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Hey UNC homers. What about Dwight Jones??

teeray

By teeray,
in Carolina Panthers

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teeray Collaborator

teeray

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Let's say we go defense with our first pick and guys like Blackmon, Floyd, and Jeffrey go off the board in the first round.

A guy flying under the radar right now that a lot of draftniks love is UNC's Dwight Jones. Most have him with a second round or third round grade but that ranking may rise as we get closer to the draft and they and NFL GMs dive into tape.

Here is a good article on him

http://seahawksdraftblog.com/dwight-jones-is-a-first-round-pick

Yet the thing that really stands out for me is the way Jones reacts and adjusts to the football so naturally. He’ll bail out your quarterback if he’s a fraction off target, he’ll make difficult catches look easy. His route running could use some polish, but we can’t expect a plethora of receiver prospects to be AJ Green in that department – it’s just part of the learning process.

Granted he goes on to try and say Jones is better than Blackmon which I don't agree with at all but it was written after 5 games into the current season. I don't agree with everything he says but I think Jones could be a good pick up in the second and definitely the third round.

I know us UNC homers would like it. What about everyone else?

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Hugor Hill Community Regular

Hugor Hill

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He's not as good as Hakeem Nicks, but he's got potential. If we got him it would have to be in later rounds, but by then he might be off the board. We need defense, don't forget we get Gettis back next year, and with him Smith, LaFell, Legedu, and our TE's I think we'll be good there.

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mav1234 Grand Master

mav1234

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Wouldn't be surprised if we took a receiver, but I would expect it to be one who really slid down the board and ended up available in a much later round than they anticipated.

OL, DT, CB, LB are all much larger needs right now (in no particular order there), and our pick in the first round won't address all of 'em.

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teeray Collaborator

teeray

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I actually agree that we should go defense with every available draft pick. But if we go receiver here is a guy that will likely still be there in the second round and is going to be a good player.

I actually don't think Nicks is that much better. IMO Jones is stronger and has better hands(Nicks was good for one drop and one spectacular catch a game while at UNC) Jones is very hard to bring down after the catch. He is really, really strong.

Nicks has better body control and top end speed and is a better route runner.

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Keith Moons Liver Newbie

Keith Moons Liver

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I actually agree that we should go defense with every available draft pick. But if we go receiver here is a guy that will likely still be there in the second round and is going to eb a good player.

I actually don't think Nicks is that much better. IMO Jones is stronger and has better hands(Nicks was good for one drop and one spectacular catch a game while at UNC) Jones is very hard to bring down after the catch. He is really, really strong.

Nicks has better body control and top end speed and is a better route runner.

nicks is on a completely different level than jones. you can try to break them down element by element but at the end of the day nicks is just a fantastic football player.

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TylerDurden Grand Master

TylerDurden

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We need defense, and I have a feeling that once we get into the combine and everything DJ's stock is going to skyrocket and he'll end up being a 1st rounder.

He seriously does have a lot of talent and is better at locating and going after the ball than all the top WRs being discussed as top picks that I've watched. Jeffrey is good with body control, locating, and going after the ball, but I have questions about his athelticism and ability to release in the pros. Blackmon has just never really amazed me to begin with.

If he can't be had as the BPA in the 2nd or 3rd, unless we pick up extra picks along the way, I don't see him being a realistic target for us with all the needs on defense. But agreed with teeray, we should go defense as much as possible but if we do take a WR, I would take DJ over the other guys, and I'm not a homer.

Fun fact:

I went an entire semester with him as a classmate in the spring and had no idea who he was... I actually thought he was a defensive end until I saw him in a game.

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teeray Collaborator

teeray

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The only reason Floyd and Jeffrey is ranked above him right now is because of the schools they play for and their national exposure.

I think his stock will rise but I still think he might be there in the second especially in the range we may be picking in the second.

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TylerDurden Grand Master

TylerDurden

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The only reason Floyd and Jeffrey is ranked above him right now is because of the schools they play for and their national exposure.

I think his stock will rise but I still think he might be there in the second especially in the range we may be picking in the second.

It's possible you could be right and he's still there in the 2nd, but as you said, he's under the radar right now because UNC isn't ranked and is having a fairly mediocre season. Once teams start watching tape on him and they go through the combine, if he runs well, I think he's going to sneak into the bottom of the 1st.

He has much more elusiveness and athleticism than Floyd and Jeffrey and he just seems to have a natural feel for finding the ball and catching it.

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