Peon Awesome

I know several people are balking at the price of two 2nds to move up to 3 but the reality is that's probably market value. A recent very similar comp was Houston's trade up to 3 to draft Will Anderson. Same idea: move up to draft the top edge rusher after QBs go 1 and 2. What did Houston give up? Pick 12 Pick 33 Next year's FIRST round pick Next year's 3rd round pick They did get back a 4th round pick, and granted they moved up from 12 instead of 8, but that's way more than two 2nds. Especially consider our 2nd is one of the last picks of the 2nd round and theirs was at the top. Now granted, you could easily argue we shouldn't give up that many picks with all of our holes. But you can't argue it's an unprecedented ripoff.

New ESPN article where Barnwell comes up with plausible trades for every draft pick. Panthers mentioned twice; I'm including the text below. I can see the logic in both theoretical options. First one essentially trades 2 2nds (we get back a 5th too) for the right to draft Abdul Carter and when you consider our track record with recent 2nds (Brooks, Mingo, Marshall), getting the consensus best pass rusher for that doesn't seem excessive. And the 2nd option drops us back to the middle of the draft to pick up 2 extra picks and considering the drop off in talent might be minimal between 8 and 18, the extra picks is a nice opportunity to fill out the roster. What do you all think? Giants get: 1-8, 2-57, 2026 second-round pick Panthers get: 1-3, 2026 fifth-round pick If Ward and Sanders come off the board with the top two picks, the Giants would find themselves in a difficult predicament. The clear top player available would be Abdul Carter, but they have Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in starting roles. They could take Travis Hunter, but after drafting wideout Malik Nabers last year and signing Paulson Adebo this offseason, they aren't crying out for help at either of Hunter's positions. He'd still be a valuable addition, but New York should be focused on a quarterback of the future and offensive line help. The Panthers, on the other hand, have one of the league's least imposing depth charts on the edge. New signing Pat Jones II had seven sacks last season, but he had just five in three previous seasons. Jadeveon Clowney is 32 years old and in the final year of his contract. Carter would be a building block for Carolina next to Derrick Brown, who missed most of the 2024 campaign with a meniscus injury. Giants general manager Joe Schoen is trying to add players who can help immediately in light of dismal back-to-back years, but adding a second-round pick in this draft (via the Rams) and a second-rounder in 2026 from a team that has struggled the past few years is a worthwhile risk. That Panthers second-rounder could be valuable if the Giants want to flip it later in this draft for a player who can help them this season. Panthers get: 1-18, 2-50, 5-172 Seahawks get: 1-8 While quarterback Bryce Young improved over the second half of 2024, the Panthers are still feeling the impact of trading significant draft capital for Young and others over the past few years. In 2022, they didn't have a second-round pick because of their trade for quarterback Sam Darnold and then moved up in the third and fourth round for signal-caller Matt Corral and linebacker Brandon Smith, respectively. In 2023, the Young trade left them with just five selections, with their second-rounder going toward since-traded wideout Jonathan Mingo. In 2024, without the No. 1 overall pick, Carolina moved into the first round to draft receiver Xavier Legette, then used its second-round pick on running back Jonathon Brooks, who will miss most or all of 2025 after tearing his ACL for the second time in two years. All of this is to say the Panthers could use extra picks. Their second-rounder is going to the Bears as the final vestige of the Young deal, although Carolina does get back a second-rounder from the Rams as part of Los Angeles' move for Braden Fiske last April. Picking up another Round 2 selection would give the Panthers front offense a chance to add multiple impact players along the line of scrimmage. On the other side of this deal, it's not like Seahawks general manager John Schneider to make a major move up the board, but with five top-100 picks, he has the capital to be aggressive. A move up here would get Seattle ahead of the Bears, 49ers and Dolphins for much-needed help at offensive tackle. Adding Armand Membou could give the Seahawks the option of starting the rookie at guard before eventually moving him outside or kicking Abraham Lucas inside. Will Campbell could also be in play.

