45catfan

Hurts was a 2nd and it took it him a bit longer to develop, but he was considered a project with potential that could be a franchise QB. A first rounder, especially top 5 IS a franchise QB and is expected to be the savior of the franchise right away. Had Hurts been a first rounder, he'd been considered a borderline bust up until this season.

Ooops, double post.

Yup, a deep class as most people thought, but not as top heavy as it once looked and that may work out to the Panther's advantage. Stroud, Young and Levis are looking like the top 5 guys right now and there's a decent gap to the next tier as you pointed out, say at least 20 or so picks (as it stands now). If we don't end up with a top 5 pick, there's no reason to reach. Grab Mayer and get the QB in round 2. Remember, we have Corral and really didn't get to see him much. Drafting a first round QB essentially kicks Corral to the curb because you HAVE TO start him unless you are grooming him behind a savvy vet (not our situation). Waiting until the second makes a competition and may the best man win. That way we have TWO QBs on rookie deals to develop and can spend money elsewhere.

That's my plan. McCall will not get the hype to leap way up in the first round. Dude is just a hard hat and lunch pail type of guy. My only fear is a team with mediocre QB play may take a stab at him mid or late in the round, like the Patriots. So there's a calculated risk waiting until round 2. But I think Mayer is a generational TE. I know there are certain positions that typically don't get drafted high, but even so, when a generational talent comes along you don't pass them up just because that position is considered not worth that lucrative of draft capital.

Through five games Mayer is averaging a TD and 70 yards. He had a hundred yard game versus BYU. This is the cog our offense needs. OBVIOUSLY we need steady QB play, but average QBs need a reliable TE, not just reliable, but a serious threat in the passing game.

Are we on board yet fellas? I can't justify a top 5 pick on him, but top 10? Yes.

Yep, I was wanting to draft a TE when Olsen first broke his foot. I knew that his play, given his age with that injury, was probably going to decline. What was that 2017? So I've been wanted to draft a TE day 1 or 2 for nearly 5 years now.

Which is admirable and he was obviously involved in some wrongdoing, but it didn't reach the level of selling the team. To be honest, I think JR only had Jones and Rooney that he had as allies. Once wind of the NDAs got to the League office, the wheels set in motion to get Tepper his team. Even Jerry wanted the dude from Charleston (forget his name) to take over the team, he even had the higher bid. Jerry, being an old timer, opted to bail out rather that take all the media an public scrutiny. Tepper was hand picked by the League, IMO. They just needed a door opened somewhere and that somewhere was here.

And YES, I'm willing to trade down to draft Michael Mayer unless we have a top 3 pick. His floor is Andrews/Goedert and his ceiling is Gronk.

FYI, I was willing to draft Goedert, Andrews, Gesicki or Hurst that 2018 draft. Beating the damn drum for Goedert, but any of them I was willing to take. Now look at these dudes: Andrews #2, Goedert #7, Gesicki #10 and Hurst #22. I had them ranked that draft: Goedert#1, Andrews#2, Hurst#3 and Gesicki#4. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/top-32-nfl-tight-ends-2022/

Lets hope some moronic/desperate AD of some power 5 school comes calling SOON!

I looked real hard...there must be a typo because Ian Thomas is not listed as a top 32 TE. Wait, there are 32 teams but the Panthers don't have a player listed? That can't be correct. Pfffft...lol, I've been saying our TE room is a joke. Here is 11-32, no need to do the top 10 because we know Thomas isn't there. Some teams, like the Browns, have TWO TEs that made the list. OUCH! Panthers TEs absent in rankings *Banner cover: 17) C.J. Uzomah, New York Jets 18) David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

Either a defensive TD or turnover on a very short field will be our only TD. Eddie Money will provide the rest of the points, say 2-3 FGs.

So Tepper is "hoping" Rhule just quits, huh? Rhule is a moron NFL head coach, but he's not stupid and going to forfeit tens of millions just to quietly exit.

Decent slot guy and Shi Smith's hands have turned into butter fingers.

The Brand in it's full glory. Pleb fans just can't see it.

I wanted to CUT Ian Thomas and the Panthers not only retain him but give the JAG a sparking new contract. Lol, no wonder this team sucks.

Ya damn skippy. I've been barking up this tree since--uh, forever. Realistically since Olsen's FIRST foot injury. Heck, what do I know, only harped about safety play for about a decade before we drafted Chinn, who, by the way, I mocked to us in the second round that draft.

So Cam and Luke are coming back?

23. TE Tommy Tremble: 50.9 25. TE Ian Thomas: 42.8 And I still get doubted that we need to draft a TE early.

Damn, you mean half of the huddle doesn't want to call him a bust now? Who would have thought a starting rookie LT would have a rough couple of games from the outset of the season. It was obvious to me dude was making strides from week-to-week. Also Ian Thomas, contract and extension should never be in the same sentence.

That's the problem. While Hurney was the GM at the time, Tepper loved Rhule as much or more so than Marty himself. Rookie owner made a rookie mistake. Next time let the GM do his job. Granted, Tepper needs to sign off on it, but that's it. Whomever is the GM needs to conduct the search and when the one is selected, THEN Tepper can give the stamp of approval or not. Tepper himself does not need to be on the search committee. How likely is this to happen? Almost zero, because Tepper thinks he's the smartest man in the room at any given time.

I'm not too sure about that. Fitterer executed the trades, but was he the one that sought out the players? Like the Henderson trade for instance...when Horn went down last year did Scott get on the horn to Jacksonville to back fill the spot on his instincts OR did Rhule say 'we need a CB immediately, go find me one.' I realize scouts and GMs keep a list of perspective players, but did Fitts go to Rhule or did Rhule go to Fitts? This is the reason I'm willing to give Fitterer the benefit of a doubt. Rhule is the puppet master and the reason no matter how much he shuffles the chairs around in the front office, the results are the same.

Only for one year. Unless we crap the bed again, in 2024 we are back in good shape.

Who was the real trigger man on the Darnold, Mayfield and Henderson trades? Remember Rule has more pull on the roster decisions than Fitterer, which is crazy. Even if Fitts didn't like the trades, could he have blocked them or all he could do was try to get the best value out of them when told to acquire these players?