Offseason: Draft, FA, and What Gettleman Should Do

[DaveThePanther2008]

I would be thrilled with Berry.  No telling what KC will do.  Improving the defense will only take one or two players. However, we could land every #1 offensive player in the draft and still be the most vanilla offense in the NFL.  If we go into the 2017 with Shula at the helm we will be just as bad a this year.   Denver showed how to beat us.  Shula can't figure out how to fix it. 

We don't get a new OC, we're fuged.

[raleigh-panther]

Start with getting a real offensive coordinator and QB coach

the panthers have neither 

Newton needs not only a decent line and play makers but coaches who actually can make him better, insist that he get better and hold him accountable when he does not in a positive way not punitive 

norv turner and Warren moon come to mind 

[TheSpecialJuan]

16 hours ago, Saca312 said:

So, there's no hope this season. It's blatantly obvious after Sunday night's fiasco. There's no way we're making the playoffs, and quite frankly it looks like we may be lucky just winning a game coming down the road.

This year was different from last year in so many ways. Just imagine if only we capped off last year with a Superbowl; this year wouldn't have stung as much.

But that's the reality of the situation. We got teams that are incomplete offensively or defensively coasting out on easy schedules (Dallas comes to mind) that will make the playoffs, as many claimed of us last year. I personally think when healthy we have the most complete team in the NFC with a decent healthy o-line and talent everywhere, but injuries and inept offensive coordinator Shula hindered us.

So anyways, I'm always cheering for my team, even if it'd be better to lose out. If we win, great; that basically shows we have had some gas in us, and injuries have killed us a plenty this season. But don't be surprised if we only win one more game (I suspect a last year type of event of a demolishing of the Failcons, ruining their first seed to the Bucs), and looking at a top 10 pick this year. 

Considering that, it's basically time to talk offseason in December (painful to say, but it's true.) Before talking about that, let's consider what exactly our positions of greatest need are:

-Safety

-Offensive Tackle (Especially if Oher isn't back)

-Running Back Depth (preferably someone who can block behind Stewart)

-Consistent Defensive End

-A WR that can get separation

-A solid blocking 2nd TE

Personally, I feel these positions are our greatest positions of need. In fact, some of these are stretches, considering we'd have a decent group in most of these categories with starters, though granted top 2 shows some obvious holes.

Safety is the one that has given up a lot of yards for the secondary more than our corners by far. We need a consistent leader that can play SS, since Kurt isn't good enough for it. We need a playmaker, a leader, and someone who can communicate; a Roman Harper type of player without his sluggish play.

Our offensive tackle depth got exposed this season, and one could say we need at least 1 backup quality tackle for every position. I feel we need a quality depth type of player for LT, since Remmers is about as much of a turnstile as one can be at left tackle. If Oher isn't back, this position is exposed even more, and we may need to consider using draft picks and getting free agents to find a rough in the gem type of player.

Stewart is a great guy, but he's injury prone. He's also lost a bit of steam in him this year, though granted our oline isn't helping any bit. He's our only solid blocking RB, and we desperately need depth behind him. As much flashes as CAP has shown running, he's shown nothing in the blocking game. We should consider looking for our RB of the future now, and that's why it's ranked so high as a position of need.

Everything really is just depth at most, and a WR solid route runner is also a pretty big stretch. But these are our glaring needs, and they should be addressed accordingly.

Gettleman is well known as someone who likes skimming FA for the bargain gems, which he excels at. However, he hasn't proven himself as to someone who dives for some big, good names. Most of his time, however, he had the CAP that Hurney left over to worry about and fix up, so that proved to be an issue.

But this season, he's got an abundance, projected about $62,843,461 in cap space. 

That's a lot of money, something Gettleman hasn't had in a while. Now granted, we have a lot of free agents next year, but we would still have a lot left over.

This offseason, IMO, will define Gettleman as either a cheap, polar opposite of Hurney, or a real, intelligent GM. He's got a lot of cap space that could be worked and help sign some key free agents now, and keep enough to sign 2018 players. If he doesn't take advantage, then I say I may even start questioning what he's doing exactly, and I'm sure @CPantherKing would definitely say I'm a Gettleman supporter/nuthugger. 

That says a lot about what this offseason really means.

Now, if I were GM of the Panthers, here's what I'd do, Free Agency and the Draft:

(Sites Used: https://walterfootball.com/draft2017TE.php , http://overthecap.com/free-agency/, http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/cap/2017/)

Staff:

1. Fire Shula

2. Fire Shula

3. Fire Shula

4. Fire Shula

5. Fire Shula

'Nuff said. 