ESPN free agency The article is a compilation of opinions from ESPN NFL experts recapping free agency. Naturally I tried to seek out relevant Panthers references. Which is the most improved team after free agency? Jeremy Fowler, national NFL reporter: The Carolina Panthers. Carolina's defense was the league's thinnest last season, so the front office aggressively pursued quality starters and depth. Most teams agreed that Tre'von Moehrig played better than any other free agent safety in 2024. The Panthers secured him for three years as a dynamic player in the secondary. They missed on Milton Williams but got two interior rushers -- Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III -- for a combined $22 million per year, less than what Williams got on his own ($26 million). Couple that with some quality adds at other positions, and Carolina is much better positioned for success than it was a year ago. What was the best bargain signing of free agency? Moody: The Panthers signing running back Rico Dowdle. The Panthers needed another proven running back behind starter Chuba Hubbard, especially with 2024 second-round pick Jonathon Brooks still rehabbing from ACL surgery on the same right knee he injured in college. It was impressive for the Panthers to land Dowdle on a one-year, $3 million deal (up to $6.5 million); he shined for the Cowboys after Week 11 with 22 touches and 108.0 total yards per game. There was also notably a section on most head scratching free agent move. Panthers weren't mentioned at all. I worried maybe someone would bring up how much we paid Wharton but instead, they brought up deals for Grady Jarrett and Javon Kinlaw so I guess in a market where DTs were getting a king's ransom, the Wharton deal is comparatively less egregious.

The contract isn't quite atrocious. At the very least, there's a simple out after year 2. We're basically on the hook for 2 years, $30 million with the option to keep him on for a 3rd year at $15 million if he actually plays up to the contract. And in 2027, $15 million will probably be average starting DT salary.

I don't see that there's a player likely to be there that we would be racing up to the podium to draft at 8. I think there's probably 5 or 6 guys we'd feel pretty good about taking. And with that being the case, I think the ideal scenario would be trading back into the 13-16 range for perhaps an extra 3rd and taking whoever is available between: Warren, McMillian, Jalon Walker, or Will Johnson. Could also be ok with Membou or Will Campbell as an heir apparent to Moton if either of them are still on the board and the others are gone. If we trade back a little further, I'd add Emmanwori to the list as well. Then we could package the extra 3rd to move our 2nd towards the top of the 2nd and draft either Schwesinger (assuming we don't take Walker) or Malaki Starks (assuming we don't take Emmanwori). Then our defense would more or less feel set.

One more caveat to keep in mind. If I'm reading the report correctly, this is an extension on top of the 5th year option. So either you can look at it as a 5 year, $112.5 million contract (22.5 million average), or a 4 year contract starting in 2026 when the cap will be even higher and he'll inevitably be paid less than a couple other corners signing extensions by then. It still seems like a lot given his injury issues but I can at least understand it, particularly with the cap savings this year. If, and obviously a big if, he can stay reasonably healthy, it will end up a very solid deal.

I still think we overpaid but he's not getting paid 8 million per year. It's $5.25 million. Again, a little rich in my opinion but not quite as egregious. Since you quote spotrac, here are the spotrac details: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/72463/tommy-tremble Also interestingly enough, spotrac suggests the contract is fair value. They have a suggested market value contract as 2 years, $11.5 million, suggesting we actually got a slight discount in their estimation. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/market-value/_/id/72463/tommy-tremble

The cheapest tender is over $3 million. Of course we weren't going to tender Blackshear. Y'all are overanalyzing this. It doesn't rule out the Panthers bringing him back on a minimum free agent salary.

I definitely think there is a propensity to overvalue offense and neglect defense, but Philadelphia is a really complete team. They have arguably the best offensive line in the NFL (detroit maybe the only other team with a case), #1 RB, top WR duo, top 10 TE and a pro bowl QB. Their defense is mostly made up of fantastic draft picks and bargain free agents. But to your general point, you can't be myopic. You have to build an entire team. I hope the Panthers front office didn't need to wait till the super bowl to figure that out. Having the worst defense in nfl history this past year should be enough motivation to start investing more in the defense.

