REPORT: Panthers have talked to numerous teams about moving back from #6

[Smithers]

2 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It's odd to me how everyone can easily point out the weaknesses of the QB prospects while ignoring the weaknesses of the OT prospects. The football player on the field has never matched the athlete in the gym for Neal. Ekwonu is a better run blocker than pass protector and that's a big concern for a LT. He's also built more like an OG than an OT at 6'4" 310. Cross is another guy who's a bit undersized at a shade over 300 pounds with significant questions about his physicality at the NFL level.

I'm just not buying into this draft narrative that this OT class is special and the QB class is trash. It doesn't add up.

I agree.  Lance did a nice piece (linked below) about the draft by position group.  OT is below average, and pretty poor after the first few guys.  People forget just how many OT prospects flame out.
 

https://www.nfl.com/_amp/2022-nfl-draft-strongest-position-group-weakest

[firefox1234]

11 minutes ago, Smithers said:

I agree.  Lance did a nice piece (linked below) about the draft by position group.  OT is below average, and pretty poor after the first few guys.  People forget just how many OT prospects flame out.
 

https://www.nfl.com/_amp/2022-nfl-draft-strongest-position-group-weakest

OT always feels like the safe pick since if one flames out, there is a good chance you kick them inside or at the very least become part of a decent rotation.

[LinvilleGorge]

22 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

But are you also blind to his(Howell) faults as a result? You did get blinded by Herbert's offense when he was at Oregon.

Regardless, the point being is that if you look at this QB class, prospect by prospect, it is just bad. Doesn't mean 1 or 2 guys might not succeed. Pickett might be able to outplay his Andy Dalton-ish ceiling. Willis might be a fast learner and figure out how to anticipate throws, read defenses, etc. Corrall might end up learning to read the field pre-snap like Drew Brees and carve up defenses with that quick release. Ridder may somehow fix his myriad of mechanical issues and be the same gamer he was in college. Howell might end up not being a poor man's Baker Mayfield and be what Mayfield was supposed to be. Strong might develop into a guy that can be extremely adept at moving in the pocket and analyzing defenses at an elite level.

But....if you take the past few classes and sit down with the pros and cons of each of the top 5 or 6 prospects, it's clear that this isn't just a "doesn't have a top tier prospect" class but it's a class that lacks many decent gambles on success. It's a lot of traits and flaws for prospects that we typically are used to seeing in guys that go in the 4th-7th rounds. So are we looking at Mahomes or are we looking for Gardner Minshew? I am gonna say this definitely leans towards the latter.

Nah, I've always been pretty honest about my take on UNC prospects. I laughed it off when people were giving Dyami Brown 1st round grades last year.

Interesting you mentioned Mahomes - a QB with a lot of question marks coming out of college.

It's an art, not a science and there will always be steals and busts in ever draft class yet every year folks want to take about the draft in absolutes.

[Smithers]

11 minutes ago, firefox1234 said:

OT always feels like the safe pick since if one flames out, there is a good chance you kick them inside or at the very least become part of a decent rotation.

That is true.  I’d personally rather take a OT mid 1st or even 2nd and let him and BC battle it out for LT and LG.  Then use the extra pick to address QB, DL or MLB

[DaveThePanther2008]

3 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

And then draft Howell to appease the UNC fans, while one of the better QBs becomes a star.

Howell has as much upside as any QB in this draft.  Willis is a 2 or 3 year project and no guarantee he'll be a star or even serviceable. 

[Eazy-E]

Why does this team hate Left Tackles? We are in prime position to finally draft one and fix a hole that has been present since Jordan Gross retired and some how the Panthers are going to find a way to fug it up.

The Panthers haven’t drafted a tackle in the first round since Jeff Otah in 2008 and traded back into the first round to do so. I’d be willing to bet that is the longest stretch of any team in the league. I’ve never seen a team ignore such a glaring need for so long.

[LinvilleGorge]

38 minutes ago, Smithers said:

I agree.  Lance did a nice piece (linked below) about the draft by position group.  OT is below average, and pretty poor after the first few guys.  People forget just how many OT prospects flame out.
 

https://www.nfl.com/_amp/2022-nfl-draft-strongest-position-group-weakest

It used to be the safest 1st round pick a team could make. Boy did that script flip over the past 20 years.

 

[Smithers]

7 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It used to be the safest 1st round pick a team could make. Boy did that script flip over the past 20 years.

 

For sure.  Long snapper has taken over the title of safest pick now…

[LinvilleGorge]

Just now, Smithers said:

For sure.  Long snapper has taken over the title of safest pick now…

We couldn't even get that right. We drafted a fuging LONG SNAPPER and the guy couldn't even make the roster.

[Ivan The Awesome]

4 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

How hard is it to include the tweet?

If he did that, he wouldn't be TheSpecialJuan...

[LinvilleGorge]

Hey y'all, remember that time we drafted a fuging LONG SNAPPER who couldn't make the roster over an OG who started every game for the 12-5 Chiefs who went to the AFC CG?

I do!

At least the LS Ron and Marty drafted actually made the fuging roster.

[John_Sutter]

4 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

That is the thing, if you have a QB you really think is the guy, take him at 6. If you are after a QB and you are trading down into the mid to late 1st to grab him, you obviously aren't sold on him either.

And I am saying this as a guy that is low on this entire class.

You mean like how the Ravens traded back up to pick 32 to take Lamar Jackson when they could have just taken him at 25 instead of Hayden Hurst?

Hayden Hurst was considered the “safer” pick and the Ravens felt like they didn’t need to gamble on Jackson that early  (which is kind of hilarious in retrospect).

The fact is a lot of these guys are impressive interviews and (re: the Herbert side convo) are not always optimally used in their college schemes. That gives NFL coaches and GMs plenty of imagination to project what they could be. That’s why some guys like Fitterer like to have more bites at the apple, to hedge against some of the bad bets and diversify, so to speak. And then sometimes guys like Belichick and Les “F Them Picks” Snead push that even further and forego that risk by trading out of their picks altogether in exchange for known quantities. 

[Jackie Lee]

28 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Hey y'all, remember that time we drafted a fuging LONG SNAPPER who couldn't make the roster over an OG who started every game for the 12-5 Chiefs who went to the AFC CG?

I do!

At least the LS Ron and Marty drafted actually made the fuging roster.

In that dumb social media clip the LS couldn't believe they drafted him either. Rhule's narcissism was in full display during that draft confidential video

[Soul Rebel]

5 hours ago, cookinbrak said:

If Icky or Neal are there, take them. If  Cross is there, entertain offers.