Free Agency:

Panther Resigning/Cuts

1. Cut Tolbert

Tolbert has been deadweight this season. He should never have gotten an extension, and retired in peace. However, that's obviously not the case, and he's costing us. Tolbert used to be amazing. He used to be this unstoppable bowling ball, the tolldozer, and leave defenders withering under his impressive strength and hard running. 

Now, he's just a tub of lard and useless fat.

He's not his old self, and that has been the way for a while. He really fell off a cliff in the Superbowl, fumbling that ball at a crucial moment. I can't think of any positive play from Tolbert this year in all honesty, and that's saying a lot. He's done; he's got no more gas in the tank. Recently, his most memorable moments have been botched blocks, the scared-to-get-hit "dance" Tolbert put on in Oakland, and the "Oh crap I'm so fat" butterfinger fumble to start off in Seattle.

Cut him, get that $1.5 million in cap savings, and use it for useful things.

2. Resign DT Kawann Short for $12 million tops; Avoid Cox Money Or Overpaying

Short bet on himself this year, and failed to replicate his 2015 breakout performance. He's come on decently as of late after the bye, but other than that he's just not his monstrous self this year. He's still good, and has a lot of potential to replicate his 2015 success next year, but he already shows to not be on Cox level elite. He's good, but he's just not going to get that monstrous contract he wants. I'd attempt to give him a generous $12 million deal, or maybe $13 tops, but try not to tag him. He isn't worth the money he wanted last year, and it shows in his numbers, but he's still a DT we need to try and keep. Try and resign Short due to his integral role, but avoid overpaying.

3. Resign DE Charles Johnson on a $6-7 million dollar per year deal, and Addison $5 million.

Try and get Charles Johnson market value for what he got last year the best you can. He's more than proven his worth at this point, and he's been instrumental with his sudden reemergence as of late. However, considering the lack of DEs on the market this year, he may be a tough case with teams desperate for looking for 

Charles Johnson has reemerged after the bye, when the coaching staff realized that the D-line needed a new rotational change. Addison has proven more than capable of emerging as a fantastic situational pass rushing threat. They both need to be resigned for good deals and kept through any means possible. They're a consistent good threat still, and any continuity in our pressure we're getting from our ends is needed.

4. Resign Norwell, Ginn, Work a deal with Lotulelei, get depth players signed for around $20 million tops (all these players combined).

This is self explanatory. Get the other key guys signed, get Star on a good deal, and make sure they're not going anywhere. This is achievable.

Theoretically, this will go for a price tag of $40.5 million in signing our players alone max, based on salary averages. This accounts for the cap Tolbert would bring if cut, and doesn't include any other depth player being released, or any other cuts. Soliai might be another option as well honestly to get the axe, but I won't add that just yet.

That leaves us with about $22.3 million in cap left for free agency. Sure is quite a lot lower after signing our own players, but that's still some cash we could work with.

Now, what to do about actual free agency?

Well, here we go:

1. Do WHATEVER IT TAKES to sign S Eric Berry - Up to $11.5 million honestly.

This right here is important. Harrison Smith was paid $10.25 mil per year last offseason, and that pretty much set the bar for this safety-depleted 2017 FA class. I don't care if you want to try and save every penny, give him whatever it takes to bait him into Carolina. If he hits the free agency market, I'd dare even pay him up to $11.5 per year just because of the impact he'd have on this safety-deprived team. He's been the key to KC's success, and there's no way they'd be able to get him back at this rate. Pay the man; get him connected to Cam again, and we're definitely Superbowl bound with this signing.

That's the only big splash I'd make honestly, and that immediately patches up a huuge position of need. Gettleman needs to see this, and I hope he does. 

That leaves us with about 10.8 million in cap, but likely we'd have around $14-15 million if we had extra cuts and management as well. I'd then see if I can get Matt Kalil for a good deal off of free agency, and hope Oher is back in full health by then. I'd then find some cheap diamond in the rough players to round out some positions.

Make sure we have enough cap for the draft, and just coast and ride.

Now, what about the draft you might ask?

