Realistically fixing the Panthers next year.

[TheSpecialJuan]

5 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Snake, thanks for this---I agree and disagree, of course, but I like the fact that you threw it out there..I added comments above as I see it, for the sake of conversation.

We have to make some tough decisions this offseason.  DE is scary because they take time to develop.  We are not going to give Addison a $12m deal--but someone will.  Klein will get a $40m deal to go start somewhere.  So we can count them gone, if you ask me.  There is talk of letting KK walk but that is the bad move.  Instead, and I HATE saying this, the smart move is to let Stewart walk and save $5m (salary minus dead cap $). Cutting Gano would save $3m, and Soliai would save us another $2.5 m if we cut him (and at 33, we should).  By the way, cutting Tolbert clears $1.5 m.  Cutting Dickson would save $2m. 

I would cut Stewart (5), Soliai (2.5), Tolbert (1.5), Dickson (2) and use the $11m elsewhere.  Throw in the nearly $19m surplus we already have.in cap room, that gives you $30m and whatever the cap increases. Spend it on KK.  Spend it on a S.

In 2018, we get to try to re-sign Norwell, Turner, Star....

 

Soliai,Tolbert and Dickson are as good as gone but I think we keep Stewart.

[CarolinaPride90]

Adding players like this to make our Offense more dynamic will be key: I'm sure most of yall are hip to this hometown kid Jaylen Samuels, he is a game changer and would give a much needed injection of speed and versatility to the offense.

 

 

 

 

#KeepPounding

[CarolinaPride90]

7 minutes ago, CarolinaPride90 said:

Adding players like this to make our Offense more dynamic will be key: I'm sure most of yall are hip to this hometown kid Jaylen Samuels, he is a game changer and would give a much needed injection of speed and versatility to the offense.

 

 

 

 

#KeepPounding

 

**He is staying for his senior season, stash for next off season lol.

[GoobyPls]

WR, SS, OT and DE

[pantherphan96]

1a. Take a flier on a FA OT

1b. Draft 1-2 OL players

2. Draft DE/S

3. Find 2nd TE / H-Back to replace Dickson/Tolbert

4. Get ST replacement for Webb/Fozzy

5. Extend CJ/Remmers/Ginn/Addison

6. Franchise tag Short and work on extension.

[pantherphan96]

4 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

2. WR

Sorry, I'm done waiting on Funchess. He's a JAG. Need a legit starter. A legit starter with some SPEED.

Giving up on Funchess before he hits 23 and with only 2 years of having a real QB throwing to him is a bad move. 

[AU-panther]

Where to start...

OT

If I'm confident Oher will be back I might be willing to roll the dice and just draft one later to develop.  

If I dont believe Oher will be back things get more complicated.  Might have to reach for a player in the draft.  Robinson has some off the field issues so who knows if he will even be on our board.  Not sure if there are many others that are going to be that productive at left tackle in the first year.  

Trading for a good one is a lot easier said then done.  Might have to find one in FA.  Unfortunately the list doesn't seem that good so far.  Might have to take a guy coming off a bad year and hope he rebounds. I have a feeling people around here are going to be disappointed.  I can't think of a worse position to need to upgrade this year.

DT - try to resign Short or tag him.

DE -  Both Addison and Johnson are FAs.  If I resign both I really don't see me spending big in FA on one.  Between them and Short that is a lot of cap tied up in the D-line.  If I don't have to chase a OT in the first 2  rounds that gives me the ability to pick a DE early.

WR - part of me would hate to spend another high pack on a WR but I could see one helping.  Ginn is getting older and KB and Funchess are both bigger receivers.  Would love to find that prototypical #1 reliever, big enough to catch in traffic, fast enough to go deep, quick enough for YAC, and great hands.  Unfortuanalty those tend to go really high in the draft and not sure if we have the luxury of using our 1st on it or even if there is a player like that this year.  Does Mike Williams from Clemson fit that mold?

 Would also love to find a smaller speed receiver that can also return kicks, Tyler Lockett type of player.  I think we could find someone like that with one of our 3rd round picks. John Ross from Washington would be tempting in the first especially if I could trade down some.

Safety - I might try to sign a cheaper veteran.  That way if one of the top safety's fall in the draft I don't have too much invested in the position.  

TE - we could sign a moderate priced free agent and still draft one.  Easy enough to keep 3 on the roster.

RB - if Fournette drops to us would be tempting.  If not might wait a year.  Stew is still under contract.  Might be tempted by a 3rd down running back/slot receiver/PR/KR.  Mccaffery would be perfect but I would expect him to be gone by our second round pick.  Curtis Samuel from Ohio state could be a possibility. 

