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Barring unforeseen circumstances, Burrows should be in the thick of things for the next decade. Unfortunately, he may have a more difficult road than Brady did. Tom played in a joke division (AFC East) for most of his career. Burrows will have to deal with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens twice a year. And, the Browns seem to give the Bengals fits. Cleveland swept them this year. If Cleveland had a solid QB, on paper they may actually be the more talented team. The he'll have to deal with either Mahomes, Herbert, and Allen in the playoffs. Brady had two playoff foes in the AFC, Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco. The former beat him 3 times in the AFC title game. And Flacco beat him twice in NE in the playoffs. Big Ben and Phillip Rivers were never obstacles for Brady in the post season. I tend to agree that he may be on the verge of becoming the top QB in the AFC, but the battle for that spot is going to be fun to watch over the next several seasons. The AFC of the 2020's reminds me of the NBA from 1980-1990. 3 teams won multiple titles during that stretch (Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons). The 76ers only won 1 (1983), but lost to the Lakers on 80 and 82. I can see that happening in the AFC this decade.

Two years ago the Bengals had the worse record in the NFL. They drafted a talented QB in the first round to lay the foundation for the rebuild. He played well last year, but missed half the season due to a torn ACL. Now with only 2 years in the NFL, and only a year removed from a season ending injury, Burrows and his young first time coach are headed to the Superbowl...despite a mediocre/poor pass blocking O-line. Contrast that with Carolina. Two seasons ago we were more talented than Cincinnati. On paper, we had good draft classes in 2020 and 2021. Yet, we are worse we were before Burrows enter the league. No one expected a rebuilding Carolina club to make a SB in year 2, although the Bengals proved it could be done. But, we should see progress, not regression. I hope Mr. Tepper sees what a real rebuild looks like.

While I pretty much agree with you 100% on this, I'd like to pose a question to you and the other Huddlers. If Deonte (or Brady for that matter) could master the position, would their conversion to Center be a positive or negative for the Panthers? The way I see it we have 4 spots on the line that need to be addressed. If you could solidify a spot on the O-line with either guy it would make us better in 2022.

Once the staff saw how poorly the LT played Brady should have been plugged in to see if he could man the position. We'd have a much better idea on his future at that spot had we done this. It's common sense, if you draft a LT...and the guy who plays in front of him is below average, then play the guy you drafted to see is he is better. If Rhule was absolutely convinced that Brady's arms were an inch to short to play LT , then at worst he should have been started at LG for the majority of the season. If he proved capable (or incapable), at least you'd know which positions to address in the off-season. The thing that bothers me the most about last season was our inability to develop our rookie class. Jaycee's injury was unavoidable so he gets a pass. Chubba was the only one who really had an impact this year, and that only happened because Christian was hurt most of the season. If you subtracted every other rookie's contribution in 2021 (with the possible exception of Brady filling in all over the O-line) it wouldn't have had a significant impact on our final record. That's telling since we had a league high 11 draft choices for a rebuilding team

I was thinking the same thing. What player in this draft is worth moving up for and giving away 2nd (and possibly a 3rd) round draft choice? As a GM, I wouldn't do it unless a player in the Top 10 was the missing piece to putting my team into playoff/title contention. Even then, I'd have to have an extra pick in the round two or three to seriously consider it. I'm also not sold on the idea that we can simply fix our o-line thru free agency. We picked two FA's last year and we know how that turned out. I already doubt the staff's ability to properly evaluate lineman. Also, after last year's fiasco I don't see quality FA's making a bee-line to Carolina to play under Matt Rhule. Take a stud lineman at 6. If you trade back, I wouldn't go below 12

From what I saw Keith Taylor Jr. held up pretty well when he was on the field this season. He was a great value pick in the 5th round. Rhule should have played him more this season instead of trading for CJ Henderson. As you pointed out, not only did we lose a valuable 3rd round pick, but we also lost our best passing catching TE. Arnold would have been a huge benefit to our offense this past season. I didn't see CJ do anything significantly better than Keith in pass coverage. That's my biggest gripe with Rhule. He did a poor job developing the rookies on both sides of the ball in 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders. Jacksonville Jaguars. Denver Broncos. Chicago Bears. Minnesota Vikings. ... New York Giants. ... Miami Dolphins. ... Houston Texans New Orleans

I think Payton going to Dallas would be troublesome for the entire NFC. Payton is probably the one coach Jerry Jones would probably be willing to cater to in order to get a final chance at a Super Bowl ring. I have no doubt that Dak's play would improve and that offense would perform more consistently week in and week out.

