Can you really blame analysts giving our draft so so grades?

[CharlottePanther]

Now first and foremost, let me say that I do not agree with the analysts when they say we had a mediocre draft or give us a C rating. I was as happy as anyone that we landed Star, infact I jumped and up and down when his name was called. BUT

Put yourselves in analyst's shoes for a minute. Pretend for one minute you are not a Panthers fan and look at our draft objectively. Sure, everyone can agree our 1st round grade gets a A+. But, the fact remains. We are a team that has HUGE holes at CB/Safety and huge need at another WR and O line.

Our two biggest area of strengths are at RB and LB. So what did the Panthers do? They used two of their 5 picks on a RB and LB. What else did they do? They drafted an extremely raw prosepct at a guard in the 4th round, a guard which had a 6th-7th round draft grade.

And what did we do in the 2nd round? Draft a pass rushing UT after signing our very own pass rushing DT Dwan Edwards to a two year deal.

Again, I am in no way, shape or form bashing the Panthers because we have Star OMG Lotulelei and I am stoked! BUT (yes there is a but) that doesnt hide the fact that Gettleman drafted as though we had 9 plus draft picks and had the luxury of drafting these other players at positions we are already stacked at.

So in reality, can you really blame analysts giving us a C rating?

[CRA]

Eh, the picks Gettleman made were smart. He specifically said he wasn't drafting out of need but rather BPA that fit their scheme and plans, and that's what he did.

He drafted need though....everything from the first to last pick

[TheRumGone]

I'm starting to think CRA believes in the illuminati. Everything is a conspiracy.

[LinvilleGorge]

"Big men allow you to compete." Drafted linemen with his first three picks. All three picks addressed definite positions of need as well.

I wasn't surprised to see us add another LB. While not an immediate need, 2/3s of our LB corps has serious injury concerns and one of those two has an albatross of a contract.

Barner was a bit of a head scratcher, but you could definitely argue that he was the BPA at that point and Rivera has stated in the past that he'd love to have a scatback on the roster. This is also likely DeAngelo's last season as a Panther, so the pick makes sense.

[TheRumGone]

The real question is, and i would really like to hear this. Who else at the first 3 picks would anyone have chosen? Fourth round will definetly be opinionated. But the first two I would like to know who was better. Five and Six what CB or WR would make a bigger impact than Klein and Barner, hypothetically? And please, no Da'rick. I was calling undrafted by the fourth round with his troubles (accusations of drug dealing, laziness on and off the field, temperament). Would take a flyer as an UDFA, but not drafted after all was said and done.

[L-TownCat]

can I blame them? yes Do i blame them? no

The media is one big ass to mouth to ass cycle centipede thing that just regurgitates the same tired opinions from one pundit to another. Even our own beat writers dont care about us. They make their living/ratings/clicks by talking major markets and negatively spinning smaller ones. That makes the large market people feel more superior and keeps them glued to the monotonous slobfest that is ESPN and NFLN. Im not mad at them but thats the way it is. Our draft was superb and i cant wait till we begin our decade of dominance and cement our spot in NFL history and people will complain about the media slobbing us all the time.

[TruCatzFan]

I really don't care what the "analysts" say quite frankly. As long as I feel like we got better thats all I need.

[TheRed]

Can you blame someone for being an uninformed imbecile? Yes, I believe you can.

[Frank Hollywood]

Ugh. There's a million posts about this garbage already. It didn't need it's own thread.

Every player drafted was a need. We need a guard. He wasn't a 6th-7th round prospect to scouts, just to "analysts" ( rumor has it)

The rb is a scat back and may replace dwill next year and help on special teams. The lb will replace beason soon enough and will help on special teams.

[CRA]

lol....how is saying Gettlemen addressed needs a conspiracy?

Gettlemen and Carolina certainly have needs at LB and RB...it's called prepping for 2014. Beason and Williams are as good as gone next year pending they don't take comical payouts. I understand Carolina generally doesn't deal with problems until they slap us in the face but Gettlemen was brought in here to solve this cap mess Hurney created.

To solve it....you look ahead. How do you think it gets fixed? You don't sit on your hands this first year and deal with all the mess in 2014.

They few guys the expert graders even acknowledged why we just happened to draft a LB and RB....it was just BPA. Plenty of guys grade out on boards as equal BPA values. They then look at the positions. 2014 we have out first real opportunity for Gettelmen to get out of some of the mess he was brought in to correct.

Beason is injury plaqued, comically expensive, and playing SLB...

Williams is old, comically expensive, and doesn't fit well in the diverse rush schemes we run....

parting with these fan favorites is a very realistic need in 2014. Realistic is finding bodies to replace them with now

[SZ James (banned)]

I though the common line of thinking was that positions that are a dime a dozen you fill through FA = LB and RB

And the positions that usually get huge contracts in FA, you address them in the draft = CB and so on

[Frizzy350]

Ugh. There's a million posts about this garbage already. It didn't need it's own thread.

Every player drafted was a need. We need a guard. He wasn't a 6th-7th round prospect to scouts, just to "analysts" ( rumor has it)

The rb is a scat back and may replace dwill next year and help on special teams. The lb will replace beason soon enough and will help on special teams.

ding ding ding.

we piss and moan about the horrible cap situation hurney put us in then want to castrate our new GM for drafting players that put us in a position to dump these garbage contracts while improving our trash ST unit.

[fieryprophet]

Here's the stupidity that comes from draft grading: when reviewing past drafts, the teams that took the best players available are universally hailed as the smartest and they generally are the most successful. However, if anyone looks at their areas of need at that time, they often find that those best player available picks often went to positions that already had players filling them. The Lions drafted Calvin Johnson after a run on wide receivers year after year. The Panthers took Cam Newton a year after drafting Jimmy Clausen. The Vikings took Adrian Peterson despite having a still good Chester Taylor. The Giants keep taking defensive linemen despite having loads of them.

So, what typically happens is that those same drafts that receive acclaim years after the fact are often slammed immediately after their respective drafts because the teams involved took "luxury" picks and didn't fill perceived areas of need. Screw that: team needs change drastically from season to season, but when you have the option to take a great player in the draft, TAKE THE FREAKING PLAYER. If he addresses an area of need as well, all the better. What is so great about the Star and Kawann picks is that they are highly talented players that also happen to fill a dire need for us, but Star would have been a great pick at #1 overall as much as he was at #14. That is what drafting the best player available is all about.

So, do I care what the experts grade? Hell no. And anyone who complains about needs not being addressed need to wait a few years before making stupid statements, because the funny thing about drafts that are highly lauded on draft day is that they typically look much worse a few years later, once those "needs" picks have their fair share of busts and the needs they were supposed to fill are still as bad as ever.

[Lumps]

CRA is right... I think Gettle drafted for need and looking into the future of the team long before BPA. Doesn't matter to me what he says and does really as long as it produces wins.