FB - pick one up in a late round

CB - might be able to find one in the mid rounds

alot of it depends on how the board falls on draft night but something like:

if Oher comes back : DE, OT, RB/WR, S, TE, CB

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Carolina Cajun]

8 hours ago, bull123 said:

what are you guys smoking?...we need lineman, good ones, on both sides of the ball

Linemen you say?  Gettleman has a plan to get 4 more guards, 2 centers and 18 defensive tackles.

[Zaximus]

Honestly if this team had a decent offensive line we would have have a shot at making super bowl again, even with the defense having their issues.

Offensive line, all day of the week, now.

It's time to spend some freaking money.   And I also don't agree with OP that Short "disappeared".

[Ivan The Awesome]

12 hours ago, Saca312 said:

For those wanting a cornerback - you ain't getting one. Daryl Worley is already showing NFL starter quality play right now, and he's been silently improving while you guys aren't paying attention. 

James Bradberry needs no explanation.

As far as needs, the most glaring issue is safety. No depth behind Kurt = bad news. 

Tre Boston isn't starter caliber anymore. I would expect the Panthers to obtain a starter from the draft, such as Jamaal Adams, and go for a cheap FA for depth. Put Adams in at SS and Coleman at FS and we got a stout starting group in the secondary.

2nd TE is something I think the Panthers look into. Jordan Leggett in the 3rd round is likely, along with a project T if we indeed have our compensatory pick by then.

Another RB of the future may be taken in the second round. I believe the Panthers will go for RB D'onta Foreman, a Stewart-like player. Mocks have him going in the 2nd, most after the Panthers pick, but some saying teams may take him before the Panthers. Panthers may use the 3rd compensatory pick as bait to move up a few spots to grab him, and I wouldn't be surprised. 

WR probably will be taken care of in FA with them scavenging for a decent 3rd down receiver. 

Although our first pick may be defense, the rest should surely be offense. I see Gettleman going heavy on offense after going so hard on defense these past few drafts. With the right hits, I see the Panthers being very competitive next year.

 

 

I beg to differ, Zack Sanchez is not good. I'd giving him the benefit of the doubt as he is a rookie. But I wouldn't be surprised if we pick up someone like Adoree Jackson in the second round if he's available. He'd upgrade the Nickel Position and give us a much needed boost at KR/PR. 

[Catufb85]

Here is my 2 cents:

1^st:  Resign KK Short (or atleast Franchise Tag)

2a: Sign either LT Riley Reiff or LT Matt Kalil in FA (should get couple years out of one)

2b: Double dip at LT and draft in the 2^nd-5^th rounds:

Mike McGlinchey*, OT, Notre Dame

Ryan Ramcyzk*, OT, Wisconsin

Dion Dawkins, OT, Temple

Taylor Moton, OT/G, Western Michigan

Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh

 

3^rd:  Draft either SS Jamal Adams or Dalvin Cook with first pick in the draft.

 

4. Sign DE Jason Pierre-Paul and CB Stephone Gilmore (SC Native)

 

5. Cut Tolbert and sign the meanness blocking Fullback to hit the market someone like FA Kyle Juszczyk Ravens

 

6. Draft a Slot WR in the middle to late rounds : WR Stacey Coley(Miami), WR Artavis Scott (Clem). KD Cannon (Baylor) Gabe Marks (WSU) Zay Jones (ECU)

 

7. Overall my thoughts are to Sign veteran LT in FA to secure one side of the line draft 2 tackles to let them transition to NFL.  I like Daryl Williams at RT.  Work on extending Norwell and Turner.  Tolbert’s contribution/style to our offense has worn out. Need to get back to smash mouth running game.  Need to draft a route running slot guy to help with Ginn/Brown/Funchess. 

 

8. If you go Jamal Adams in first round.  Draft in middle to late rounds a back up RB to JStew like:

Wayne Gallman*, RB, Clemson

Samaje Perine*, RB, Oklahoma

Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo

Corey Clement, RB, Wisconsin

Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida

 

Love it or hate it just my opinion. 

 

[Hoenheim]

If we somehow signed both Deshuan Jackson and Erick Berry , Trade up for Leonard Fournette, then we have a totally different team . That's 3 x factors on one team.

Do The panthers have the capability to do something like this? Yes, but will they ? Unlikely . Likely we will resign most dudes from my this year and pick up Noone of mention in FA and try to rely on the draft again. 

[grimesgoat]

8 hours ago, AU-panther said:

Where to start...