I wonder if the Saints would take Matt Rhule, Sam Darnold, Cam Erving, and John Miller as compensation if we went after Payton?

I've always felt Brady always seems to have the ball bounce his way as they say. After seeing this video and reading some articles online I began to think "Could something else be going on here"

"Maybe it's time to leave the NFC North Aaron and come to the NFC South. Look what this guy said about you on facebook: Aaron Rodgers is learning what George McCaskey knows all too well... Owning the Bears doesn't get you much in the playoffs

This guy seems to have no impact on the passing game. We already have a starter at DT who has no significant impact on the passing game...Derrick Brown. We don't need to waste a high pick on another one unless he slips to the 5th or 6th round and is the best available player on the board.

If I had players on the team capable of replacing them with no (or little) drop-off, and the rest of the roster was solid across the board, then I think I'd do it. None of the guys you mentioned are irreplaceable. However, if would have to be for an established guy (ex: Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson...before assault allegations). I wouldn't trade those guys to draft a rookie ...unless...He was a generational QB...and even then I'd be hesitant.

KillaCam is saying that the Rams have been one of the NFL's better teams over the past 5 seasons. If they win their next two games they could represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. That's impressive without any first round picks for nearly half a decade. But, they've got to win while the window is open. Not having those picks is ultimately going to catch up to them. They've got to win in the next 2-3 seasons to justify the moves.

I came up with this question after thinking about the drama that surrounded 3 of the best QB's in the league prior to the 2021 season. Deshaun Watson, Russel Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers all expressed interest in leaving their teams. The first two had no clear successor to replace them. But this past draft was supposedly full of 1st round prospects. A team could have let them go and picked a QB from the 2021 draft class with the extra picks. The Packers moved up to get Jordan Love a couple of seasons to go. If they were convinced that Jordan Love could be as effective replacing Rodgers as Rodgers was replacing Brett Favre, I could see Green Bay letting Rodgers go for three 1st round picks in the same year...but only if they had a franchise QB sitting on the bench (which in reality they do not).

You'd be swapping places with a team and giving them the 2 extra picks in the first round. The scenario I envisioned would allow you to keep your picks in rounds 2-7, so the line could be addressed during the rest of the draft; or in free agency. I also said "if your team were one QB away" from contending.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/01/18/2022-nfl-draft-order-eagles-hold-15th-16th-and-19th-overall-picks/ As you can see from the above link, Philly has 3 draft choices between picks 10 and 20. I don't think the Eagles are going to do anything drastic at QB this year. But, if you were the GM for the Panthers (or any team for that matter) and your franchise was a QB away from being a legitimate Super Bowl threat would you consider the making the following move(s)? 1) Trade all three #1 draft choices in one year to either move up in the draft to pick a stud QB? 2) Trade all three #1 draft choices in one year to acquire a stud QB in a blockbuster trade? And, If you were a GM for a team would you 1) Accept three #1 picks for a team to move up into your spot the draft? 2) Accept three #1 picks to trade a player you were looking to move? ------- San Francisco gave up a ton to get Trey Lance. The details are below. "The Niners essentially placed their future in Lance's hands, sending three first-round picks to Miami for the right to select the dynamic, dual-threat quarterback. San Francisco doesn't have a first-round pick until 2024 and is also out a third-rounder in 2022." ------ I could see doing this if you were only a QB away from contending for a title. The player you picked or traded for would in essence be your #1 pick and the other draft choices in later rounds would be intact. I couldn't see parting with any picks the following draft. I could see doing it as a GM if there was a strong draft class that season. You could pick 3 blue chip players and pretty much control them for 5 seasons. If the picks were solid, a team could significantly better in a hurry. Thoughts?

Let this sink in, Cousins threw more TD's last year than the Panthers have thrown as team the past two seasons. Our rebuild is a year behind after the disastrous 2021 season. Our problems won't be solved by drafting any of the available QB's in the first round of this years draft If we did get Cousins, then he could hold things down for the next couple of seasons as we address our weak areas (O-line, LB, S, run stoppers)this off-season. We could then afford to go all in for a QB during the 2023 draft and have someone ready to replace him round 2024-2025. I'm just curious as to what type of compensation that Vikings would want in return for a trade.

