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at the combine. No receiver was faster. He topped that with a 4.25 and 4.27 at Miami's pro day. He personifies the dynamic speed receiver the Panthers are looking to put opposite Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina's first round pick in 2013. He also could be an explosive kickoff returner. He's only 5-foot-9, but the Panthers had a pretty good run with a 5-9 receiver (Steve Smith) they selected in the third round of the 2001 draft. Some have Dorsett falling to the second round, but if there is a run on receivers this might be the time to pick him up if speed is what you want. [

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Y'all already know how I feel, he's got the speed, and hands the FO has been talking about and doubles as a return man, so there's also versatility that the FO harps about.

I hope he's the pick

[The Huddler]

Id be all for it. We need and he has elite speed

[nctarheel0619]

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm just not sure how high the Panthers are on him.  Gettleman loves his big guys and Dorsett is one of the smallest players in the this year's draft.  Evidently we were looking hard at Brandin Cooks last year though and he's similarly sized.

[Riverboat Ron]

Like Cooks last year I think he goes before we pick, seems to happen every year with my player crush.

[davos]

The thing I'm wary about is that if you watch Cooks last year, he really seemed to hit a wall adjusting to NFL speeds.  Dorsett seems a notch quicker in games though and doesn't shy away from contact like Cooks did in college.   

[LinvilleGorge]

I think everyone who has a largely speed based game has some hiccups transitioning to the NFL.  Everyone in the NFL has speed.  There are a lot of really good college players who simply don't have the necessary speed to make the jump to the NFL.

 

Those speed guys in college are accustomed to lining up across from their opponent week in and week out and simply being faster.  While that may still be true in the NFL, especially for a guy like Dorsett, the speed gap is quite a bit smaller than it was on Saturdays.  There aren't any 4.7 CBs in the NFL.  There are a lot in college.

[juliosantos]

Id take him in the first his speed is elite and thats something we need. But after daves confrence I dont think we are going to get a wr rd one unless someone drops to us which is unlikely. But gettleman could of been setting up a smoke screen you never know but well find out tommrow

[LinvilleGorge]

When you look at the guys we've visited with, there are a TON of high round WRs and OTs in the mix.  We've probably met with more 1st round prospects out of those two position groups than all other positions combined.  That doesn't guarantee we're taking an OT or WR at #25, but I think it's safe to say that both of those positions are heavily in play at #25.

[Fidel Cashflow]

I'd be thrilled if we took him but I highly doubt that will happen. Too much value in WR's in the later rounds to take one at 25.

[nctarheel0619]

I just don't understand why we would take him in the first.  We don't need a 5'9 WR when we have a QB that throws his passes extremely high.  Dorsett is cool and all, but not on our team.  

[Ivan The Awesome]

Why are these second to third round guys being mocked to us in the first? You can get Devin Smith in the second. Or Dorsett..

[davos]

Why are these second to third round guys being mocked to us in the first? You can get Devin Smith in the second. Or Dorsett..

 

I guess you never really know where they'll go and WRs tend to get a media rise as draft time nears.  It happened last year with Davante, Matthews, and Latimer. I think a decent argument can be made for Agholor and Dorsett though. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Yep, Matthews and Latimer were both getting a lot of 1st round pick hype in the final weeks leading up to the draft last year.  In fact, by the time the draft rolled around, Matthews was the guy I wanted at #28.  Matthews had a very promising rookie season in Philly while Latimer was virtually non-existent in Denver last year.  Unless Latimer really steps it up this year, that "B" word is gonna start getting talked about.