45catfan

I know we just wrapped this one up, however, I knew at the completion of the 2020 draft what we needed to target this year and we did. Those were QB, OT and CB on day 1 and day 2. While we traded for Darnold and took our need for QB off the board, we still got the OT and CB early in the draft. So in that regard, I was correct. Not patting myself on the back here, merely saying it's possible to project needs for the following draft even this far out. So, for the draft-niks out there, are there any holes on this roster now that we've completed this draft and FA that you feel must be addressed in next year's draft? Give me your top three, ranked or un-ranked. Mine are: 1) S-Do I need to explain this? I think we do well enough this season to take a Safety in the back half of round 1 and get value. 2) LB-FAs on short-term deals and JAGS (I believe Chinn will be playing more of a role in the secondary) 3) DE- Not sold on YGM yet, Burns has issues staying healthy and no real depth to speak of--that 3rd rotational DE who could push to start. I know 2020 was a heavy defensive draft using all seven picks and we still had holes even after doing so. That entire side of the ball was completely gutted, therefore, it had to be the primary focus of that draft. We patched-worked some spots and continued to do so this year in FA and doubled down on CBs and DTs where I felt he had to in the draft. I think next draft instead of plugging S, LB, and DE in FA, we draft to fill them.

I wasn't in the war room...obviously, but I was getting pretty upset myself. I've said this numerous times now, when Christensen's name was called, I was extremely relieved. That being said, he's a fringe starter and we passed up day 1 starters at OT by trading back. If Christensen can tighten up a few things and win the start job this season, the calculated risk paid off. If Christensen struggles, the "what if's" are going to be coming out of the wood work.

As that may be, the most satisfying draft in the 25 years I've been following this team.

Met him at a tailgate event years ago. He brought some pizza from his old digs.

Yep, last of the LTs that had a chance of starting this year. Every one of them after him are projects. Literally let out an audible sigh of relief when his name was called. It was like a gut punch as the LTs kept coming off the board as we traded back. I would have been livid had we not come away with a starting LT out of this draft. Granted Christensen isn't a lock to start, but at least he's going to compete for it.

Did any of the trades involving the Panthers during the draft involve future picks or were all of them just for this one?

Good going man! I didn't do nearly as well this year as I did last year. I got CB Taylor and in a few instances Christensen in the 3rd round. That was it this year.

Nicholas Cage fan I see.

Basbear, how did you do this draft with your mocks? I knew I would not come close to the success I had in last year's draft. I must have had a horse shoe up the ol' hind side last draft. I hit on CB Keith Taylor as he was my day 3 corner in many, many mocks and in the mocks where we missed out on an OT in the 1st and 2nd rounds (which were only a few, obviously) Christensen was my guy in the 3rd round. That's really about it this year for me.

The very first pick in round 4 was a freaking DT, SMH. Still 20 DTs were drafted, BTW. Heck, we even drafted two. By nearly all accounts, Nixon was DT #2 or #3. Was there off-the-field issues I wasn't aware of? I look at tape and rarely dive into players backgrounds.

Seriously, props for putting this together.

After so many minutes, you can't edit a post.

Hey, he got the first name correct, that counts for something.

I realize now my sarcasm wasn't obvious enough. I'll have to work on that....must be losing my touch. Clearly this is about finding a #2 or #3 QB as Walker/Grier/Stevens is about as weak of a reserve QB corps as there is in the League.

Nope, I don't want him either. This QB class was very top heavy as you can see by the number of QBs drafted after the 2nd round. Oh yeah, I didn't bat .1000 in the draft, awe shucks.

We are assuming CMC is damaged goods now? Also, once the season was clearly lost, the staff held him back. Why expose him for a few meaningless games? Everyone knows CMC will get 99% of the RB snaps when healthy and there is no reason to think he is not. Again, a luxury pick.

I gave it a 'B.' Had the Fletcher and Hoskins picks been different, say S and C, I could have giving it an 'A'. While I didn't mind the Hubbard pick, it was a bit of a luxury getting CMCs backup there.

Clearly this is competition for Darnold and not about Walker/Grier/Stevens, they are all safe. I mean, who would want that stable of QBs waiting in the wings???

I guess NFL scouts are lazy then and no, I'm not talking about myself. Making an assumption just off a stat line is even more lazy. Let's walk through this. Brown was regarded as one of the top OGs all season and leading up to the Senior Bowl. I would have to look back, but top three, IIRC. Then the senior Bowl happens when individuals are graded by NFL scouts, GMs, coaches based on how they measure up versus other top prospects. Brown looked bad, not just fat, but lost reps consistently. His draft stock starts to plummet. If we didn't draft him, how much further would he have fallen? Seventh round? Possibly undrafted? Again, Bama is stacked and the reason they are top 1 or 2 every year. Having blue chippers top to bottom on the roster with Nick Saban as your coach will make some people seem better than they really are. That said, I didn't mind taking him in the 6th. Why not? We needed a guard and maybe he can lose weight, improve his mobility and be coached up on pass pro. It was a low risk/potential reward pick so late in the draft. However, he was anything from a steal.

I was all for drafting two DTs up until we signed DaQuon Jones a couple weeks prior to the draft. Now, it seems it was a wasted pick (too many DTs for the 53) and dude would likely have been a UFA anyway if we were intrigued about a practice squad slot.

The entire Bama line was good, that does not necessarily mean that each piece will fare well in the NFL. Intuitively, how well do you think a person at 365 pounds moves? Run blocking, sure, he's a beast...but he slid due to concerns of keep up with the athletes on NFL D-lines.

He dropped because he got his lunch ate in 1-on-1 drills at the Senior Bowl against the top athletic D-linemen. I remember his lateral movement was nonexistent. He will have a hard time picking up loops and stunts.

I don't have the time to do this now, but I will revisit. I will give you the guys I will be looking to swap out though: Marshal Jr, Tremble, Hubbard, Fletcher and Hoskins.

Mocked the heck out of this guy to us as our 2nd corner. Win-win!

Safety and center. I would like to replace Paradis when his contracts expires. Safety for obvious reasons.