mav1234

I was okay for a deal like this for Watson before everything came out because Watson was young enough his time as a Panther would have out lived the lack of draft picks given up for him. Not so sure that is true of Rodgers.

its true we have no idea how Darnold will perform under pressure here, but he did have 4 game winning drives in his first couple years (out of 11 total wins), despite the team around him being not very good at all. It is worth mentioning that in 2 of his 3 seasons, Darnold threw more TDs than Teddy ever has in 1 season... and the last 3 years, Darnold has averaged 8.4 intended air yards per completion - and approximate measure of depth of target - while Teddy only averaged 6.8. While 8.4 vs 6.8 may not seem like much, when we're talking about averages across a game that adds up to a few more deep shots per game. Of course this kind of thing is heavily influenced by the offense the team is running so a direct comparison is a little unfair. but I won't be satisfied with just better than Teddy. Maybe next year. But if we're going to be passing on a 1st round QB I want Darnold to be a guy to build the franchise around. I hope he is.

Treating Darnold like a rookie isn't exactly the same as saying he is basically one. Rookies get 3-4 years to prove themselves. Darnold has already had that. He will now get 1 to 2 more. Darnold has 1 to show he isn't as bad as he looked in NY, and 1 more to prove he can lead a franchise. He's a bust we are trying to rehabilitate. There are some signs we can. We will see.

Imagine the last couple years if we had this guy clearing the way on 4th and 1 and at the goal line... Damn.

As someone that missed large swaths of night two, I didn't even really get a full grasp of what we did. This breakdown is actually useful for me just to see the outcome, not cast judgment either way.

I don't get why so many commentators are confused by this. There may have been a scenario in which we don't pick it up, but that is only because you never rule out insane things from the draft. I'm pretty sure Fitterer implied we would pick it up with the way he referred to a plan for the 5th year option... that's how I read it, anyway. Darnolds extension isn't peanuts but it also isn't back-breaking. They are clearly setting him up in almost every way possible to succeed. More than that, we finally have a front office that is trying to work the draft itself, and that made the draft far more interesting than it has been before for me.

Draft strategy was sound and we added some good, athletic players. I'll judge the draft haul itself sometime in the future, but my excitement for the season is higher than I expected given the passing on Fields. I understand CB was a massive need and Horn is a great prospect, I just was a bit of a Fields homer the last couple years. These guys know more than I do so hopefully Darnold balls out. I think he is given every chance to now... the weapons we will have around him... wow.

I have to admit I'm much more excited for this season than I was a couple days ago when we passed on Fields. The roster has a lot more talent than many Panthers teams I've watched. Darnold only needs to be a bit better than teddy and this team has a chance to be competing for a wild card spot IMO. If he actually takes major positive steps the offense will be real fun to watch.

Although I think racism plays a big role in the labeling of black and white QBs, I think building around Darnold isn't about race but about the organization having different priorities from its current vs past management. It's hard for me to say the organization didn't put Teddy in a position to succeed for instance, but Cam rarely was until the damage was done unfortunately and we had basically ruined a potential HoF level talent...

THE Zack Sanchez I just made the mistake of looking at our draft history after round 2.

To an extent they did, especially the first year with the pair of TEs we had. But it took them years into his tenure to draft a WR in the first three rounds, and the OL was a huge problem and they never seemed to commit to fixing it the way they would positions on the defense.

My supervisor at NCSU loves macs so I have to use one at work. if I was on graphic design it'd be one thing... I've got a Samsung phone but am moving to Canada and getting an unlocked Pixel to give it a try for my new phone plan.

Its working okay for me. Chrome/android.

Kaylee Horn??

If Darnold doesn't light the league on fire with the WRs he has around him, well...

That's actually better than my impression of our success rate in the 2nd round... That stretch from 2003 to 2013... Good god.

I think picking up the option was always the plan regardless of the draft. Certainly, even if we had drafted Fields, I think Darnold was more likely to start Day 1. But I was actually totally fine with that because I like giving a rookie time to adjust and not having to feel like they MUST go out there and light it up right away. And of course if a rookie beat Darnold out in camp that says a lot about Darnold and/or the rookie, haha. As to another QB, I expect us to get one in FA. Darnold will be the presumed start over them I think, but hopefully there's still a competition. Darnold may be completely ruined from New York, or never have been that good, and I'd rather they have someone in camp to push him a little. I don't mind taking a very late round QB if there's someone they think is raw but might develop... but to your point, I would rather 2nd/3rd/4th go on building the D and OL though. I don't know enough about prospects this far down to comment on the best route there.

I liked Fields a lot but I don't assume the Panthers are totally done at QB yet. I don't think they're going to ride with just this setof QBs. But this is definitely another building year. I also would buy that Darnold with Brady could be better than Teddy was. I highly doubt he's going to be elite, which is why I wanted Fields (higher ceiling imo)... but I think we will build a competitive team and then get our QB down the line.

Someone may have already pointed this out, but I think the reason for the wait was actually a smokescreen to encourage teams into thinking we still wanted a QB, when we were very unlikely to draft one. If teams think we might go QB it raises the odds they try to move ahead of us for one,increasing the odds we get who we want. Obviously thst didn't happen but there was no reason to move on the fifth year before we needed to.

I think we made a mistake passing on Fields but if this pick shores up the D and if Darnold can be rehabilitated we'll be in a good spot. I do think Darnold is better than the Jets but pretty sure his ceiling is nowhere near Fields. Oh well.

this is nonsensical. Its about the talent that is there. The Panthers didn't believe in Fields and that is fine, but I've been watching him for a couple years and think he is significantly better than what some of his critics are saying. We'll see I guess, hopefully he can do well with the Bears.

I'm only frustrated because Fields was still available, and we absolutely need to get QB right. But, its hard to argue with Horn in the range he was drafted and CB was a huge need.

horn... wtf.

ugh. I bet we don't take Fields. Watch it be a fuging CB.

Taking a bit.. maybe negotiating a trade... but I think we should take Fields unless we're getting a second first rounder out of it