OT

If I'm confident Oher will be back I might be willing to roll the dice and just draft one later to develop.  

If I dont believe Oher will be back things get more complicated.  Might have to reach for a player in the draft.  Robinson has some off the field issues so who knows if he will even be on our board.  Not sure if there are many others that are going to be that productive at left tackle in the first year.  

Trading for a good one is a lot easier said then done.  Might have to find one in FA.  Unfortunately the list doesn't seem that good so far.  Might have to take a guy coming off a bad year and hope he rebounds. I have a feeling people around here are going to be disappointed.  I can't think of a worse position to need to upgrade this year.

DT - try to resign Short or tag him.

DE -  Both Addison and Johnson are FAs.  If I resign both I really don't see me spending big in FA on one.  Between them and Short that is a lot of cap tied up in the D-line.  If I don't have to chase a OT in the first 2  rounds that gives me the ability to pick a DE early.

WR - part of me would hate to spend another high pack on a WR but I could see one helping.  Ginn is getting older and KB and Funchess are both bigger receivers.  Would love to find that prototypical #1 reliever, big enough to catch in traffic, fast enough to go deep, quick enough for YAC, and great hands.  Unfortuanalty those tend to go really high in the draft and not sure if we have the luxury of using our 1st on it or even if there is a player like that this year.  Does Mike Williams from Clemson fit that mold?

 Would also love to find a smaller speed receiver that can also return kicks, Tyler Lockett type of player.  I think we could find someone like that with one of our 3rd round picks. John Ross from Washington would be tempting in the first especially if I could trade down some.

Safety - I might try to sign a cheaper veteran.  That way if one of the top safety's fall in the draft I don't have too much invested in the position.  

TE - we could sign a moderate priced free agent and still draft one.  Easy enough to keep 3 on the roster.

RB - if Fournette drops to us would be tempting.  If not might wait a year.  Stew is still under contract.  Might be tempted by a 3rd down running back/slot receiver/PR/KR.  Mccaffery would be perfect but I would expect him to be gone by our second round pick.  Curtis Samuel from Ohio state could be a possibility. 

FB - pick one up in a late round

CB - might be able to find one in the mid rounds

alot of it depends on how the board falls on draft night but something like:

if Oher comes back : DE, OT, RB/WR, S, TE, CB

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like this plan.  Remember - Free agency starts in March.  You gotta fill the holes as best you can without relying on the draft or you will miss out.

Say goodbye to:

Short.  Someone will give him $16 mil per year.  I hope it is not us.

Also bye to Tolbert, Ginn, Klein, Big Money, Remmers, Gradkowski, Scott, and Jones.

 

Free Agency:

Evaluate Oher.  Assuming he's done, target Kalil ($5mil per) with Hurst as a low-priced backup. FA LTs are sparse. If Oher can play, just target Hurst.

Re-sign Norwell.  There are a lot of guards on the market.  We can probably get him for $2 mil per.

Sign D Jackson to stretch the field (2 yr, 12 mil). Fast like Ginn and can catch.

Sign Smitty to 1 yr. $3 mil deal to play the slot (just for giggles).

Re-work Stewie - get his cap hit down to $6 mil.

Re-sign Addison.  It will probably cost $5 mil per.

Target Cyprien or Elam to pay ss.  Probably cost $4-5 mil. This moves Coleman back to fs and ends the Boston experiment.

Target Gilmore to play CB opposite Bradberry.  He's a SC native and would probably love to return to the Carolinas (from buffalo) for around $7 mil per.  Worley slides to backup.

Sign Chris Long (or someone similar) for 1 year, 3 million for depth.

Re-sign Love to fill in for Short.  Horton for C Johnson.

Find a real blocking Fullback.  Maybe Rockhead will be ready.

 

The Draft

Round 1 If Fournette drops to us, grab him.  Otherwise get Barnett, the DE from Tenn.

Round 2 Eiflein C/G. Great depth and eventual pro-bowler.

Round 3 If we get Fournette, take the best TE/OT/DE on the board.  Otherwise take the best TE/OT.

Round 3 Comp Pick - best TE/OT/DE on the board.

Round 4  Assuming no Fournette, take Hood - RB.

Round 5-7 Depth.  Make sure to get a good LB.

 

Super Bowl

 

 

 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

10 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

Giving up on Funchess before he hits 23 and with only 2 years of having a real QB throwing to him is a bad move. 

Not giving up, simply planning for him to never be an impact player. I'm not calling to cut the guy, I'm simply calling for us to address the WR position as if Funchess will never live up to his draft status. If it clicks and he does, great. But if it doesn't, we've already planned for it.