CPantherKing

Most drafts I don't see too many players I want in late rounds, but the NFL talent (I include 5 to 10 year NFL backups) in this draft is deep. It's usually 3 to 5 players, but I think covid stacked this talent pool. The teams that grab the most players in this draft will be the teams set for the next decade imo. Aqeel Glass QB, Jack Coan QB, Zach Tom OL, Andrew Steuber OL, Jack Wohlabaugh C, Tyler Vrabel OL, Dai'Jean Dixon WR, Jequez Ezzard WR/Returner, Ezra Gray RB/Returner, Zander Horvath H-Back. Jelani Woods TE/QB, Dee Anderson TE/WR, John Ridgeway NT, De'Shaan Dixon DE, Markquese Bell S, and James Houston IV LB/Edge.

If the goal is to fill the roster with players that mirror Rhule, then the Panthers are on track to achieving that goal.

Ian Thomas is not worth keeping. Poor judgement. Poor work ethic. Poor performance. Poor leadership. What are his strengths? Has he ever won a game for the Panthers?

Teddy was a .500 QB in a new offense against the NFC West. The Broncos are the least developed team in the NFC West. The other teams have their franchise QBs who can win a close game. The Broncos defense needs to be 49ers level good to win that division, and the 49ers finished 3rd in their division. Broncos were 1-5 in the NFC West. That is not on a QB you bring in to be a game manager. That defense has to make plays and they need offensive playmakers at WR/RB. Teddy is an above .500 QB. The only team he had a losing record with was Rhule's Panthers.

Teddy is good enough to build a team around. His problem is the clutch game winning drives, but he will be solid for a team with a great defense. I group Teddy with QBs like Kerry Collins, Trent Dilfer, Ryan Tannehill, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. You can win with them, but you won't win because of them. So, coaches who play for the final drive of a game will never be a fit for these QBs. Darnold is a potential project with no known upside and an inability to keep his poise in the pocket, which leads to the team doubting his every throw and adjustment. Teddy was the Panthers Goff/Garoppolo. Not their fault coaches would put them in a situation for a game winning drive which they have proven they can't do. Build the team around them and then find the rare QB that can will their team with precision on the final drive of the game. Teddy will be in the league for some time if he stays healthy. Darnold will retire early.

He's meditating on the beach in California. He has no drive to be the best of the best. Anyone who did their research on Darnold would have known his goals do not align with a championship organization. Darnold is looking forward to being a family man and coaching kids in football camps. If anyone thinks taking a 20 year old QB in the draft who has never visualized themselves playing in the league for 20 years is making a huge mistake. You're better off with an ultra competitive 25 year old who is going to give their everything for 10 years.

I saw it before. I'll say it again. That scouting room is filled with YES men and desperation. They all show doubt in their voices, body language, and rhetoric. They talked themselves into the Darnold acquisition. No one is filling the role of devils advocate. A championship roster is built on knowing what you don't want, and not by piling up all the potential positives. Anyone who can be drafted or compete for a roster spot has potential. Not one of them mentioned leadership, competitive nature, or game winning ability at the NFL level. Fire everyone in that room.

A QB won't save a team even if they are SB caliber. Think of a QB like a supercharger. If you have a poo engine, the supercharger is pointless. Adding Matthew Stafford would not make a team playoff worthy. Brady didn't go to a team he thought was a rebuild. Manning did not go to the Broncos because they were one of the worst teams in the NFL. Draft a mid round QB, strengthen the defense, and improve talent to compliment the QB. When the Panthers are attractive to the best QBs in the NFL, you will know.

How many game winning drives did Watson have in 2020 without Hopkins?

I'd trade down and do everything possible to get Devin Lloyd and Jermaine Johnson. Offensively, this draft is deep with talent.

A good GM would be trading Burns, Moore, and Anderson for anything they can get to build up the team. The problem here is the GM is giving out contracts to players who should not be retained. You can expect many more bad decisions to follow.

Ken Dorsey reminds me of a young Bill Walsh

Fitterer wants to go down in flames. Giving back-up players contracts of a solid starter. They evaluated the roster and determined it was good. You could draft all your offensive starters in the 2022 draft and field a better unit. Whoever is grading these players really sucks. Fitterer fail

Yay! Yards! Give me more yards! DJ was targeted 163 times last season. Among the most in the NFL. You can get any WR in the NFL and produce 1000 yard seasons with that many targets. There are only a handful of WRs that were worse than DJ and one of them was Robby Anderson. While DJ is one of the most targeted receivers in the NFL, there is a dramatic decline in 1st downs per target, catch%, and TDs per target where DJ is among the worst in the NFL. What does this mean? It means he gets the most opportunities in the NFL, but his production per opportunity is among the worst in the NFL. DJ and Robby together are the 3rd most targeted WR duo in the NFL. You could start Jamison Crowder and Brandon Zylstra with Sam Darnold (who is among the worst in the league), target them 273 times, and they will out produce Moore and Robby. Jefferson, Diggs, Hill, and Adams have been targeted the same. They convert their targets into catches. Their catch% improves year after year topping 70%. DJ's goes down with the more opportunities he gets. They convert 100+ receptions with those opportunities. DJ has yet to break 100 receptions. The others on the list produce more 1st downs and TDs with their opportunities. DJ is among the worst in the NFL when it comes to 1st downs and TDs per target. Total yardage is overrated. There are #3 WRs on multiple teams that will give you the same production as DJ, and there will be 5+ more receivers entering the NFL in 2022 that will be an upgrade over DJ. DJ continues to trend downward while the other trend up or remain among the best WRs in the league. The rookie WRs coming into the league will not outproduce them. We may as well be celebrating a RB who gets 1100 yards every season with 315 carries (3.5 yards per carry) for 6 TDs, and among the worst at 1st downs per carry. Then we can blame the OL and OC for his ineffectiveness. I'll change my opinion when DJ stops the drops, sells out for 1st downs that are not perfect throws, and has a desire to fight for the endzone on every play.

With the options available, I'd draft a mid round QB and acquire Foles and Flacco. Give the bulk of the snaps to the rookie and have them compete with Foles and Flacco. Foles and Flacco are brought in knowing they are there to help develop a QB and provide healthy competition to accelerate their development. At worst the mid round QB develops into a premier back up QB for a future franchise QB. Best case is that QB becomes the franchise QB and proves they can win in the clutch. Sam Darnold and PJ Walker are not doing anything to advance the team. I'd go with Foles and Flacco over Darnold and Walker if all you want is an improvement.

Rhule's only hope is to take a page out of a desperate Dick Vermeil's playbook as he was going into his hot seat year in 1999. He had to hire a new offensive coordinator after going 9-23 in his first 2 seasons with Tony Banks/Steve Bono and had the 6th pick going into the NFL draft. Vermeil had a miracle QB, got a new OC, had Isaac Bruce play a full season coming off an injury shortened season, traded for a top offensive threat with Marshall Faulk in the NFL, and drafted Torry Holt with the 6th pick. So, Rhule needs to get a new offensive coordinator (check). Have CMC play a full season. Find an unknown QB off the street who has been cut from rosters with deep QB talent (like Favre, Detmer, and Brunell). and knows this will likely be his one and only shot to be the starter in the NFL. Draft an offensive playmaking WR with great hands with the 6th pick that the QB can throw to. Trade for Davante Adams and make him the highest paid WR in the NFL. That's the recipe of desperation for Rhule to win the SB. Then hopefully he retires and calls it a career as the Panthers HC just like Vermeil did with the Rams. Hope for that miracle QB to appear! There is no other hope.

Will he play RB? Pass on project Willis. Seen this experiment before. Panthers don't have the mad scientist to make this project work.

"Marty was there that year, and he hired me full time in ’99. I was a sponge to him and I never wanted to let him down, and the more I was around him, I just grew. Every year he gave me more rope, and more things to do. He taught me the cap. We did CBA stuff. He let me do behind-the-scenes scouting, watching tape, whether it was college or pro or free agents and just be another sounding board with him along the way. I wouldn’t be here without him." - Brandon Beane Hurney wanted Beane to replace him. Beane would disagree with you.

Yes, Walsh/McVay tree for both Reid and McVay. This is nothing new. They just studied the philosophy on how to build a team from the best. They throw BPA out the window. They know how to get better value out of their draft capital. 1st round picks are more valuable to exchange if you don't meet the Walsh/McVay criteria of using the 1st round pick on a player. You can get a QB in the 3rd round to lead your franchise. No need to use a 1st round pick on a QB. It's a waste of draft capital. Better to get a known 1st round talent at QB than draft one. If you do draft one, you better make sure they have been raised on football, around professional sports, have a network of NFL mentors since childhood, and come with an elite sports pedigree. This does not mean just go out and trade away 1st round picks for a QB. You need to build draft capital of 10 picks a year (1st round does not matter in this process) and spot the players who will win and compliment each other. Once you have a team set, you can bring in an overlooked 1st round talent QB that has proven they can drive a team down the field to win in the clutch. Nothing about size, speed, or strength. Those are all secondary in a players evaluation under the Walsh/McVay philosophy. The Stafford formula that Sean McVay used is the same formula his grandfather John McVay used to trade for Steve Young 34 years ago.

Lame duck coach makes desperately lame decisions.

Let the Hurney hate continue, and keep telling me how his protégé Beane should never replace him as GM because Gettlemagic is better. Hurney will never be a GM that can build a dynasty, but he knew how to build a team and spot key talent to contend for a championship.

History and data show it is not as big a gamble as using a 1st round pick on an unknown quantity at QB. I believe in the Bill Walsh/John McVay draft and QB evaluation philosophy.

Can't even get any of our roster full of 1st round draft picks in the top 100. Remember when the Panthers had 3rd rounders, 5th rounders, undrafted players, and trade acquisitions in the top 100 along with their 1st rounders? Will we ever see that again?

I've been looking for major problems with Coan. Everything thing I see shows me a patient QB taking what the defense gives him and quickly recognizes when a defense falls apart and taking advantage of it. He is precise, aware, moves a defense and wears a defense. He's not flashy, but he takes a defense apart, plays smart, great leader, and knows when to take his shots. I wasn't expecting much from Coan, but the more snaps I saw the more I was impressed on how well he took over a game when he needed to and came up clutch on critical downs. Coan made all the players around him better too. Kyle Hamilton said Coan reminds him of Mac Jones. Is there a game I should look at again to see him play like garbage?