Current Draft Position & Potential Prospects

[PappyMay]

Great write up. I feel like Graham and Tmac is what we will debate for months. Also I wouldn’t hate a trade down a few picks if it could net us a 2025 2nd. Starks could start as a rookie and yes Tmac is better but Burden who is WR2 could be a good wrinkle. His floor is Brandon Cooks. 

[shaq]

9 hours ago, chknwing said:

It might be me but I think there are better fits for Carolina in the middle of the 1st.  Tmac looks slow.  Carter looks lanky.  Kinda like to trade down and pic up Jalon Walker.

Carter is not lanky bro, saw him in person a bunch. He is a literal ball of muscle

[SmokinwithWilly]

40 minutes ago, shaq said:

Carter is not lanky bro, saw him in person a bunch. He is a literal ball of muscle

I remember watching the Panthers games when Pep was on the team and thinking these guys aren't that much bigger than me, because I'm not a small guy myself.  Then I  went down onto the field for a game day field pass and felt like Muggsy. Those guys were massive. TV doesn't do the size of some of these guys justice sometimes. 

[jb2288]

If it’s top 5 and T Mac is there you gotta get him. Only other scenario I guess is trade back 3-4 spots and pick up another second rounder and then go DL. I don’t think we pass on TMac tho 

[tukafan21]

T-Mac should be the pick if he's there, no matter anyone else on the board, and here's why.........

I don't think any of the QB's in this class are can't miss prospects, we're still in a re-build, we can't afford to use a Top 5 pick on a questionable QB prospect, we need a can't miss star with this pick.

If there was a blue chip pass rusher available, that would be the way to go, but there isn't, best DL available is likely the DT from Michigan.

Johnson and Hunter are both elite CB prospects.  But we already have Horn who is probably our best player outside of DB and because of that, I just can't get behind drafting a CB with such a high pick, which is the same reason I can't get behind any DT pick either, because of DB on the roster on a big contract.

XL has potential, but even his max potential is likely as a really good #2 or a low end #1, not an elite outside #1.  After him, all we have in the WR room is Thielen if he's even back, and Coker, who we all like as a prospect, but if he's your 2nd best WR under the age of 35 and with more than 1 year left on the team, then you have one of the worst WR rooms in the NFL, period.

So if it's WR, it's T-Mac vs Hunter (as WR) vs Burden, and then again, it's an easy decision for me.

Hunter and Burden are both going to be slot WRs in this league, the same way great WRs like Kupp and Godwin work almost exclusively out of the slot.  Passing up on a true outside #1 in T-Mac, something we don't have and are near impossible to find anywhere outside of the draft, to take a player who will be a slot focused WR, just makes no sense from a roster building standpoint.

T-Mac is 6'5" and 215 lbs and is anything but a slow plodding big WR, he has wheels (no, he doesn't have track speed, but he's going to run a sub 4.5 40 at the combine) and he has plenty of wiggle in his game post-catch to make defenders miss.  He has hands like vice grips covered in glue and a catch radius that we probably haven't seen in the NFL since Calvin Johnson.  He already runs a complete NFL route tree at all levels, he's just as good running a deep go route for a jump ball as he is catching a 2 yard slant and making defenders miss to pick up the first down.

Don't over think it, you take the guy with legit Top 5 NFL WR talent at a position of serious need, more so than any other position of the available players at the top of the draft.

Yes, I've openly admitted that I'm an Arizona alum, but it has zero bias in my feelings on this pick.  I wouldn't even tell people that if I wasn't so sure about the player he's going to be at the NFL and why he's such a perfect fit for our needs.

If he's gone, there are plenty of other prospects that I like, but I don't think any of them have the potential and the perfect fit for our needs as T-Mac does, my alumni connection or not.

[PanthersNCSU]

If Bryce finishes the season strong, we hope for T-Mac. I wouldn't hate a defensive player at all, but almost a scenario where I'd rather us trade down a few spots if we're dead set on defense. 

[scratched]

If T-Mac is available, he's the pick. If not I'm looking at Will Johnson (CB) in the 1st, and somebody like Deone Walker(DT) in the 2nd. The edge position has lots of talent this draft. Just not sure I like any of them enough to draft in the top 10 picks. So I look for DE/Edge help in the 3rd, preferably Tuimoloau out of OSU. In the 4th I'm looking at someone like Stutsman(LB) out of OU, followed up in the 4th with Belton(OT) out of NCst. After that,  guys like Nesbitt(TE), Payton(edge), Dillon Gabriel(QB), Malachai Moore (S). It's a really good draft to have lots of picks....

[HPPantherzfan]

Agree with most, T-Mac if we can get him.  Next few rounds all D.  I would probably try to add some o-line depth in the later rounds just to see if we could get something to stick, especially if we are in danger of losing any of the current guys.  If T-Mac isn't there then I would try to trade back and load up on all D through the early rounds with the same mindset for later rounds as above.  Trading back probably makes the most sense, loading up on draft capital to fill as many holes as we can on the D but with the way Bryce is progressing right now, I wouldn't mind teaming him up with what I believe will be a true number 1 WR.  Think about it, I could see T-Mac and X on the outside with Coker in three WR sets with Adam running the slot, Chubba and Brooks in the backfield with a decent o-line.  Sanders before the injury was looking good as well.  As crazy as it sounds, the O would be set for years to come...if Bryce keeps developing, and cheap.

[JawnyBlaze]

I’ve watched some TMac videos and for now I’m on board. Dude has ridiculous hands and body control. We don’t need another young WR but I could see TMac and XL being like Fitz and Boldin for us. Coker as a very high quality #3, we could be set at WR for a decade. Our biggest need is a pass rusher but as far as I can tell there doesn’t seem to be any worth a top five or ten pick. With TMac, within a year or two we could have the best offensive skill player group in the league: those three WRs plus Chuba, Brooks and Sanders. Plus a great OL. Deadly Offense. 

[SOJA]

OP always has excellent draft takes but i forsee Carter playing himself into a top 5 pick. He has tantalizing tools and teams will convince themselves they can develop him into Micah Parsons. 

My current big board subject to change is:

Travis Hunter

Mason Graham

Abdul carter

Will Johnson

Tmac

I think if we fall to 6-7 we still end up with one of those guys 

Edited December 3, 2024 by SOJA

[Panthering]

I think T-Mac would be incredible for us. We are seeing Bryce flourish with newfound confidence behind a good Offensive Line and WRs are still letting us down a bit. XL is awesome and I love him, but I think he would be even better as a #2 option. T-Mac giving us the rangy option at WR at the X-Spot we haven't had in a long time would open up everything else. 

T-Mac, XL, Sanders, Coker would just continue this upward trajectory of the offense. Mouth-watering to think about. 

[PanthersGTI]

I think the benefit right now is they really can take BPA. Personally I weight defense over offense when ranking 1st round prospects. Getting a blue chip player on any level of the defense would be huge. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

I know people here gave him a lot of poo, but Bersin had hands. If it hit his hands, he caught it. Theilen is the only other receiver we've had since with hands like that. Everyone loves the 40 and route trees but I'd rather be lacking in those 2 and just have somebody that can actually catch the damn ball. 

[L-TownCat]

21 hours ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Carter is a smaller version of brian burns.  Or think of him as everette brown.  

…gross