Whats YOUR grade of the Panthers 2009 Draft?

[AKPantherFan]

Me-

I say B-/C+

Its hard to get too excited until I see them play. Our first pick is solid, but he came at a STEEP price. Some folks don't mind the price, but considering how deep next years draft will be at QB this could have took us out of the mix.

I Guess Jake IS REALLY here to stay... (not that I mind- but he needs a successor)

The mid rounds and late rounds brought some guys who have question marks, however, I think our biggest surprise could be the new RB and FB. Those two guys have a lot of upside.

The DUKE could turn out to be a gem, but so could every other player drafted, lets just hope he can play at this level with some of the same success.

Either way, considering we needed the defensive help, lets hope Brown kicks some ass.

[AKPantherFan]

and for added bonus- for some reason this draft was just not as exciting as others.

Maybe that means we ARE COMMING INTO OUR OWN. Think about it, the only teams who get all excited about the draft are the ones who need the help and SUCK.

This could be a good thing.

Kinda feels "swaggery", like ok; "get in here new kid, but stay out of the way and dont screw up- we know what it takes, watch and learn"...

...just sayin,,,,,,,

[panther4life]

A+, and no im not trying to be a smartass......although my opinion could change drastically by we 3 but i doubt it.

Its rare that you have a draft where everyone u pick has a legit shot at making the roster and even moreso when we've retained all of our starters, except Lucas who didnt have say in it anyway

[Kurb]

B

Not super flashy, but solid and some great prospects for development.

[Squirrel]

B+ We filled our needs would have been a A but they traded next years pick.

[mountainpantherfan]

B

I'm not going with any +or-. The reason it isn't an A is because of the Irvin pick. I like the pick but for me he is a bust or boom type player. We either just draft the next Jenkins or the next Allison. Sometimes you have to take that chance earlier in a draft but I would have rather them waited until at least the 4th.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

Most of our picks were high value, filled need, fit our system and just overall good players. Brown in the 2nd and Duke Robinson in the 5th were both steals. I only had two issues...

1) I thought we took Martin a little early. I think we could have moved back to the 3rd, still got him and gotten an extra 4th or 5th. I like the player, but I thought we could have worked the draft board and gotten better value.

2) Irvin in the 3rd, not only do I think this is a reach but I don't like the pick at all. I doubt he hardly ever sees the field. I know DT is a need, but I don't see this guy fixing that.

Overall B, would be an A if not for the Irvin pick.

[Fox007]

C

Just at a glance, we got some good value picks. It's just hard to grade before you see them do anything. The way we went it could be all the way up at A or all the way down to F.(depending on their play)

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

I'm sorry, but what's not to like about getting deffinative replacements for two key posistions (FB and DE), a couple of linemen who could legitimately be plugged in anywhere on their respective lines (just watch some film of em), a couple of back-ups with some strong potential in the secondary(a FS/CB and a late round CB), and a RB that could explode in special teams or clutch 3rd down situations?

Given the right development and structure, these guys could legitimately have some star potential. The defense got the boost it needed and some consideration was given to the future of the offense and that can only be improved in next years draft. Even after loosing next years 1st rounder, the Panthers walked out of Radio city with a handful of steals.

A, at least.

[frash.exe]

B

They didn't pick a QB but like I've said before besides Nate Davis in the middle rounds there wasn't anyone I liked, and from the people they picked it's justified. Duke Robinson in the fifth was one of those no-brainer picks you just knew were coming when they went on the clock.

[AKPantherFan]

B

Not super flashy, but solid and some great prospects for development.

Yeah- thats the way I feel...

My only problem with it is; the only clear cut STUD is the FB.

I guess Brown is coveted, but he is not a 100% lock every down DE

we will see.

[goodlay]

B+ We filled our needs would have been a A but they traded next years pick.

My thoughts exactly, couldn't agree more.

[MorgulKing]

B. I think we may have filled some big needs this time around--a quality DE, hopefully some help in the secondary, a backup for the O Line, etc

I'm still upset we gave away our first again next year. Otherwise this would've been an "A" draft.

I was really excited when I learned we traded up for Brown and picked him up, and when I heard we had given away our first pick for next year I was convinced I misheard the tv analyst.

I know if we trade Peppers we might get a first back, but even still we could've had two first rounders! I just hate trading a first away. The only time I was really happy about that kind of move was last year (and that was before we knew it was a great move).

Surely we could've given SF a couple of other picks that they would've taken. But our beloved first?! blah

[nagai]

I'll say a solid B+.

Brown was a godsend. Do you guys think we would've drafted anyone better if we were in the first round this year? I sure don't think so. He has the intangibles Fox likes, the production, the athleticism to play in Meeks' system... Love it. It's just like using a future 1st rounder a year early. We got an extra 4th out of it too, so we used less than a 1st round pick really! 1st round talent for less than a 1st round draft pick and less than 1st round money. Love it.

We also covered all our needs. Pass rushing DE was a need even if Pep stays, huge need if he goes. We got a good rotational DT with good upside and a fluid, smart nickel, so I'm happy with that. Of course, like most people here I would've wanted guys like Moore, Gilbert and Sean Smith, but then again there's a reason I'm not a scout and I've been high on guys before and be completely wrong. I'll just wait and see how they develop.

Next 3 picks were even better imo in terms of value. We got our successor to Hoover, which is fantastic considering how old school our philosophy is (power I, run first etc.). Duke Robinson could be the best pick in the entire draft. He's labeled as possibly the best guard in this year's draft and we got him in the 5th. Even if he flops we wouldn't be losing out on much. Goodson is a bit of a head scratcher but we did need a 3rd RB and I have a feeling he might try out at WR for a bit.

Don't really care about Munnerlyn. It's great for a 7th rounder to even make the team.

To those of you talking about taking a QB, I agree that Jake isn't the answer. However, I do think that he is good enough to be an OK starter in the NFL. What we need then is something better than an OK starter in the NFL. We need a true franchise QB who has both the high level production and the intangibles as a team leader. That's a big ask outside the first 2 rounds.

Though the bust rate of QB's in the 1st round are pretty high, 40% of pro bowl QB's are from the first round and 60% of HOF QB's were first rounders. It's just the ultimate boom or bust position. Therefore, unless we saw something really special in the 2nd round, chances were that we wasn't gonna be 'that guy' in the draft. Guys like Brady and Brees are rare exceptions to the rule. We have 3 decent QB's anyways so it's not like we needed another arm.