I'm glad you posted the full quote to give better context to the statement. I also agree that this probably the exact type of coach Darnold needs if there is any chance of him ever elevating his game.

In your post you used the phrase "if you think you have the opportunity to draft a QB that you feel good about you take it. ". What if you don't feel good about the QB options available in the top 10? Should you take one anyway just to get a "franchise QB in round 1? If you pick a guy in round 1 out of desperation and miss on him, the team will be set back even further. Besides, does anyone on this board really want Matt Rhule to pick a QB to lead this team for the rest of the decade? Unless something drastically change , Rhule won't be here after the 2022 season. The new coach and his staff should be one to select a franshise QB.

Ironically, neither of the first three were the best QB’S of their respective eras. Elway was a great QB, but he wasn’t he best QB of the 1980s or 1990s. You can make an argument that he wasn’t the best QB in the class of 1983 (Jim Kelly and Dan Marino were just as good). That era was dominated Montana and Aikman. Elway was physically more talented than both, but they had much stronger teams around them, If not for Terrell Davis leading the way with a devastating running game in 1997-1998, Elway probably would have retired without a ring. He was 0-3 in superbowls until the last 2 years of his career. Each loss was worse than the one that preceded it. Manning was a great QB and great for the NFL. He’s not the most heralded QB of his era. Tom Brady was/is. Even Drew Brees deserves honorable mention. Brees beat Manning head to head in a Super Bowl, and statistically he was better than Manning and Brady from 2009-2013 a period in which neither won a title. Andrew Luck had to retire early because of chronic injuries. Why was he hurt so much? He played behind a crappy Oline for most of his career. By the time they got the line fixed in Indy, Luck’s body had broken down. Does this sound familiar. Poor lines have hurt our QBs too ( Cam after the 2017 season …and even Darnold this year). And, even when he played, other QBs in the league was just as good (Manning, Brady, Brees, Big Ben, Russel Wilson, etc) Trevor’s just starting his NFL journey, but if history repeats itself, there’s a strong chance that he won’t be remembered as the best QB of his era either

What is more troubling to me than taking Horn with our first pick was the failure to improve the line with our 2nd draft pick (#39). We traded down from 39 to 52 with Chicago. Than from 52 to 59 with Cleveland to take a WR who finished the season with 17 catches. To this day I don't understand the pick. Both of our wideouts went over a 1,000 yards in 2020. Click on the link below and and adjust the settings to 2nd round/OL lineman taken. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/draft-tracker/ We had a shot at every player on the board except pick #37 (Landon Dickerson went to the Eagles). We didn't need a RT, but we definitely had a chance at some solid interior lineman and maybe even a LT. The two best centers on the draft board were taken after we picked TMJ. I know we picked up some FA lineman prior to the draft, so the team probably thought they had addressed the problem. This is what is so discouraging. Rhule and company don't seem to evaluate player at critical positions very well and it show up on the field during games.

I know a lot of people were upset we didn’t get Slater. I was ok with Jaycee, but I understand the point of view What bothers me was the 2nd round trade downs. We could have taken the best lineman on the board in round 2 but ended up with receiver who caught 17 passes. We passed on about 5 tackles and 3 interior lineman. Then to make matters worse the best center on the board came off after our pick. Did these guys not meet his physical requirements? Was he just following their draft board? Either way we lost an opportunity to improve early in round 2 but blew it. I’d have loved to hear him answer that question.

I understand the need to have versatile lineman on the roster for depth and injury reasons. But, those are the type of guys you need to have on the team primarily as backups. Someone goes down, use a versatile lineman to keep things together. Your starters need to be above average at all 5 line spots. An offensive line is only as strong as it's weakest link. Rhule's who mindset is strange. He drafts a LT with the intention of turning him into a LG. If you wanted a LG in the 3rd round then you should have drafted one. Deonte Brown is a RG who supposedly couldn't see the field because of conditioning issues. Rhule is now saying that he may be moved to Center, a position where he may end up playing more snaps than any other position on the line. If you wanted a center you should of drafted a center in round 2. Creed Humphrey was the best center in the draft and he came off the board minutes after we picked Terrace Marshall Jr, a receiver we really didn't need based on his lack of production and playing time this past season. If Deonte to become a great center, then I'd be ecstatic. But, what is he going to do at RG? I don't think we have the answer on the roster. And, Carolina's brilliant trade strategies have left short of draft choices. I just have a bad feeling that we're just going to get more of the same come draft time.