Well, let's see our positions of need:

-Safety  Eric Berry Takes Care of This

-Offensive Tackle (Especially if Oher isn't back) Matt Kalil gives good depth, and project material

-Running Back Depth (preferably someone who can block behind Stewart) 

-Consistent Defensive End

-A WR that can get separation

-A solid blocking 2nd TE

So, considering these needs/luxuries, let's see what I'd do in the draft for the first 2 rounds:

Round 1:

Top 5 pick: DE Myles Garrett

Pray and Hope DE Myles Garrett Falls To Us if we have this high a pick. Browns already got some decent DEs last year, and many mocks are predicting they get a DT. Jets and 49ers need a QB. The only real threat is the Jaguars, and possibly Bengals, but they could win out some of their games and we get lucky. 
Pipe dream, I know, but if this happens then the NFL better watch out.

Anyhow, here's a more logical idea of what could happen:

Top 10 Pick:

Round 1

*Option 1 represents one route (i.e. If x player is picked in round 1 for option 1, then round 2 option 1 would be a player that is picked because round 1 option 1 player was picked, and same for option 2)

Option 1: RB Leonard Fournette

Obvious reasons. He's the most consistent back so far in College, and he's been a monster. He's getting AP comparisons, and rightfully so. He's going to be a beast in the NFL, and a complete RB to complement an aging Stewart will help a lot, especially with Tolbert gone. He's shown ability to run over defenders, find holes, and take advantage. He's also a decent receiving back, and he's got a ton of skillset. If he can make the impact Elliott has had to our run game, well the NFL better watch out.

Option 2: DE Derek Barnett

The Panthers desperately need a good, consistent DE on the defensive side. Bennett would help alleviate a position in need of an every down type of player. Bennett has shown to be competent and do great things against top tier college olines, and is a great player from Tennessee. He's beat LTs from Bama and gotten strip sacks and makes plays. This would help alleviate our DEs and make us not have a reason to keep Delaire on the team anymore. He's a bit raw in some areas, needs to learn some pass rushing moves and spins, but he's still a good, competent player.

Round 2:

Option 1: TE Jordan Leggett

He's been a solid TE at Clemson. He's been great at blocking and receiving when necessary. He's likely to be available in the second round, and I wouldn't mind pulling the trigger on him this early. What makes him stand out from other TEs ranked above him like Engram and Njoku in my opinion is his solid blocking ability. We don't need a catching TE who can't block; I'd rather have a solid blocking TE that couldn't catch honestly. I think Leggett will make a great prospect, and 2nd round pick with a lot of upside, with immediate impact potential.

Option 2: RB D'Onta Foreman (applies also if we somehow get DE Myles Garrett)

Just be glad this draft is deep with RBs D'Onta Foreman is a talent that is worth consideration at this late in the round. He's a Stewart type of back, but fresher and much more upside. A powerback, he looks a lot like Stewart, and he's good at running over defenders. He can hit holes, and looks like a good talent. As a second round pick, I'd definitely consider snagging this gem.

As for the rest of the draft, I'd get a project OT, maybe a future C, and then fill up depth in S, and other positions. 

If this were to happen, I'd be happy. I think these picks would be great, and help better the Panthers. 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

Terrible

[Nails]

1 hour ago, Estrada said:

Solid post. However I don't see Berry leaving KC- they would be crazy to let him go. KC was loyal to Berry when he had cancer and now that he's healthy I see him staying there. Not a fan of signing Matt Kalil unless it's for depth or to compete for RT. If we can trade down and get some extra picks I'd like to trade for Staley/Thomas. We need to stop going cheap at tackle. I don't see any point in continuing to risk Cam's health by going with a prospect that may or may not work out. I do however like all the prospects you listed. I personally am getting turned off from Fournette just because he keeps getting compared to AP. Have these people ever seen APs college footage? It's insane- he's a HOF back and I'm not surprised by anything he's done in the NFL. I don't see AP when I see Fournette's tape. I'd rather have Foreman. Texas has a great pedigree when it comes to RB and he just ran for 2200 yards on a losing team. If we don't get Garrett I would like to get Barnett because he is good against both the run and the pass; he's also been consistently good since his freshman year. He needs just one sack in the Vols bowl game this year to set the alltime record- he's tied with Reggie White w/ 32. 

Outside the box trade.  And, guess what, it MIGHT require thinking outside the box to protect our franchise in the short/medium term.

KB and our comp 3rd for Staley and Jaquiski Tartt.  Ample incentive from both sides.  

Could still land Fournette/Barnett and/or RB/DE/TE with our own 2nd and 3rd.  Perhaps DeSean Jackson then becomes in play in FA.

[juliosantos]

great post man

[FootballLivesMatter]

Charles Johnson signed a 1yr for 3mil. 

