2022 Panthers Mock Offseason

[Jay Roosevelt]

This is my take on the offseason using Spotrac.com's salary cap/roster management tool as my guide.

Warning: the following might make too much logical sense to be considered realistic given who is currently making personnel decisions.

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SALARY CAP MOVES:
According to Spotrac, the following three restructures will create an additional $21.2 million in cap space. Extending Shaq Thompson allows us to reduce his short-term cap hit by nearly half (saving an additional $9.1 million) while also keeping him around.

According to Spotrac, these moves will gives us an additional $30.3 million in cap space, giving us $51.1 million available to spend.

 - Restructure RB Christian McCaffrey
 - Restructure WR Robby Anderson
 - Restructure OT Taylor Moton
 - Extend/Restructure OLB Shaq Thompson

 

CONTRACT EXTENSIONS:
The top priority here was to re-sign Haason Reddick, but also to not spend all our cap space retaining our own players as the goal is to get better, not stay the same. I don't feel it makes sense to give Donte Jackson big money; he's a solid player, but not worth what he's going to demand.

Stephon Gilmore was a tough call, but I can't justify spending $12-$15 million a year on an aging corner when the team isn't even close to being a contender. That being the case, it makes the most sense for both sides for Gilmore to play elsewhere next season, IMO.

 - EDGE Haason Reddick (4 years, $62 million)
 - OLB  Shaq Thompson (3 years, $35 million)
 - OLB  Frankie Luvu (3 years, $14 million)
 - WR   Brandon Zylstra (1 year, $1 million)
 - K    Zane Gonzalez (2 years, $5.5 million)

 

FREE AGENCY:
With a good amount of cap space left after re-signing the players above, the #1 priority in free agency is obviously to improve the offensive line. I opted to focus on the interior of the OL - specifically the two guard spots - and assumed that Brady Christensen would go into 2022 as our full-time starting left tackle, pending the results of the draft.

It would be nice if there were some quality young OL in their primes available, but these days that very rarely happens in free agency. Instead, my strategy was to go after veteran OL who would help us immediately, but who would also buy us time to draft and develop longer-term answers along the line.

The biggest move I made was to bring back a familiar face in Andrew Norwell. While he isn't quite the player he was in his younger days with the Panthers, he would be a significant upgrade and immediately shore up the LG position. Likewise, Quinton Spain from the Bengals is another solid veteran pickup that immediately gives us a quality starter, but who can also come in on a short-term deal and compete with and push Deonte Brown. Adding Seahawks TE Will Dissly made a lot of sense as we will need depth at the position moving forward.

While the offense is and should be our top priority, the defense shouldn't be ignored in free agency either. The 49ers' D.J. Jones would give us a younger, better version of DaQuan Jones who can help improve our run defense. Likewise, A.J. Johnson of the Broncos would gives us an immediate upgrade over Jermaine Carter at MLB and provide more reinforcement against the run.

 - OG   Andrew Norwell, JAX ($3 years, $24 million)
 - DT   D.J. Jones, SF (3 years, $18 million)
 - OG   Quinton Spain, CIN (2 years, $12.5 million)
 - MLB  A.J. Johnson, DEN (2 years, $12 million)
 - TE   Will Dissly, SEA (2 years, $6 million)

 

2022 NFL DRAFT:
The goal is to trade down and recoup some of the picks we gave away in the Sam Darnold trade. Our best chance is to trade down with a QB-needy team, but not one that's picking TOO low. The most obvious candidate for the sake of this mock was Washington, who is basically a QB away from being a real contender.

The deal I'm simulating for this mock has Washington giving us their 1st, 2nd, and 4th round picks in exchange for the #6 overall pick and our 5th rounder that was acquired from the Jaguars as part of the C.J. Henderson trade.

1st (f/WAS): Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa
Completing the rebuild of the OL is Tyler Linderbaum, who is my favorite OL prospect in this class and an ideal target following a trade-down.

2nd (f/WAS): Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
At this point I think we can all (unfortunately) agree that Christian McCaffrey simply cannot be counted on to stay healthy, and while Chuba Hubbard had his moments as a rookie, he didn't exactly look like a future superstar either. Isaiah Spiller has that kind of potential and can produce either as the starter or as part of a rotation.

4th (f/HOU): Jaxon Kirkland, OG, Washington
While Kirkland mostly played tackle at Washington, the plan here would be for him to move inside to guard. With the free agent additions made as part of this mock, he ideally wouldn't be needed right away as more than depth, but hopefully would be able to step in as a starter in a year or two.

4th (f/WAS): Chad Muma, MLB, Wyoming
In this scenario we addressed MLB short-term by signing A.J. Johnson from the Broncos to a 2-year deal. That's a short-term move; this pick, hopefully, could address the position for years to come.

