Second City Mock 4.0

[Catalyst]

1st: Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama - I've pretty much settled on this guy as my pick for us. He should be there and is exactly what we need at nose tackle. Our DL would rival the 2002-2003 group with Johnson-Williams-Edwards-Hardy and Alexander coming off the bench.

2nd: Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse - I'm tempted to take a safety here, but I feel like we can get a guy with day one starting potential in the 4th or 5th. Instead, we opt to address the tackle spot. Pugh needs to bulk up a bit, but his technique is top-notch. It's entirely possible he could allow us to trade Jordan Gross, which would save us a ton of cap space. Worst case he spends a year at right tackle, Bell moves inside to RG, and we cut Gross in '14 and move Pugh to the left side.

4th: Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech - If we can get him this late we'll be getting a steal. He's a guy I feel like has #1 WR potential in the NFL. He can contribute right away as a 3rd WR and hopefully develop into a starter in the long run.

5th: Earl Wolff, S, N.C. State - Like I said, I feel like we can land a potential day one starter in the 4th or 5th round and while that's by no means a sure bet I think Wolff could come in and at least compete for the job. I'd love it if we could land D.J. Swearinger here, but I think that's unlikely. Wolff could very well be gone as well if he rises before the draft, but I'm going to put him in this spot for now.

6th: Cameron Lawrence, OLB, Mississippi State - I've put him in several mocks before and there's a reason for that. I feel like he's a sleeper prospect who could really out-perform his draft position. The wild card is if any GM feels the same way. If not, we could luck out and get him this late, which is roughly where he's projected to go at this point.

7th: Brett Maher, K, Nebraska - I don't know what's going on with our pick in the Murphy trade. I've heard 6th rounder, 7th rounder, or that it was conditional and we may not have to give up anything since he didn't put up big numbers. Assuming we have a 7th rounder we need a kicker, so I'll slot one in here.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

I would be extremely happy with this draft. I don't know about Cameron Lawrence but from what I briefly read, he looks to be an interesting pick up.

[Catalyst]

He's projected as a 5th to 7th round prospect, but to me he's got a lot of potential to come in and be an NFL starter. Reminds me of James Anderson a bit, actually.

[carolina-chuck]

I can live with the first 3picks.

We gotta try to land a WR in this draft somehow, especially someone like Patton in the 3rd or 4th

[TMS3426]

How good the OG Cooper from UNC? Is he an option in round 2? I think the Panthers need OL/DL help in the first two rounds, but what happens if Hunter from UT or Reid from LSU is sitting there?

[Catalyst]

A lot of that will depend on what we do in free agency.

[TMS3426]

A lot of that will depend on what we do in free agency.

Doesn't this entire message board?

[Catalyst]

True enough.

[Dash Global]

patton will not be around in the 4th.

[Catalyst]

I tend to agree with you, but as I've said before, every year there are players who fall much farther than expected in the 2nd - 6th rounds as teams reach for lower-ranked players for whatever reason. Patton's a guy I can legitimately see going in the 2nd round or dropping all the way to the 5th. It's just the way the draft works.

[philw5289]

i wish

[Icege]

I like the positions though I would prefer a few different players. Nice draft!

[rscott94]

Love it

[davos]

Smart draft

Only issue is that there's no guard but I'm guessing that would be a cheaper 1-year FA plug for us in this scenario.

I dunno about Patton falling to the forth as mentioned but I understand what you mean when you say he may go anywhere from the 2nd to the 5th