[The_Rainmaker]

1 hour ago, stbugs said:

Not a chance. If we take those two 1-2nd round I'd be really disappointed. The DEs available at our 2nd pick are far better than those TEs.


Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

I dont think so, beside Garrett no one is worth it. BTW  its okay to take chances on high round picks on defense like Ealy(CJ) & Shaq (TDs) but not for the offense and leave Cam & crew hanging again. The panthers have relative stout DL and just need role players to take the defense to elite level. Don't give up on Ealy he should get another season to prove he was worth the 2nd round pick by D.G.  We should use FA on DE's & Secondary. 

1-3 round  OT/ RB   RB/TE  S/ DE

[1982heels]

Did they say that the Seahawks have 24 undrafted free agents on their 53 man roster? If so, wow!!!

[Nails]

On 12/8/2016 at 5:10 PM, Nails said:

Outside the box trade.  And, guess what, it MIGHT require thinking outside the box to protect our franchise in the short/medium term.

KB and our comp 3rd for Staley and Jaquiski Tartt.  Ample incentive from both sides.  

Could still land Fournette/Barnett and/or RB/DE/TE with our own 2nd and 3rd.  Perhaps DeSean Jackson then becomes in play in FA.

Another outside the box idea if the Browns/49ers really want to play hardball-not preferable but remember this is Cam's health we're talking about.  Our top 10 pick in 17, our 2nd and 3rd in 17, and our 1st in 18. (pick #32) for Thomas or Staley and #1 or #2 overall (Garrett).  Both the Browns/49ers would be fools not to take the deal, grab Cam Robinson with the top 10 pick, then do major damage on day 2 by not reaching but still getting their choice at QB and further stocking their depleted rosters, not to mention the 32 pick in 2018.

For the Panthers, both short and long term needs would be met, solidifying the LT position in the short/medium term and getting a generational young talent and the best player in the draft at a position of huge need.  Cons obviously include perhaps having to hold our nose with Dickson and/or Stew who are still under contract next year, whose possible replacements would be traded away with the 2nd and 3rd.  Safety must then be addressed in FA (Berry?) with only the late comp 3rd still in play on the first two days.  The pressure (as it rightfully should) would be ratcheted up next year to make sure it really IS pick #32 that was traded away.

Still, it's a reasonable deal for both sides, and, MAY be required to protect our franchise.

[FootballLivesMatter]

(1) Keep KK:

Imo, you gotta keep KK Short no matter what. I know he had a bad season and I've been hard on him all season. We drafted the guy and groomed him, you cannot lose him like Jno. Short and Star are so important. You give him the money but a reasonable one. 

(2) Jason Pierre-Paul 

Hes having a hell of a season. Signed a 1 yr 10 mil to go back to NYG this season. Now, theyre cap tight with all the guys they signed last year. Fat Gman has ties to NYG and I'm sure JPP would be a guy that he'll be looking at. This would be our big free agent signing and one we all would be excited about. 11/12mil a year. 

(3) Keep Norwell and Ginn. You have to and they will not cost us an arm or leg. Love to have CJ back at around 5 mil for one year. 

(4) Rework Stew's contract. Let him retire a Panther. 

(5) the OT positions. Keep Oher at LT. Do not waste money keeping Remmers around. You already know what you have in him. Dwill played well this season. The RT is not his but you bring in someone who could immediately take that spot or make it tough for DWill to earn it: 

Ty Nsekhe RFA, Wash- hell of a player filling in for Trent Williams.

Andrew Whitworth, Matt Kalil, or Jordan Mills

 

THE DRAFT <Projected pick atm #7>

 We'll definitely have a top 12 pick. Possibly higher (top 7). 

Fans' favorites: Myles Garrett, Leonard Fournette and Jabrill Peppers

Reasonable picks: Cam Robinson, Derek Barnett, Quincy Wilson, Teez Tabor, Dalvin Cook, Carl Lawson

 

My pick for the Panthers in the top 10 (Garrett, Fournette, and Peppers all off the board) and we don't trade down:

Jamal Adams, S, LSU

Kid is a stud. A beast to be exact. Scouts believe he's the best safety in this draft. He's being overshadow by the highlight reels of Jabrill. I believe Jabrill will be off the board before Adams due to what he can do on ST. Safety is clearly one of our biggest need. Kurt needs to go back and be a center fielder. Tre needs to stay the hell off the field. I'm a fan of signing Eric Berry but he'll have many suitors. Adams will make our secondary a lot prettier.

