Prioritizing Needs as of 3/14 at 10 AM

[MHS831]

There is some disagreement about Center on the Huddle, and as you know, I am known to be the peace keeper, the mild-mannered conflict resolver, beloved by all.  So I thought, in the spirit of love and compassion so often demonstrated on this board, to provide a list of prioritized needs.  I would provide a mailing address for thank you cards and gifts, but Special Juan would arrive at my house before I hit "Submit Topic" below.  (Juan, as you know, I support you and appreciate what you have to offer).

• 1. Edge  (could be addressed today.  Do we sign 2, as David "Isaac" Newton suggests?  I strongly suggest grabbing one and drafting one in the second round)
• 2.  Wide Receiver (Johnson is basically a one-year contract.  Thielen is likely gone after this season if not sooner.  We need a draft pick that can become a #1 WR or a damn good #2; I still would not be surprised to see us grab a WR in round 2 and a WR in round 5)
• 3.  Tight End (that's right!  The more we ignore a threat at TE, the higher TE rises.  If we are going to give Bryce weapons, neglecting TE is not an option.  I see a pass catching TE in my crystal ball.)
• 4. Strong Safety  (Unless you are a fan of Jammie Robinson, which I am not, we need one.  I see us bringing in a veteran free agent here. There are some pretty good SS candidates in the draft in round 3, actually.)
• 5. Center (this could become more of a priority if Morgan and Canales are not serious about Corbett.  I think they think they have a quality OL at C who is backed by Mays now as a full-time center reserve.  I think they think the position is covered.  However, I think this will be Corbett's last season in Carolina, and he is often injured.  Are you prepared to go with Mays?  He played 400+ snaps last season at G and had a 58.3 PFF rating.  To me, and I watch the OL, that is about right--maybe a bit high.  The PFF score of 60 is average, so Mays was slightly below that.  With better coaching and one position to focus on, I think he will be better in 2024 to such a degree, they could even be grooming him to be the C of the future.  Breathe.  Deep Breaths.  Exhale slowly.  There, better?  I think it makes sense to draft a C late, but grabbing a top C with 2 pros at the position means that they were not serious about Corbett and Mays)
• 6.  Corner (Expect a late round CB for depth  Bootle is OK, but nothing behind him)
• 7  Free Safety (We have nothing much behind Woods.  Late round pick or undrafted free agent)

So if we sign a free agent edge or not, here is how I would draft, assuming the cards fall in the proper direction.  I am assuming that Corbett and Mays will be the centers and I am going to assume that better coaching makes them better.  However, I will take a C if one falls and he is a good fit.

•  Pick 33:  WR or Edge
• Pick 39:  Edge or WR
• Pick 65:  TE or SS
• Pick 101: SS or TE
• 5th rounders:  WR, CB, or C

So now I will mock draft using this template.  I may trade once.  We shall see.  (https://www.profootballnetwork.com/mockdraft)

Pick 33:  Trade

Pick 39:  Graham Barton, C While I am sure that the Panthers think they have this spot covered, Barton was the BPA and he would make the OL ELITE.  getting an extremely athletic, intelligent center for the next decade to work with Bryce, a very smart QB, is perhaps the best move for the long-term interests of the franchise.  Barton dropped, BPA, and there were no good WR or Edge options.  A post June 1 cut saves the team $6m, or you have Corbett to backup both G spots and C.  Win Win.

Pick 45 (after trade):  Adisa Isaac, Edge. Penn State.  A very versatile player who would be perfect for multiple fronts. 

Pick 65:  Ja'Tavion Sanders TE. Texas.  A pass catching TE who is fearless over the middle and has good hands, good speed-a weapon.   The absence of a pass-catching TE and red zone threat has been devastating to this team, so when I saw Sanders had fallen about 14 spots below where I had him going, I scooped him up.

TRADE UP: 

Pick 80:  Ricky Pearsall, WR Florida:  6"1" eventual slot WR who ran 4.4 at combine and led others in most categories.  Crafty and intelligent.  Gives the Panthers the slot of the future, and another intelligent player on offense to pair with an intelligent QB.  Before the combine, an AFC Scout said, "I don't know how fast he is, but he gets open and he's got great hands -- just needs a more accurate quarterback." (A: 4.4 40, 42" Vertical, Broad Jump 10' 9") 

Pick 142: Kitan Oladepo SS, Oregon State:  Plays all over the field.  A large safety (6'2" 215) who covers well.  Looks like the NFL Strong Safety.  Ran a 4.58 40. Still a bit raw, can develop into a starter in right defense.

