top dawg

He got his shot, and he ran away with it in a huge way. He got his turn. This, all amid some personal struggles. Plus, before Rattler, you couldn't pick out his QB in a lineup. Funny how that works, huh? You're right, he is a vertical receiver, but he's also a bully ball receiver. Not only will he move the chains, but he is always a threat to take it to the house. Keep in mind that you're likely not going to find the perfect receiver going out of college on day 2.

And damnit, you just don't know what "open" is either. XL needs to refine his route running, sure, but he has a little more nuance than some give him credit for, and he is a boss at using his frame to get the damned ball. You put him in situations where he can get vertical quickly, and he's going to do that.

You XL haters are something else. I honestly don't believe that you know what you're looking at. I've looked at his play. I've listened to several scouts. Saying Legette is Mingo 2.0 is just a lazy ass take. It's just a simplistic analysis. I don't know what else to tell you.

That's untrue. It's simply just untrue.

We'd have to trade him before the trade deadline (which I believe is right after week 9). I hope he's reasonable. We're only on the hook for $10 mil. We're going to have to up his salary by quite a bit if things go well and all parties want him to stay. I could really see somewhere in the vicinity of doubling of that amount if things go well.

Honestly, it's years past time. Investment in the O-line should be done in such a way to keep things moving efficiently from year to year. I could argue that it's the most important unit on the team. And, I know a lot of people may not like it---and I'm not suggesting that you don't draft high quality O-lineman, but you should always keep enough stores in free agency to acquire quality O-lineman because they have proven that they can be a successful pro. Some may not agree, but you can get by with so-so offensive skill positions, QB excluded, but you can't fake a good O-line.

Damn, Bryce would make a good easter bunny because he got hops.

I mean, the first pick was like, " Yeah, rookie mistake." The second pick was like, "Come on, man." The third pick, albeit not that game, was like , "Uh oh!" The fourth pick was like, "Houston, we got a problem." And somewhere along the way was, "Houston, you got our guy..."

It's pretty obvious. If Tepper hasn't pushed so hard to get to one, we would have been at two. The Texans would have taken Bryce and we would've taken Stroud. Plus, we'd have likely been able to keep Moore.

For the record, I'm not all gloom and doom. I think we may best last season's win total by one until proven otherwise. Bryce is going to have to improve a whole helluva lot before I believe that we will win more than three games, and I probably won't believe it until I see it. Even still, I like the moves that we've made in free agency. If not Bryce, somebody will eventually benefit.

I mean, why fear it? If one falls, like Kool-Aid, he must be considered.

Sh¡t, he can't teach the motherfúcka how not to get hurt! Other than that, Horn is already in the same stratosphere.

It's easy to say it's mental" gymnastics," but it's really not. It's an educated guess at worst. John McClain, very highly respected in NFL journalistic circles and still a Texans insider though retired from the Houston Chronicle said that he believes that Young would've been their pick. At some point, we just have to acknowledge that we were just unlucky.

A lot of words that sound good, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, one of his nicknames is DJ The Playmaker, so...

Well, you know, I'm trying. I'm old enough to know that you can be 100 percent right, and it's arguably a great outlook. But, I'm also old and cynical enough to know that the other shoe drops way more than we would like. I'll continue to try and summon my inner Canales.

Joe Person spoke with Mike Tomlin about Diontae Johnson according to Anthony Rizzuti of USA Today's Panthers Wire. Says Tomlin: “You’re gettin’ an awesome route runner, a guy that can create separation at the top of routes, a guy that’s tough to stay with." He continued: “He can win in non-vertical route-running and vertical route-running. So you get a guy with a complete skill set in that regard and I just think he’s gonna be a big asset to ’em.” That's all great, right? I knew all that, and I, like others (e.g., listen to ehat Aaron Duncan and Damian Parsons say about him in the video in the other thread) was pumped when we signed him. I think that he's a better receiver than some Huddlers give him credit for. The "problem" is that Tomlin obviously isn't broken hearted about DJ leaving, and I think that another comment that he made to person may portend something less desirable about DJ: “Make no mistake, he wants the football,” Tomlin said. “But I think they all do. https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2024/03/26/nfl-annual-league-meeting-panthers-steelers-diontae-johnson-mike-tomlin/ Look, I'm not saying that I definitely think that DJ is going to be a problem. He may not be any more of a "problem" than the average wide receiver diva. And he deserves to play with a decent QB which likely led to issues the last couple of seasons. But, will he ultimately be happy here? There's a potential for a fair amount of targets of course, but DJ comes to a situation where Pittsburgh was winning to one where the Panthers are consistently losing. Do you think he's the type (like Davante Adams is purported to be) that cares about his personal legacy more than that of the overall success of the team? I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds. Perhaps Canales and company with all the sunshine and positivity is actually a better fit. In any event, I wouldn't bet on DJ as a long term solution just yet, even if he seems like a great receiver to pair up with Bryce. One last thing: we had another guy that wanted the ball all the time that worked out well. Perhaps I'm just reading a little too much into that last part Tomlin said, or should at least take the part about "they all do," at face value. I'm going to be watching closely though.