 

[FootballLivesMatter]

On December 8, 2016 at 5:10 PM, Nails said:

Outside the box trade.  And, guess what, it MIGHT require thinking outside the box to protect our franchise in the short/medium term.

KB and our comp 3rd for Staley and Jaquiski Tartt.  Ample incentive from both sides.  

Could still land Fournette/Barnett and/or RB/DE/TE with our own 2nd and 3rd.  Perhaps DeSean Jackson then becomes in play in FA.

Yea lets trade our KB a young WR and former no 1 pick for an old tackle in Staley. Bright idea. What kind of drugs are on you? 

A bright GM could send both our 3rd rounds for Staley. Why the hell would you give up KB? 

OMFG. Some of y'all are nuts. 

[Nails]

3 hours ago, FootballLivesMatter said:

Yea lets trade our KB a young WR and former no 1 pick for an old tackle in Staley. Bright idea. What kind of drugs are on you? 

A bright GM could send both our 3rd rounds for Staley. Why the hell would you give up KB? 

OMFG. Some of y'all are nuts. 

In that scenario you would also ask for their young safety they have who has shown great promise but also had some relative on field issues (like KB), but who by all indications is a good guy and hard worker, reunite him with his college teammate Bradberry, and fill a need in a relatively cheap way (likely the way GMan would want to spend on safety) with experience.

Relatively old or not, Staley represents one of the only sure fire short/medium term options to protect our franchise which was beat all to hell this year.  That's worth paying for, and while the 49ers would be wise to take ALL the help they can get, they aren't giving him away for free, nor should they.

We also aren't giving away KB for free, but you have to give something to get something.  The 49ers might demand a player, who knows.  The Panthers had the #1 offense without KB and most only days ago were calling him a bum.  I don't agree but if I HAD to trade him to protect Cam I would at this point.

[Bronn]

I'm working on a similar post for sometime in the next couple weeks, but a few points I want to make here:

I think Short will get around 10 Mill, not 12, the first year. The contract will likely be middle-back end loaded at around 16-18 Mill per season in seasons 3 and 4, with guarantees around the $40 million or more mark.

Charles Johnson is likely gone. We let him walk before and only brought him back for peanuts. If we do bring him back it will be for less peanuts. He's old and underperforming like everyone else on the line.

Jonathan Stewart is gone, alongside Tolbert. $4.75 million will bring in a cheaper replacement for his recent production and leave money left over. Dickson could be gone too, as he'll give us $2 million.

If anyone gets an extension, it will probably be Trai Turner, not Star. Star has the 5th year option that he'll play under next season, which will pay him about what he's worth, and Trai is a UFA after next season. I agree that now is the time to extend Star as well, but I think Gettleman will wait like he did with Short, until Star is scheduled  to become a UFA. I could be wrong on this one, but I think Trai gets the money this year (because he'll cost more than Star next year.)

I think we'll address Safety, the OL, and the DL in FA with the money we have left over, with most of it going towards OL.

I think your estimate for our cap space is too liberal. I've seen it range from 42-55 million with our current situation, so I would bank on around 48 million before we cut Stewart, Tolbert, and Dickson. That would put us around $55 Million in room. Short and Turner will garner around $17 of that, and we'll spend another 15 or so Million on re-signing guys like Ginn and Norwell, and jobbers for depth. We'll also need probably $7-10 Million for draft picks, depending on where we end up. At most, that has us spending $42 million. That means we won't be breaking the bank for any of the big money FA's yet again (you can go ahead and count out guys like Berry, Jefferey, etc.) We MIGHT make a play for someone like Latavius Murray, if we don't want to roll the dice on a rookie RB, but he'll only likely get around $6 million a year unless some GM loses his mind.

So yeah, some points you made are spot on, but I think there are some flaws in there.  Feel free to pick apart my grand offseason post when I eventually make it. I'm sure my armchair GM-ing isn't perfect either.

[stirs]

We need to decide if we are just trying to patch a few holes or in full rebuild.

Need

RT and LT and C and need to sign Norwell

Need one or two DE's 

Need a LB, Klein and TD and Luke health

TE, we have one good guy who is over 30

S, we have backups playing now

CB, could use one vet

RB, Stewart will be too expensive, Tolbert needs to retire

 

FA, cupboard bare as far as good OT's, draft might yield one after round one, OT from Alabama has some off field issues that we normally avoid.

So, do we have the money to patch or just tear it down and start over?