The hall of fame has shown they value being the best at what you do, even for a short period of time, more than being great for a very long time. That's how you see players like Calvin Johnson get in first ballot while someone like Torry Holt or Reggie Wayne have been on the outside looking in for years. Kuechly was the best linebacker in the NFL in the 2010s and one of the best defensive players overall. I don't think he has to wait long. The competition is steep so I won't be surprised, just disappointed, if he's not first ballot.

Since you're the expert, I'm willing to be sold on him. My main hesitation in fully endorsing the pick is that our offensive looked really solid the last several weeks with who we have now and I believe with how young the offense is, they have good potential to get even better. Meanwhile, the defense was historically bad and there are few people on it that you look at it and say, yeah with a little more reps, they can grow into decent players (maybe Chau Smith-Wade and Trevin Wallace, and that's it). Not to mention 3/4 of our secondary are free agents. I guess if you truly invest every penny in free agency and the rest of the draft in defense, it could work.

I don't see what's so bad about this coaching cycle on paper, although only time will truly tell. You've got Vrabel who was immensely successful, fired as a scapegoat more or less, only to see Tennnessee plunge into the depths of the worst teams in the NFL soon after he's gone. I think he was a no-brainer for New England. Glenn and Johnson are 2 of the best coordinators of the past several years. Definitely seem more poised to jump into coaching than a lot of other hires recently. If nothing else for Johnson, he's a monumental upgrade from an offensive mind standpoint over what Chicago has had for years. Carroll is old but has been a steady winner, including super bowl win, and transformed Seattle even when he was in his 60s. He seems reasonable as a guy that can help right the ship before turning it over in a few years to someone younger. Cohen succeeded Canales in Tampa and took their offense to even greater heights. Definitely reasonable to be intrigued by where he could lead Lawrence. Not sold on Schottenheimer but they say Dak pulled for him. You might as well see where he and your franchise QB can take the team and if it's not to success, you can move on from both. Inevitably some will fail, some will flourish. We'll see.

It's great to see the list filled with some of our young guys. It feels like this team was incapable of actually developing players for a while which is a big reason why we'd been terrible. Another reason we can start having some hope for the future

I doubt that was a dealbreaker. He's only making about $3.5 million more per year than Josey Jewell. We could have just paid him instead of Jewell and did some minor contract adjustments and easily have fit him in. I might buy what others have said in him wanting a fresh start elsewhere.

I would have paid that in a heart beat for Luvu.

I know, stupid Bryce, how could he give up 38 points to that crap Falcons team? He should have been plugging those A gaps and stopping Bijan from effortlessly chugging away 6-8 yards every carry. Or at the very least he could've locked down Drake London so he wasn't putting up nearly 200 yards and 2 TDs on us. Maybe if he even feined a little resistance on defense, we could have won in regulation instead of skirting by in overtime. Like seriously, Bryce, what a pathetic loser! Or maybe you mean he could only muster up a measly 44 points to beat them. It doesn't matter that 44 points was the most any team has scored against the Falcons all year. A competent QB should have put up at least 60 and completely put the Falcons away regardless of how bad the defense was playing. What a horrific excuse for a QB. I'm with you man. What a bunch of deluded homers! *high five!*

That was a hell of a play by the chargers defender to knock it out. Also the Texans are definitely not a 10 win caliber team but some of that has to be attributed to the decline in Stroud's play. They have pro bowlers at WR, RB and LT, a 1st team all pro cornerback and arguably the best 1,2 duo of edge rushers in the NFL. They're no slouches. If Stroud was playing at 90% of his level last year, nobody would be complaining of the lack of talent on that team.