Pick 150:  Jalyx Hunt:  Edge, Houston Christian:  Great name for an Edge, but this kid is raw and could develop into a situational pass rusher of a Sam OLB with some added muscle.  At 6'4" 252 lbs, Hunt ran a 4.64 40 at the combine.  His arms are over 34 inches and he has 10" hands.  Size, speed, flexibility--all the ingredients are there.  I wanted to go with a CB or WR here, but this project is too good to pass up this late.

Pick 240: Quintin Newsome, CB, Nebraska:  Upside is the best way to describe him--big CB. Newsome is an incredibly long and physical coverage defender at 6’1″, 185 pounds. He dominates at the catch point with his reach, tenacity, and ball skills.  In 2022, Newsome logged 44 tackles, four TFLs, two sacks, and a team-high 10 pass deflections.

In addition to adding a 2025 day 2 draft pick, here is how it looks:

 

 

[chknwing]

Seeing how free agency is going we may not have any needs come the draft. BPA.

[Khyber53]

I like your draft picks and I'm completely on board with the first one.

[BPF]

10 minutes ago, chknwing said:

Seeing how free agency is going we may not have any needs come the draft. BPA.

This should be the goal, and might actually execute this year.

[TheSpecialJuan]

great work here 

[rayzor]

mine (not that anyone would care) ...

1) Edge

2) Center

3) WR

3) CB

5) TE

6) big bowling ball RB

did this mock right after listing my priorities.

2 trades ( i can't remember what, but they were offered)

bingo bango bongo

i think Darius will be a beast. 

Sedrick Van Pran-Granger is the best fit at OC for what we will be doing. not great options for a wide zone blocking scheme at center after him. this is as late as i would try to take him. risky waiting that long, but i wanted more picks. 

Xavier is just a favorite of mine, but there were still several really good WRs to choose from here. depends on whether you want another slot guy (i  think malachi corley, also a favorite of mine, was there but i went for an X guy). 

kalen king sticks like glue and he's got a bit of a nasty attitude. i just like watching him play. not the fastest, but fast enough. got abused a little by harrison jr, but it was harrison, jr so....

jared wiley...i just have to admit that i more just like the idea of a 6'7 TE. 

audric estime fits the bowling ball RB that you can just keep feeding all game and let him pound away. there's several options that would fit here. i really like braelon allen, ray davis, and isaac guerendo as well who are usually available even a little later.

zac zinter...i was surprised to see him still available. can't have too many good OGs, i think. i saw and i took.

tommy eichenberg is just a hard nosed LB that is everywhere. Xavier Thomas was available there as well and could have gone that way just to have solid book end edge rushers. 

[Turtle]

Awesome breakdown!

I think you’re on it with TE being a much large issue than is currently being discussed.

The Payton Wilson fans (of which I am one, gopack!) will be disappointed but I really think LB is way down on the priority list for the team. Seems clear this regime has a clear plan and that is beef up the offense side of the ball.

Thanks for taking time to put that together!

[Untouchable]

EDGE1, 2, & 3 - We probably need at least 3 EDGEs with 2 coming in free agency.  Draft and develop the 3rd.  We have a top 30 visit with Marshawn Kneeland so far.

WR2, 5 - Another outside opposite Johnson. I'm sure they will try Mingo but the draft is where I expect them to go.  Probably add a late round or UDFA slot option as well to develop for when they move on from Theilen too.  I like Adonai Mitchell (Texas) on the outside and maybe an Ainias Smith (Texas A&M) for that slot.  The team is showing a lot of interest in Xavier Leggette or even Keon Coleman.

TE1 - Move TE is missing here.  It looks like Tremble is at the Flex and Thomas is at the Inline but right now the Move is Sullivan. Free agency is bare so draft and develop attempts likely. We seem to have interest in Jared Wiley from TCU.

