A Couple Draft Grades

[JawnyBlaze]

Eh, I think C is a little low but I wouldn't get upset about it. I'd give us a solid B. The Wilson pick is as much boom or bust as Hogan. Wilson has talent, but he's too small. If he bulks up, he can be the next TD. The pick I like the least is Zack Williams. Pilares is another boom or bust guy. Either he'll amount to nothing and be another Ryne Robinson/Colbert/other young guys we drafted and cut a couple years later or he'll be the next coming of Wes Welker or even better, Smitty.

[DaveThePanther2008]

I am by far NOT a talent expert. Nor did I do hundreds of hours of analysis on these players but I think I follow the logic of M. Hurney. (might be scary)

1. Newton, IMO was worth a gamble. This guy could put the Panthers in contention for years to come. Well worth it. I appalled the front office on doing their homework. I believe Newton will in fact will become the face of the Franchise

2. McClain and Fua may not have been the best DT's available (of course up for debate) But I think they fill the need that Rivera wants from our DT's bodies to get a push and give Hardy, Johnson and Edwards the opportunity to make plays.

3. Hogan, I think had a long talk with Coach Rivera and felt that the trouble was behind him. A solid DB that likes to hit. Probably would have gone higher because of those issues fell to us in the 4th round. This guy from what I have read could be a starting CB in this league. We started the draft off with a gamble (I like those odds on Newton) Why not say WTF and go for it again. The leash is short. There will be no Pacman Jones problems here. He Screws up, he is gone.

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/2011/04/rivera-i-laid-it-out-to-cb-hogan-.html

4. Pilares..Sounds like a player in the mold of Rickey Phroel. Solid, Strong, great hands and able to get open. We have the speed in Gettis and Smitty, We have the Moose mold in LaFell. Sure there was better talent available but we need a guy like Phroel not another Smitty or Gettis. This guy has a chance to play at the same time the others are on the field. So what is a better value ANOTHER Gettis or someone who can play beside him?

5. L. Wilson... Fast, nasty Linebacker. James Anderson kind of player. Latter round pick but can play. Our LB corps has always been one of our better position. If we have players that can move like Beason and TD.. We don't get hurt so bad if one goes down. IMO a great late round pick. Someone who will excell on special teams and be able to step in if someone goes down.

6. Williams and Ziemba Williams plays with a nasty streak and Ziemba was from what I have read as high as a 3rd rounder. Our F.O. continually find Linemen that can contribute to this team afer being around our staff. I wish they had kept Magazu but hopefully our O-Line coach will be able to get the same type of output as Mag's did.

I look at it this way. There may have been better players available but were they good enough for the roll we needed them for? As I watched and read the Bios for these guys I saw each of them playing a roll for us in 2011 except believe it or not. NEWTON

I view what we did as the Bulls did with M. J. We don't need superstars at every position but we do need solid role players that know their role.

This is why I grade us a B or B+ because we filled most of our needs with good players that will fill the role we need them to.

[section543]

Agree that it is tough to grade draft now. There's no way we could look as good as other teams without having a familiar hyped name in rd. 2. I like what we did in late rounds. It looks like all those guys can contribute. I'm tired of having our ST players unable to contribute when asked to fill in.

[jramsey4]

I would grade it a B or B+ personally. I love every pick except the Wilson (and I can live with that). I would have gotten Hankerson (my #1 receiver) instead of McClain but only because I thought he would be around until the 4th or 5th. I really like McClain however. Absolutely love the Philares/Zemba picks. And the Hogan pick was a good gamble (if he stays clean could be a steal).

All in All I could see a potential 5 or 6 starters out of this class (Newton, Fua, Philares, Hogan, Zemba and McClain as a rotational 3 tech). I think judging drafts this early is about useless they almost never end up like they are projected.

[Easyt65]

Newton: I

McClain: B

Fua: B

Hogan: C-

Pilares: C

Wilson: C

Williams: C

Ziemba: B

Total: C

Newton is an 'Incomplete'. He is all athletic ability and potential. I can't grade him on these right now because we drafted Edwards for those same traits last year, and we all see how he has turned out SO FAR. Many can make the case for why he will be great, but that doesn't make it so right now. His success will depend on him and on how we use him/how fast we rush him onto the field. If we rush him onto the field before he is ready, he will perform much like Clausen did IMO.

McClain and Fua are, in the words of Rivera, 'space eaters'. We addressed a need at DT with the best players still available. They should begin to contribute right away.

Hogan is/has been a 'thug'. Yeah, I know a lot of people disagree, argue that he made 'young kid's' mistakes. Once is a mistake. Two may be a slip-up. Any more after that is a trend. To top it off, he is coming off of a late-season ACL tear. With better CBs on the board who don't have ACL tears, I can't grade this pick higher than a 'C1' ATT. I hope he proves me wrong.

I want to grade Pilares higher, but I can't. He has great stats, but WRs from Hawaii, benefitting from that spread offense, usually do. I like what I read, nevertheless. What is a definite 'downgrade' for me ATT is reports that he has a torn PCL that MAY require surgery. If that 'may' turns into 'will', he gets put on the shelf for a while and doesn't contribute. I hope he proves me wrong as well and turns out to be the 'steal' he would definitely be if not for the PCL.

Wilson could/should probably be moved to SS, but who knows. He might become a back-up at LB. We'll see.

SI couldn't even find anything to post about Williams. I see this guy, at best, becoming a back-up and possibility camp fodder or Practice Squad material.

Ziemba is probably a steal and could develop into a valuable back-up.

As Dave said above, "I look at it this way. There may have been better players available...". THAT fact makes me wonder a bit and makes it hard to give a higher grade ATT. We don't know what changes will be made to the offense and defensive schemes, so we don't know if Carolina passed on picking better talent for talent that fit the schemes we will be running. I hope all of the players develop into great players making this one of the best drafts we have ever had. Until then, IMO...

Overall: C

[jtm]

Time will tell, but this is definitely a big moment for Rivera and Hurney. It's almost a certainty that the Panthers will at least double their win total from last year though. That almost always happens after a coaching change, regardless of how their 1st draft goes. Just having different faces on the coaching staff seems to put a charge into teams for some reason.

You are right on. Players all of a sudden realize that they have to play for their job again and the hustle increases 100%. However, I never thought the Panthers weren't trying last year.

[Devoid]

We didn't trade any picks from next year away so A++. :cheers2::grouphug::cornut: