kungfoodude

He has no real allegiance to Evero and if things don't turn around quickly enough for Tepper, I could see that move being made.

I am not sure if it was or wasn't his decision to bring him back, but I am willing to bet that he fires him next offseason.

I would very much expect a bad to mediocre defense. It is largely bad to mediocre players, so that is to be expected, IMO. Now, all that being said, on paper it has improved. So we should expect that it improves. If that does not happen.....we should be expecting a new DC.

I think that just depends on the issues. It's definitely a big red flag but we don't see the full picture. It could be really bad or it could be not as bad. Could be as simple as him not having the right people around him or it could be he is a selfish, me-first asshole. At this point, we just need to have full faith that our franchise will absolutely due it's due diligence to vet all of these players and to do a thorough evaluation of them as football players. Then we will make the completely incorrect decision.

Love the player but we have to figure out what the situation is with all the character flags. If they adequately answer those, I am all for it. At the end of the day, we will never be privy to the behind the scenes character vetting processes. You may hear rumblings from unofficial sources after the fact but that's about it.

I am okay with him as a trade down option.

That is not the way it works historically. I very highly doubt that. When you look at the insane history of over drafting QB's, I would be very, very, VERY surprised to see him drop outside the top 15. He may not be an elite prospect but he is arguably the best in this class.

Walker I do like quite a bit but I generally think he is a true LB and not an EDGE.

That being said, rookie QB does buy time normally. Veteran QB usually means unemployment if things don't work out. I should also mention I think the Giants will nuke the entire coaching staff and FO next offseason.

This would be great for us if it went this way because Sanders would be on the board and trade ups are on the table.

McCord and Shough I get as backups but we don't need a backup. We literally just resigned Dalton. So expending draft capital on a 3rd QB in the top 5 rounds is not super smart.

This is literally one of the worst QB drafts in recent memory. Anything above a 6th is a waste.

Yes, this same logic could also be used for every player on our roster and practice squad. I wouldn't include basically any of them in the "potential core player" category as I basically outlined it. I don't see him that way because he was a rotational player and I am not sure he will be more than that here. If I am wrong and he really flourishes here, great. That contract will make a lot more sense and I will have more faith in Dan & Co.

Wharton is literally just a rotational player, so I would be shocked if he meets any of those criteria at all. Moehrig is a possibility but we literally haven't even seen him suit up yet. Jackson is possible but I would say unlikely. Wallace meets none of the criteria and I don't particularly see the path forward on that. Hope I am wrong.

Oh 100%. There are some "potential" core players on offense, namely Bryce and Ikey. Could easily be Lewis or Hunt, as well. But I have pretty specific criteria for being a "core" player. - Long or longer term contractual commitment. - Player that is AT LEAST an above average NFL starter at their position. - Be a team leader or locker room leader(does not have to be a rah-rah guy, a leader by example would qualify). Any of Bryce or the OL guys don't tick all of those boxes yet so I don't consider them "core" guys. But the "potential" pool in defense is basically zero.

Yes but that post was in the context of trading up. If you are trading up inside the top 10 of the draft, you need to be very sure about what you are doing. Carter isn’t that, IMO.

On the Panthers?

That is his weakest part of him as a prospect is getting swallowed up in the run game and not having advanced capabilities in the power rush game. I do think he could end up bulking up and just generally getting stronger to bridge that gap, I am just not sure he will ever truly be an elite guy across the board.

At 8 is a bit of a reach, IMO. But, that said, while I don't think he ends up being the best pass rusher in this draft, I have very little fear of him being a bust. I suspect he will be very productive in his NFL career.

Well, we need players, that is the bottom line. If you think Warren or Tet are truly elite, I get it. Doesn't mean I have to agree but it damn sure means you better be right at the end of the day. IMO, that is what is so tough about this draft and where we are in it. If you take first guy off the board at WR, TE, DE/EDGE, or OT specifically, you probably are setting yourself up. There are too many guys that could be #1 or #6. It's a dicey draft. Hence why I am beating the table to trade down.

I would say that "weaker competition" is basically laughable. Look at all the not only ACC guys but small school guys that pepper the current and past NFL elite. The only reason the "lesser competition" flag should come up is if you see a guy NOT being dominant at that lower level. Good example being someone like Chase Young from the 2022 draft. He has been dramatically outproduced by Alex Highsmith from Charlotte. Or how Kobe Tuner from Wake Forest has dramatically outproduced Jalen Carter. It's not where you played, it's how you played, and how you project to the NFL. Look at the long line of nothing Georgia, Alabama, Ohio St., etc players. It wasn't that they didn't play the correct level of competition, they just weren't NFL caliber guys. How about this, would you rather have a pass rusher with a far superior pass rushing skillset and was inanely productive in college like DE or would you rather have an underwear Olympics champ like Shemar Stewart that basically had next to zero college production against "better" competition? I know my answer. I would also take Green over a guy like that too. fug the competition, those guys look ready to play in the NFL.

Yeah, hence why I pointed that out. Keep in mind that given the way we are building this defense overall, we very well could end up either being stuck in a 3-4 or needing a retooling on defense to switch. I will say that isn't likely to be a concern after next season. The overwhelming majority of personnel are likely to be jettisoned by future HC/DC/GM's anyway. We only have two core players at the moment, Brown and Horn.

Not to mention that he isn't one of these "generational" tagged pass rushers. He just happens to be the perceived best of a bunch that is lacking in obvious elite prospects. IMO, there is only one guys worth trading up for in this draft(not saying this as a Panthers statement, saying it as a general statement) and that is Travis Hunter. Outside injury, I don't see it being very likely that he does not end up being a top 10 player at CB. For the Panthers, I wouldn't even consider trading up for him. We have too many needs. We need more picks, not less.

I wouldn't be pumped about a "reach" on a guy like DE at #8 but I very much like the player. I will say that he is a 3-4 EDGE only. He's too small to be a 4-3 DE. His pass rush tools are arguably the most advanced but he does have issues with power because of his size. Fantastic athlete, however. Super agile, great bend. Day one he would be our best pass rusher, IMO.

They both could be but this draft is so crazy deep at RB. All it will really take is just 2-3 other guys being in better spots.