The Big Picture, The Panthers Draft, and You - A Synopsis

[Zod]

Good day fellow Carolina Panthers fans. Today I would like to take a step back and look at the 2021 Carolina Panthers draft in a big picture context and try to uncover why things transpired as they did. Won't you join me? 

The Problems

The 2020 Carolina Panthers were a rag tag group of players that put together an admirable effort that inevitably ended in a season we all thought they would have. However, not every aspect of their game was an issue. 2020 yielded some very good things. Unfortunately, the problem areas contributed to the EIGHT losses incurred by a score or less. 

The most glaring problems were as follows:

- A QB unable or unwilling to push the ball down field. 

- A defensive secondary unable to challenge better wideouts

- An offense unable to impose its will on short yardage situations

- An inability to score touchdowns when in the red zone

You add this all up and you get a 5-11 team. A team that really isn't horrible, but a team that just can't win close games. 

 

The Solutions

Unlike in years past, Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer have actually tried to find solutions to he problems stated above via sweeping personnel changes. The following solutions correspond to the aforementioned problems. 

- Sam Darnold has the ability and willingness to push the ball down field. At 23 years old he now has, for the first time, adequate coaching and supporting cast at a professional level. There is some concern about his offensive line. But remember, even last season the offensive line was ranked smack dab in the middle, perfectly average. It has improved slightly from there this offseason. 

- Obviously, Jaycee Horn is an instant and significant upgrade to the cornerback position. The Panthers can now press some of the better receivers in the league and not simply pray for a misthrow or drop. But it is so much more than that. Horn provides a trickle down improvement to the entire defense. Edge players will not have a half second more to get to the quarterback. Linebackers won't have to overcompensate on helping the corners and will be able to focus more on their own assignments. The defense is an organic living thing and such a drastic improvement in one area is far reaching to the entire body. 

- Last season, when Teddy Bridgewater reached over the goal line and fumbled he cemented his future, or lack thereof, on this team. He broke a golden Rhule. The Panthers head coach had warned him that is something we just don't do. Now the issue of being unable to impose our will when needed was addressed in round 3 of the draft with the selection of Tommy Tremble. Alex Armah was decent for a converted defensive player, and Chris Manhertz was always below average to terrible on any given play. In Tremble, the Panthers now have the best blocking H-Back in the draft that has drawn comparisons to George Kittle. Paired with a healthy CMC and a strong young QB and 4th and 1 should be nearly a guaranteed first down. 

- Scoring touchdowns in the red zone was a two prong problem. One was the quarterback just not seeing the field or making the wrong throw. The other was receivers just not getting open. Lock down Robby Anderson in the red zone and the others were easily handled. That is what we saw. So, Joe Brady and the Panthers drafted one of the best red zone threats in the draft, LSU's Terrace Marshall. You can safely expect to see him in the game whenever the Panthers are on the fun side of the 20. 

What about the rest?

The rest of the 2021 Carolina Panthers draft was not to address any significant problems per se, aside from possibly 3rd round tackle Brady Christensen who could develop into a starter this season. The rest of the draft was mostly about increasing the physical talent of the Panthers depth this season and possibly a starter or two moving forward. If you take a gander at the Panthers roster last season and compare to now, one could argue the biggest change is the quality in the depth. This exponentially increases the chance of finding a future reliable starter and also drives up competition, demanding even better from the starters entrenched in front of them. 

Conclusion

It has been interesting to watch a front office recognize and address glaring deficiencies so quickly and efficiently. I have heard talk of "a process" for decades in the organization but have seen little evidence to back it up, until now. 

Will it work? We will soon see. Nothing is a given. There is a chance that the Panthers again fall well short this season. However, If I had to predict the future I would say a significant improvement is in our future resulting in a winning season. 

[TheRumGone]

I think 10-7/9-8 is our ceiling right now which is really good all things considered. Our team is still extremely young, talented but young. We keep adding talent over the next two years and if this qb situation gets taken care of whether it’s Darnold or a draft pick we’re gonna be a force in the playoffs.

Edited May 2, 2021 by TheRumGone

[TheWiz]

This read like it deserved to be accompanied with edited visuals and a boss ass soundtrack. You should really look into getting a youtube channel to add to this community. 

[Captain Morgan]

 

I also think Matt liked the idea of trading back and getting more of his guys in the locker room.  11 guys he feels are right for the team he is building.  

Trust the process.

[Tbe]

This team is going to come together this year or next. I think Rhule’s approach to finding players is spot on.

QB is the only thing that can hold the team back. 

[kungfoodude]

7 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

I think 10-7/9-8 is our ceiling right now which is really good all things considered. Our team is still extremely young, talented but young. We keep adding talent over the next two years and if this qb situation gets taken care of whether it’s Darnold or a draft pick we’re gonna be a force in the playoffs.

That is a fair assessment. If things align perfectly, we can be a fringe playoff contender. 

Even if next season is much of the same as last(in terms of overall results), I will be happy to see the further establishment of our young core and perhaps a glimpse of actually having some semblance of depth on the roster again.

[Aussie Tank]

Still would like to bring back Okung or bring in Big Vill from the Steelers or Eric Fisher. They say he should be a go for the season. For the right price of course 

[NAS]

15 minutes ago, TheWiz said:

This read like it deserved to be accompanied with edited visuals and a boss ass soundtrack. You should really look into getting a youtube channel to add to this community. 

Yes why is there no Carolina Huddle youtube channel or podcast?

[Mother Grabber]

considering Rhule usually starts a new team with 1 win, i think we’re in good shape. 

[Scott12345]

These are rookies and will take their lumps

our FA should be able to contribute right off the bat

We are young and hungry, our QB has something to prove 

No matter what, we are going to be better

[WUnderhill]

I really hope so. I was on board with picking up Darnold but would really love for that second we gave up to not turn out to be at the top of the round.

[DCR]

15 minutes ago, Scott12345 said:

These are rookies and will take their lumps

our FA should be able to contribute right off the bat

We are young and hungry, our QB has something to prove 

No matter what, we are going to be better

Rookies will make mistakes and that is expected

and exploited by the opposition

Our main problem last year was the experienced players

were making more mistakes that cost us than the rookies

 

[Harbingers]

Oh and the three man rush. Someone tell Rhule/Snow to permanently put that in the trash. Now they have no backend excuse to run it. 

[davos]

I really like the draft but the Horn pick just makes me feel uneasy for some reason. I’m going to of course root for him but I just don’t know about him. Don’t know what it is, but with Slater & Fields just felt like a really huge opportunity was wasted high up when this draft had a lot of DB talent.