We have so much riding on our smaller college draft picks

[jarhead]

We have so much riding on players from smaller colleges.Norman can not be considered to risky because he was picked in the 5th but spending a high 2nd on a guy from a weak conference seems to me risky considering his level of competition.I know he is regarded as a beast and I am certainly not saying he want make us a great starter but in general I thought it was a risky pick given the talent left on the board. Was anyone else following this guy?

[Jackofalltrades]

Welcome to April...

Simitolu and Norman will be fine.

[SCP]

Silatolu is huge. By all accounts he is grasping the offensive concepts. He might struggle a little but I think he will end up being great.

[jarhead]

Silatolu is huge. By all accounts he is grasping the offensive concepts. He might struggle a little but I think he will end up being great.

I know he has quite a resume but I guess my question is I wonder how much more difficult it is to rate a guy from such a small college

[carolina-chuck]

Risky on Silatolu ? I guess

[Lumps]

I agree with the second pick, the 5th pick doesn't really matter. This was my main concern with Sim when drafting him, he looks like a beast yes but with that competition its hard to tell. I trust there is enough upside that the professionals who do this for a living saw, including people outside the panthers organization, that the pick wasn't wasted. I see him as at least being good with good work ethic. A lot of these early rounders are physically talented already and a lot of their future relies on their motivations/work ethic, I think this is especially true for Sim.

[jtnc]

We have a great offensive line coach and great leaders at that postion. Gross and Kalil will help him grow.

[Argus Plexus]

Risks/reward. They were both rated high on most boards.

[KendrickPanther]

It's a valid concern. The last interview I heard Ron Rivera give he said Amini still has to get up to speed. He's not the brightest kid but the scouts rave about him.

[panthers55]

If neither guy is that good we will still be fine. We have other veterans who can fill in and do fine this year. It would be great if both guys play well but to say we need them to play well in order to compete is ridiculous.

[Marguide]

Every pick is risky, and all require you to make projections. Guys like Luck and Kuechly were viewed as among the safest this year, but either or both could still bust.

Silatolu was dominant on the field (like a man playing with boys dominant), has good measureables, and impressed teams pre-draft. I expect him to play well this year.

[iamhubby1]

Silatolu was dominant on the field (like a man playing with boys dominant), has good measureables, and impressed teams pre-draft. I expect him to play well this year.

I like the fact that he finished his blocks. He knew he was the best every week. Yet, he never loafed. He would pancake you in the 4th just as well as the1st. At least that is the general concensus I get from college. If he can transfer most of that into the pros, we have a LG of the future. Now, let's fix that right side. Wink wink at Otah.

[KendrickPanther]

He's never played LG before so he needs to learn the craft. I don't think it's a big issue this year because you budget for rookies to come along slow. If he never develops then it becomes an issue because those 2nd round picks are so valuable. You see pro bowl players traded for 2nd round picks.

[MasterAwesome]

I'm not too worried about his transition to LG since, to my knowledge, one of the main requirements of the guards in the run game is to pull on blocks for certain plays, and that was one of Silatolu's greatest strengths....so he seems a natural fit at LG.