Morgan & Canales

[Panther53521]

It all goes back to basic football. Build the lines first, next draft will be DB’s, LB’s and oline next year (ikey and Moton)

[MHS831]

8 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

I am beyond impressed thus far. Dan has shown an eye for talent, but this draft has been my favorite to date. Big guys from big schools who show up on game day with big plays against other big schools. Consistently. No project tweeners from schools nobody’s heard of. Just dudes. Gamers. Combine numbers and metrics took a back seat to film.

 Love it. 

He said he was looking for productive college players.

[Gapanthersfan]

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

He said he was looking for productive college players.

IMHO, our draft resembled that of one of the perennial contenders. High ceiling low floor gamers from big schools.

Dan and Dave drafted gamers, not test scores. Test scores don’t measure heart, drive and the ‘it’ factor… arguably THE most important characteristic in any sport. The tape doesn’t lie. Game strength and game speed. Important. Shorts and t shirt? Meh. 

So refreshingly different. What positions impact the scoreboard the most? QB, WR, edge, RB. What did they get? First 4 picks: WR, edge, edge, RB. 

 An actual legit #1 who has the potential to put 6 on the scoreboard at any moment. Big. fast. Not a body catcher. A legit blue chip player. We can have nice things? Since when? Heresy! 

All gamers who squared off against first and second rounders week in and week out. 

Thank you Dan and Dave. I’m feeling the culture vibes already. 

Edited May 7, 2025 by Gapanthersfan

[DaveThePanther2008]

Great teams build through the draft and have several young players that start that are on rookie contracts. It's important to hit on players in rounds 4 thru 7.  These should be future starters and solid depth.  When you hit on most of your picks you free up a lot of cap space for those one- or two-year players to fill spots you are thin at.

No GM is going to perfect on all their picks.  You're going to whiff every once in a while.  That was Hurney problem.  He'd nail the first pick but after that it was reach after reach and we couldn't get any depth on this team.

I'm excited about Morgan as our GM and hopefully he'll be around a long time.  It will be even better if Canales can continue to grow as a head coach, both in the development of young players and play calling. I remember last season after Young came back in the lineup and started to perform well.  We saw different plays I had only seen other teams use.   If Canales's play design and play calling continue to grow. Morgan and Canales will be linked together for a long time.  It would be nice to see a Coach and GM together for a decade or two.

Go Panthers

[PanthersATL]

Dawgs

[Gapanthersfan]

9 hours ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

Great teams build through the draft and have several young players that start that are on rookie contracts. It's important to hit on players in rounds 4 thru 7.  These should be future starters and solid depth.  When you hit on most of your picks you free up a lot of cap space for those one- or two-year players to fill spots you are thin at.

And this is how the proverbial ‘window’ is created. You go 2 CONSECUTIVE drafts where you have to hit on your first 2 picks, but you also strike gold on a few later round guys as well. Over the course of a couple years, you’ve loaded the team up with 5+ studs (on rookie contracts) who raise the level of play of everyone around them. If there is a franchise QB in place already, a legacy is now possible. 

The TIMING of hitting on the right kind of talent is crucial. Hitting on a stud here and there every few years actually HURTS the team. Just by their high level of play, the team may win 2+ games they had no business winning, and really screw up draft position. Now the team is stuck in draft purgatory, constantly missing out on a top 5 pick. 

This team is close to having the must have spots filled. QB (controversial), LT (controversial), WR, center (TBD), edge, DT and corner. These are the spots the real contenders are deep at. 

Draft teachable, high motor, healthy 5 star performers from top 15 schools who show up to play every Saturday and play like they actually love the game. Just imagine the boost that hitting on 2 stud edge guys AND an LT over the course of 2 years. 

Stop this dumbass wasted 2nd round pick from eastern Idaho state tweener project safety who had 1 good year after coming back from a season ending knee injury, but he impressed at the combine…. And this is exactly what this draft was. 

 

[SOJA]

I can't remember a time in Panthers history where I agreed with more of the decisions they made than I do right now. This offseason has been perfect IMO

Now before you go saying "WHAT ABOUT X? or Y?" 

you can't realistically fix every problem in one offseason. Dan did the best with what he had 

[Khyber53]

It's giving me hope, but I've been disappointed before. We all have.

I'm going to cheer them on, doing my part. Can they, finally, do theirs?

 

[countryboi]

I can't remember the last draft where I had a list of positions I felt we needed to address, and they handled it. I still have my questions about FS, but I loved their draft because every move made sense. 

[Icege]

I love what they've done to start the first two offseasons... One more like this (and results on the field to match) and ooh wee mayne

[Beast_3000]

2 hours ago, countryboi said:

I can't remember the last draft where I had a list of positions I felt we needed to address, and they handled it. I still have my questions about FS, but I loved their draft because every move made sense. 

I have always been left scratching my head and asking “Why?”.  This is the first year I felt all the picks made sense. Like you mentioned the safety pick was somewhat questionable and we probably should have swapped the order by drafting safety before running back, but I am optimistic. Hopeful Ransom and Etienne outplay their draft positions and contribute early.