Pat Yasinskas on Cam Newton: Go get him.

[blackcatgrowl]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/17768/should-panthers-take-cam-newton

Should Panthers take Cam Newton?

The news that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will enter the draft gives the Carolina Panthers something more to think about. At a time when new coach Ron Rivera is just starting to fill out his coaching staff, Newton’s entry at least gives Carolina another option with the first pick in the 2011 draft.

Yes, most experts are saying right now that Newton isn’t worthy of the No. 1 overall pick and some are saying he’s not even a first-round pick. The knock on him is that he’s not polished and remains a project, despite his remarkable size and physical skills.

I only saw a handful of Auburn games this season due to my travel schedule, but what I saw from Newton reminded me a lot of Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman. I don’t know what Carolina’s front office and coaches will see when they break down Newton. But, if they see some of those similarities to Freeman, the Panthers might have to put Newton’s stock a lot higher than the experts have it at the moment.

Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik has said the Bucs would have taken Freeman No. 1 overall in 2009, if they had that pick. One other general manager told me he would have taken Freeman in the top spot, if his team had that pick. Freeman slipped to No. 17 before the Bucs drafted him, but you now can make a case he’s the best quarterback from that draft.

It seems like everybody’s saying Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley and Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers are the top two prospects in this draft. That may be true.

But franchise quarterbacks are hard to find and Carolina needs one. They’re in a division where Tampa Bay has Freeman, New Orleans has Drew Brees and Atlanta has Matt Ryan. Take a look at Carolina’s overall roster. Then, compare it to the rosters of the Bucs, Saints and Falcons.

In areas like running back, offensive line and linebacker, the Panthers aren’t any worse off than the other three NFC South teams. The one huge difference is quarterback. The other three teams have franchise quarterbacks. The Panthers don’t.

If they think Newton can be a franchise quarterback, they need to ignore the current rankings and go get him.

Rankings are simply AP journalists and sports analysts. You draft what you need. Right now, our defense is serviceable. Hell, as Beason pointed out in a blog post recently, we were as high as #4 on D this past year.

We need someone who can lead this team to victory. Cam can do that. He isn't a project. His mechanics aren't as screwed up as people say they are. His sheer athleticism elevates his teammates.

It's Newton time.

[KBRed]

If they think Newton can be a franchise quarterback

Noone does, not immediately.

[mav1234]

how you can even say "he isn't a project" is beyond me. there is no quarterback in this draft that isn't a project, and Cam is probably one of the bigger question marks as far as that goes. You can think he can be an improvement at QB and you can think he's worth the #1 but if you don't think he is a project you are delusional and have bought into the hype way too much.

[Dpantherman]

conveniently leaving the half of the last sentence out.

[Snake]

And the huddle explodes. Bring on the dancing monkeys again.

[CatMan72]

I could see the Panthers taking Gabbert # 1 overall LONG before I could see them taking Newton # 1 overall.

[mav1234]

Panthers have 2 project QBs already. Do we need a third? I dunno. I wanted a QB pretty bad that I was initially willing to take a couple guys after Luck decided to stay in school but not anymore.

[Lumps]

isn't a project?

lol, yea let's see him run and jump around like he does in college in the NFL. He is too big of a target and is slow by NFL standards. He needs to learn to take a hit with that big body and stand in the pocket and look over the lineman with his height. There is only so much you can do in a spread offense, he should be benched at least his first year.

[propagandamachine]

We need a franchise quarterback.. or heck we need to get back to winning games seriously. Defense is defense.. you can get gems in the later rounds.

Nick fairley will disrupt a pocket but wont have a 4th quarter winning drive. They have go Offense - Jimmy Clausen is Jimmy clausen.. i dont even know why he would bother to twit.. Win some games first Son.. then you can go on twitter.

Im all for Newton

[blackcatgrowl]

how you can even say "he isn't a project" is beyond me. there is no quarterback in this draft that isn't a project, and Cam is probably one of the bigger question marks as far as that goes. You can think he can be an improvement at QB and you can think he's worth the #1 but if you don't think he is a project you are delusional and have bought into the hype way too much.

I've yet to see anyone show that he is consistently inconsistent. He is able to make plays out of any broken play (even when injured in the BCS Championship game).

All I see is a ton of hate for the guy.

[Lumps]

can you really say you love him or hate him only seeing 15 hours or so of him playing college?

[cheynehowell]

isn't a project?

lol, yea let's see him run and jump around like he does in college in the NFL. He is too big of a target and is slow by NFL standards. He needs to learn to take a hit with that big body and stand in the pocket and look over the lineman with his height. There is only so much you can do in a spread offense, he should be benched at least his first year.

Cam runs a 4.5 forty right now. Faster than L.T....You guys are haters

[cheynehowell]

The funny thing is most of the people posting about him only saw his play in the NC game......

[KBRed]

I've yet to see anyone show that he is consistently inconsistent. He is able to make plays out of any broken play (even when injured in the BCS Championship game).

All I see is a ton of hate for the guy.

Not hate, just intelligence. YOU DO NOT TAKE A PROJECT #1 OVERALL! He needs to be proven. We still don't know who that will be, but Green and Fairley are superior prospects to be NFL players immediately...key word immediately.