I think that we owe it to ourselves to see what has. I can make an argument that he was just as much of a victim as the train wreck that was 2023 as Bryce. Bryce needs to hit Mingo not only when he is "open," but "NFL open." I doubt that anyone would trade a 3rd for him, especially when this year (and 2025 according to the draft analyst) is deep at the position.

I admit that I may not be the most objective about Ladd (for obvious reasons), but I think he's more dynamic than you may be giving him credit for. I don't see him scoring TDs being a problem. He played in 39 games in his Georgia career and scored 14 TDs, so that's hardly "nothing!" I think the question with him will be if he can stay relatively healthy. If he does, he'll make an immediate impact in the league.

Don't get it twisted, he did say that Ladd has "superb footwork." Ladd is an elite separator which is always a valuable commodity in the NFL. There is a reason why he'll be gone early in day two at the latest. I can't see him being a bust. ISM is a proven return man at the NFL level. He's not necessarily a good separator, is not that big, and is nothing special at the catch point. He is a three at best. He's more a fit for gadget plays. There is a reason why he has become a journeyman. You'd see it real quick if he had to start.

Guys, this is a long one, but it's well worth the time for hardcore Panthers fans. Damian Parsons of The Draft Network discusses the Panthers, and he actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about. You'd think that more national types might not be able to talk intelligently about the team, but this appears far from the truth with this Parsons fella. He speaks on Reich and Fitterer's failings a little bit and how that negatively affected Bryce and Mingo. A little spoiler, he hasn't given up on Bryce, but acknowledges the problem of his height, and he said Mingo might want to show marked improvement if he wants to be here, as this draft and the 2025 draft should be ripe with legit receivers. He says that we don't necessarily have to draft a receiver at 33 for fear of missing out because impact receivers can be found well into the third, though he says Xavier Legette would be good at 33 and is better than some fans are giving him credit for. Another hint: he raised all kinds of eyebrows when we drafted Mingo in the second. He and host Aaron Duncan believe that acquiring DJ was a great move, and that it should help Bryce greatly, as well as take some of the pressure off us at 33 if we choose to go in another direction, as well as take pressure off of Mingo to be put in a prime position that he isn't ready for. He also talks a couple of pass rushers, and says that CBs could theoretically fall if there is a run on receivers, EDGEs, OTs, and QBs. I must say that he has sold me on X over Ladd and AD due to his physicality and ability to be the bully as opposed to being bullied when CBs try to body him. He says that if he thought that he could get Legette at 33 and Pearsall at 65, he'd smash the buttons. It's all a good listen...but, like I said, give yourself some time. They actually begin talking Panthers at 12:07.

You're being intentionally obtuse (I hope). That's not even what the thread is about. That still doesn't change the fact that he apparently tried to give us an opportunity to match and that we just refused to go down that rabbit hole. It doesn't change the fact that it appears that our FO decided to say "Fúck it, we're not doing that," for whatever reasons. It doesn't change the opinion that there is better value in the draft, or that it could directly increase the probability of double dipping at receiver with our first two picks, and it ultimately doesn't rule out the possibility that if we had matched the Jets that Williams wouldn't have preferred Charlotte. Come on, CWC.

No sh¡t!

Perhaps, but it says "match." I was surprised we were even looking at him, so I'm good.

While you're technically right, people from that entire area is migrating to NC as well. Pueblo is cheaper and more peaceful in my opinion. Some people talk poo about the crime, but it's all relative. I've experienced areas with much worse crime. Of course I hate to go to Charlotte and Raleigh now, so I've grown accustomed to smaller places without all the hustle and bustle and traffic.