S2, 3 - I have a feeling Fuller is about to fill this void. Depth looks weak here too right now but maybe Robinson and Cook have been developing. Haven't looked into safeties for the draft.

C2 - Corbett's recent major injuries and him not playing/practicing C in years means we need to address it.  Plus gives us a good chance to slide Corbett back into G if injury bug bites the position. WVU's Zach Frazier has gained traction lately as an option here.  Wisconsin's Tanor Bortolini is a later round zone only center.

CB2 or 4 - Hill is going to be that CB3/Nickel but you're hoping Dane Jackson takes the CB2 job right now but another one that can compete for it is needed. They liked Jamison a lot last year so maybe he's developing but depth is vital at CB. I'm a fan of FSU's Renardo Green who looks to be underrated right now at least by the media.

[grimesgoat]

well done.

I think we'll sign a S and Edge, hopefully Wonnum.  It would also be nice to bring back Foreman on a $2m deal to work with these new guards.  Fill in some holes with some cheap vets at 1-2m for a cb and olb.  Then hit the draft.

Here's my sim...

33. Robinson - Edge

39. Trade - 39, 142 for 49 and 2025 2nd from Cinn.

49. Peyton Wilson LB (really like this guy)

65. Pran-Granger C

101. Burton WR

141. Wiley TE

240. Watts S

[Jay Roosevelt]

The only centers I would consider in either the 2nd or 3rd round are Jackson Powers-Johnson (likely gone by #33), Sedrick Van Pran and Zach Frazier. They're the only top-quality pure centers in this class, IMO.

Otherwise, I'd focus on WR/TE/EDGE in those rounds and go with Austin Corbett as the center.

[WhoKnows]

56 minutes ago, chknwing said:

Seeing how free agency is going we may not have any needs come the draft. BPA.

We’ve said the exact same thing for all of Fitterer’s reign and it hasn’t worked out yet. BPA should be the process because we have lots of holes. 

[MHS831]

37 minutes ago, rayzor said:

mine (not that anyone would care) ...

1) Edge

2) Center

3) WR

3) CB

5) TE

6) big bowling ball RB

 

kalen king sticks like glue and he's got a bit of a nasty attitude. i just like watching him play. not the fastest, but fast enough. got abused a little by harrison jr, but it was harrison, jr so....

jared wiley...i just have to admit that i more just like the idea of a 6'7 TE.

zac zinter...i was surprised to see him still available. can't have too many good OGs, i think. i saw and i took.

tommy eichenberg is just a hard nosed LB that is everywhere. Xavier Thomas was available there as well and could have gone that way just to have solid book end edge rushers. 

I like to see people who know what they have after days 1 and 2. 

Zinter is recovering from that injury, but we would not need him right away.  A steal there.

Wiley is a player they have met with,  and he will be there later.

But what I liked is Tommy Eichenberg.  I noticed him last year in a game I was watching with my brother-in-law, an OSU alumni and a chiropractor in Columbus.  He knows the Buckeyes.  I told him, "I like that Eichenberg LB.  He said that they are high on him, but he has done little so far.  in 2023 he had like 120 tackles.  He would be a great backup who can possibly replace Thompson in 2025.

[MHS831]

18 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

The only centers I would consider in either the 2nd or 3rd round are Jackson Powers-Johnson (likely gone by #33), Sedrick Van Pran and Zach Frazier. They're the only top-quality pure centers in this class, IMO.

Otherwise, I'd focus on WR/TE/EDGE in those rounds and go with Austin Corbett as the center.

I like Frazier, but I read somewhere that he is a bruiser who does not fit all offenses.  Strong man, a stud.  I sorta wrote him off for that reason.

[MHS831]

46 minutes ago, Turtle said:

Awesome breakdown!

I think you’re on it with TE being a much large issue than is currently being discussed.

The Payton Wilson fans (of which I am one, gopack!) will be disappointed but I really think LB is way down on the priority list for the team. Seems clear this regime has a clear plan and that is beef up the offense side of the ball.

Thanks for taking time to put that together!

I really like Payton Wilson and Luke Kuechly loves him as well.  He has been battling injuries for a while--if not, he'd be a top 10 player.  He is that good when healthy