With his injury history, he's definitely someone you have to consider letting play out his tag if his agent is being unreasonable. You can't pay him top tier corner money and hope he can actually stay healthy for 4-5 years. The reality is, we can afford to retag him next year if he has another strong, healthy year and leverage that into a new contract in 2026. At least then, if he's proven two consecutive elite, healthy seasons, you don't really worry as much with paying top tier money. I have to think Horn also realizes if he is injured again next year, he loses his chance of ever seeing a big 2nd contract. If we push the guarantees, maybe he lives with sacrificing $20 million or so to ensure he is set up for life. Would you take 5 years, $85 million with $60 mil guaranteed now, or play on the tag next year, pray you don't get injured and hope for a 5 year, $110 million, $80 mil guaranteed next year vs possibility of getting injured and having to settle for a 1 year $10 million prove it 2nd contract. I'm sure that's where the discussions are going to be.

Moton is only 30. Do we really need to plan for his succession? Trent Williams was 1st team all pro at OT last year at 35 years old. I would definitely give him a 3 year extension through his age 35 season. At worst, if he slows down or his body becomes too banged up, you can cut ties a couple years early after most of the guarantees have passed. Even then, you don't need to start prepping his succession till 2027. Our 3rd and 4th this year should probably aim to net us defensive starters, e.g. LB, DT, safety, (nickle) CB.

Yeah it's funny. We had to go down to like the 5th tiebreaker for the division which was strength of victory (SOS of the teams we beat). Our unique wins were Oakland and Arizona (12 wins) compared to Browns and Cowboys (10 wins) for the Saints, so our strength of victory was higher. But strength of schedule is the draft pick tie breaker and the Saints was higher than ours

To summarize, we play the NFC west, AFC east, Green Bay, Dallas and Jacksonville. That means we finished 3rd in the division, Saints 4th. I'm not going to quibble over who we play, but Giants and Bears would've looked a lot easier on paper than Cowboys and Packers. Overall not bad though.

I think they ought to at least offer an extension. Between the cap rising every year inflating contracts, and the likelihood Ekwonu is more likely to play better rather than worse with O line/playbook continuity and another year of experience, chances are so much higher that his price tag will be dramatically higher next year. We kind of know his floor: above average run blocker and mediocre pass blocker susceptible to speed rushers. I'd look at the median salary for a starting tackle, tack on a 20% premium to account for cap inflation and the hope he improves, and offer a 5 year extension at that rate. Looking at current salaries, that would be something like 5 years, $110 million. Then adjust guarantees to work in some protection and see where you get with negotiations.

Yeah I'm kind of with you on this one. Someone to fill in as backup rb for one year shouldn't be a priority on a team with this many holes to fill, especially when Chuba has shown to be a capable workhorse. I could be on board with maybe a 6th or 7th rounder for someone with a 3rd round grade but not much more than that. Would be smarter to just workout a bunch of UDFA RBs and pick the training camp/preseason standout to be your short term backup.

Yeah that's insane. I've lived here for almost 20 years and I feel like that's maybe only happened 1 or 2 other times. I saw a twitter post about it and thought that can't be right and was still planning to turn the game on in the next hour. But nope, the tv guide is showing eagles and commanders in queue at 1 PM. I guess it's just a perfect storm: Panthers are near their nadir relevance playing a minimal stakes game against a non-divisional opponent. And the other offering includes a super high stakes divisional matchup against 2 (likely) playoff teams including the Commanders which are the next closest market to the area. I was going to add Washington was kind of a home market for the area pre-Panthers too, but unless you're in your 70s, I have to think almost everyone now unequivocably considers the Panthers the home team here.

Young's growth in the past few weeks has been astronomical. I'm not going to sit here and assume he's already hit his ceiling. His play has forced me to stop making any assumptions. I doubt after week 2, even the most die hard Panthers optimists and Bryce supporters envisioned any world where Bryce and Stroud could be uttered in the same breath with a straight face. The way Bryce Young is raising his game and CJ Stroud is regressing or at best stagnating, I suddenly don't think that's an outlandish possibility. And articles like this seem to hint it as well. But this is obviously still a time will tell situation.