5th: Matt Araiza, P, San Diego State
A punter in the 5th round? Really? Yes. Matt Araiza has an absolute CANNON of a leg (if you haven't already, go watch his YouTube highlights) and would immediately improve our special teams significantly. Hell, with Sam Darnold at QB, Araiza might just become the team MVP.

6th (f/LV): Isaiah Thomas, DE, Oklahoma
We've got some great pass rushers, but you can never have too many.

7th (f/MIA): Andrew Stueber, OT, Michigan
More depth along the OL.

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[LinvilleGorge]

Cool. Another year of Darnold. 6-11 next year. Another top 10 but not quite top 5 pick. 

[GoobyPls]

Not going into next year with with Darnold as our QB. Also what makes you think Washington needs a QB more than us?

 

a RB in the second round? Lol

[Jay Roosevelt]

20 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Cool. Another year of Darnold. 6-11 next year. Another top 10 but not quite top 5 pick. 

I don't see any possible way we can fix both QB and the OL in one offseason other than signing two starting guards and a starting center and using our 1st rounder on a QB, which seems unlikely. Not only does Rhule seem to have a hard on for Sam Darnold, but Fitterer seemed to indicate during his press conference that drafting a QB early wasn't in the cards for us. Plus, using #6 on a QB obviously means we won't be able to trade down and recoup any of the picks lost in the Darnold/Henderson trades.

 

19 hours ago, GoobyPls said:

Not going into next year with with Darnold as our QB. Also what makes you think Washington needs a QB more than us?

They don't; my assumption here is that we're unlikely to draft a QB whereas they might be willing to move up for someone like Kenny Pickett or Sam Howell, especially since the Giants pick right after us and could go QB after picking Evan Neal at #5.

 

20 hours ago, GoobyPls said:

a RB in the second round? Lol

Yes, a RB in the second round. McCaffrey can't stay healthy and while Chuba's a decent enough option, he's not exactly someone who can be a featured back long-term. So in this scenario taking one of the top RB's in the draft in the 2nd round makes plenty of sense, IMO.

[4Corners]

Need to draft Sam Howell in first rd 

[Qu1million]

Drafting a punter like when we drafted Brad Nortman??...ok I have to check his videos

Edited January 18, 2022 by Qu1million

[ECHornet]

12 minutes ago, Qu1million said:

Drafting a punter like when we drafted Brad Nortman??...ok I have to check his videos

They don’t call him the punt god for no reason. I’ve seen a video where a team has two returners back to account for his long distance and he still punted it over their head. 

[Lemory]

I like everything except for Spiller in the 2nd. I like Spiller as a prospect, but dont feel like we need a rb that high.

Would much prefer to take a flier on a QB like Strong or Ridder but they may not be there depending on how their stock rises. 

[BurnNChinn]

22 minutes ago, 4Corners said:

Need to draft Sam Howell in first rd 

[Adb6368]

Drafting a Rb in the second round would be one of the worst decisions in the history of the Carolina panthers 

[WaterBoy]

21 hours ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

.

4th (f/WAS): Chad Muma, MLB, Wyoming
In this scenario we addressed MLB short-term by signing A.J. Johnson from the Broncos to a 2-year deal. That's a short-term move; this pick, hopefully, could address the position for years to come.

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Muma probably will not be there in the fourth round. Maybe not make it out of the second round but I’ve liked what I’ve seen and he fills a need. 

[Jay Roosevelt]

5 minutes ago, Adb6368 said:

Drafting a Rb in the second round would be one of the worst decisions in the history of the Carolina panthers 

Why? Do you really feel that good about our RB situation if (when) CMC inevitably goes down with an injury?

[SmokinwithWilly]

23 minutes ago, Adb6368 said:

Drafting a Rb in the second round would be one of the worst decisions in the history of the Carolina panthers 

Eric Shelton already has a pretty firm grip on that particular catastrophe.

That and we've unfortunately had our share of bad decisions in the draft. Still not topping the Sean Gilbert fiasco. This could be just another to add to the stack.  

[ECHornet]

Give me the young guards in free agency. Connor Williams and James Daniels. Both are 24. Let them grow with Moton, Christensen, and perhaps Deonte Brown. Daniels can also play center. Then we can go BPA in the draft. 

From pff…

Connor Williams:

Contract Projection: Three years, $20 million ($6.67M per year, $12.5 million total guaranteed)

Bottom Line:
Another offensive lineman who took a couple of years to get going, Williams stepped up his game with a top-20 grade in 2020 and he's continued that success in 2021. He's a better run blocker than he is a pass-blocker, and he's a mid-tier starting option with scheme diversity.

James Daniels

Contract Projection: Five years, $50 million ($10M per year, $24M total guaranteed)

Bottom Line:
Since 2018, Daniels has been productive at both guard positions. He also has experience at center and will turn 25 just after opening day in 2022. Daniels is an excellent fit for a zone-blocking scheme and has been one of the best pass-blocking guards in the league over the last two seasons. His best football may still be ahead of him.