Ranking the Panthers Rookies(TheAthletic)

[kungfoodude]

https://theathletic.com/2763207/2021/08/11/ranking-the-panthers-rookies-from-day-1-starter-jaycee-horn-to-the-ones-with-work-to-do/

 

I won't post the camp write ups because I don't want to blast paid content(which you should subscribe to, BTW) but they had them:

Immediate Impact

1. Horn

2. Marshall

3. Nixon

Showing Flashes

4. Smith

5. Taylor

6. Christensen 

7. Tremble

8. Hubbard

Work to Do

9. Brown

10. Fletcher

11. Hoskins

[Luciu5]

Is NFL long snapping that different from college?  Doesn't he literally have one job?  Just not sure how someone who has been doing this for years is not ready.

[SmokinwithWilly]

Just now, Luciu5 said:

Is NFL long snapping that different from college?  Doesn't he literally have one job?  Just not sure how someone who has been doing this for years is not ready.

Probably just adjusting from college level to NFL. The best players in college he faced are now average or less NFL guys. 

[BlitzMonster]

Thanks for this kungfoodude.  The Athletic writeups really are well done and worth the $$.

I'd make only one change to these rankings.  With all the positive chatter about Tremble in camp, he's more likely to be an "immediate impact" guy.  Maybe not as a starter but he will play often between TE and occasional FB as a run blocker.  That's going to be an important role in our offense next season.  

[thefuzz]

30 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

Probably just adjusting from college level to NFL. The best players in college he faced are now average or less NFL guys. 

Not to mention cadence changes, signals, etc...

It will take a minute for him to feel comfortable...hence why I'm hoping we keep him, unless it's clear he cannot do the job.

[kungfoodude]

23 minutes ago, Luciu5 said:

Is NFL long snapping that different from college?  Doesn't he literally have one job?  Just not sure how someone who has been doing this for years is not ready.

I guess he has made a couple of bad snaps already in practice. You gotta remember JJ has been bulletproof for almost a decade. 

That was why I think most were extremely surprised by the pick.

[Luciu5]

33 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

Probably just adjusting from college level to NFL. The best players in college he faced are now average or less NFL guys. 

He doesn't face other players though.  All he does is look between his legs and throw the ball backwards, right?  I get that in a punting situation being able to tackle is nice, but let's face it, JJ isn't tackling anyone.  Fletcher doesn't need any improvement there to beat out Jansen.
 

The cadence etc that @thefuzz mentioned makes some sense though I guess.

[Captain Morgan]

pretty excited to see Nixon on that list.

 

[saX man]

Yeah if the Nixon situation fell into our laps/he grew up (there were background concerns for his drop from a day 2 pick to where he was), then we may have landed a legitimate impact lineman late.  

 

Taylor and Smith are exciting, Taylor must be quietly impressing.  He has great size, speed and footwork.

[Pup McBarky]

4 minutes ago, stbugs said:

When you have our lack of young talent on the OL, you keep drafting them. Definitely think I was 100% right on this one.

You were. We should've taken Trey Smith. Hell, I would've taken him a round earlier.

[CanePantherHornet]

Besides Horn and Mitchell I'm most excited about Smith and Nixon. Those two guys had some amazing highlight reel stuff and they seem like they're catching on fast.

[Camp Fodder]

1 hour ago, kungfoodude said:

I guess he has made a couple of bad snaps already in practice. You gotta remember JJ has been bulletproof for almost a decade. 

That was why I think most were extremely surprised by the pick.

Yep, I’d rather we took a flyer on a potential backup QB

[CarolinaLivin]

27 minutes ago, stbugs said:

Here’s why I was surprised at the pick:

https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2021/08/09/kansas-city-chiefs-trey-smith-adjusting-well-starting-right-guard/ 

Well, the Chiefs appear to have a potential starting RG 4 picks after we took a long snapper. I said I wanted Smith during and after the draft and got a lot of disdain even though taking as many shots as we could at OL that dropped made sense to me. Brown and Smith were both discussed as possible day 2 picks and we could have had both in the 6th. SMH, the one pick I really disliked because Smith was available. He may not end up starting with KC as Long May beat him out, but Long has the same salary as our Miller so not expensive. I just hate to hear our LS is making bad snaps while in KC this is the story:

After two weeks in training camp, Smith has been the undisputed starter at the right guard position. He has been perhaps the most impressive player in St. Joe to this point, despite his inexperience in the pro game. He has shown a surprising awareness, power, and a bit of a mean streak that has translated into higher expectations than would normally befit a late-round draftee.

When you have our lack of young talent on the OL, you keep drafting them. Definitely think I was 100% right on this one.

Now how many players have been hyped as possible gems... or just called a generational talent in general and then not pan out. They added depth to our line, maybe just not how you or any of us may have wanted. Let the rookies play some snaps first. Just because a player is hyped more than the guy we got, doesn't mean they will have a bigger impact or a better career in the long run. Remember Rhule isn't trying to just see a super bowl, they want to consistently be in the running for it year after year. 

Now after a few games (or maybe after the season) if it looks like we made the wrong choice then by all means go to town. But doesn't make sense to do it now. 

Also: You can literally go to any draft for any team and say "Man we could've had him or him"

[Newbie]

2 minutes ago, stbugs said:

Lol, relax man. Sorry you are butt hurt but when a bunch of us said we should have taken Smith instead of a LS, it’s OK to say we were right just based on so far. We were talking about Smith when day 3 started. We 100% should have taken a chance on Smith instead of a LS. Smith could fall apart and never start a game but that doesn’t matter. Let me clarify since you are jumping into the silly defense of we just don’t know yet and you can’t go back and say we should have taken Brady:

1) I really liked our draft overall, never said I didn’t. I think I complained about this 6th round pick more than anything else. I was fine with Horn and that will be a much bigger what if pick, but I get why we made that pick.

2) I’m not declaring Smith a HOFer. I made it well known that I liked him and that I hope we take him on day 3 because he dropped due to his medical condition. Kind of like Orlando Brown who fell because of the combine, Smith based on his play in the SEC, was a day 2 pick and a solid player.

3) I’m not playing what if scenarios and trying to redraft, especially since we don’t know who will really pan out. It’s Ok for you to acknowledge that sometimes people have feelings about certain players and really wished their team took them. Because we went CB/WR in the first two rounds, I wanted Smith even more to give us a better chance of hitting on OL.

4) I said right in the draft thread that we should use as many picks to try and get OL as we can. When we picked a LS, a bunch of us were like why not pick one up undrafted?

Listen, you can give try and ignore it like a what if or say it’s too early, but I felt very strongly that we needed to take more than two OL in the draft (Moore was undrafted and already gone) and I felt very strongly that Smith was a great shot to take and I liked him more than Brown, but had we gotten Brown and Smith in the 6th, that would have been a coup even if neither worked out.

 

 

At least we got that funny exchange between Fletcher and Coach Rhule on draft day. I also wanted Trey Smith for what it’s worth. I was so excited to see who we got and just knew it would be Smith. Then I saw it was a LS and I immediately felt like a Jets fan. I think the team after we picked Fletcher took a LS as well. If we wanted him he was probably going the pick after us but it’s still a LS and Smith is already turning heads.