45catfan

Yes, it happens a lot for guys who complete their degrees and still have a year of eligibility remaining. They enroll in graduate courses.

AND key players avoid the injury bug. That has been our downfall even in years when we've had good rosters.

Yep, as kids anytime we would smell something that would stink, we would say it smelled like Bowater. I had actually forgotten where we got the term until you jogged my memory.

Got ya, just about everyone had a 2nd or 3rd round grade on Nixon based on talent, he dropped because red flags. Hopefully he can be coached up (as a player and person) and if so, we could have a steal on our hands!

Did you have him dropping because of play or off the field issues? Talent alone, he should have been gone before the 4th round. I had vaguely heard of some read flags, but never got the details so I figured they were minor. I still don't know all the details, but they were apparently serious enough that some teams took him off their boards completely.

I'm generally against drafting CBs in the top half of the first round because they tend to be be 'boom or bust' prospects. However, if Horn turns out to be a true shutdown corner, then I'm all for it. You just don't get many Revis' out of the top 10 as you would expect from the first corners off the board. Not saying shutdown corners are plentiful, but surely not generational-types that only come along once in a blue moon.

I really feel they thought Horn wouldn't last a few more picks, let alone all the way back to where the Bears were at. The Panthers' article obviously didn't run down the pecking order of the draft board, but again, you could tell they had Horn rated higher than Surtain, so it wasn't about which of the two would be available later, it was about if Horn would be available later when they could get him at #8. The resounding answer was 'no' he wouldn't last, so they took him at #8 leaving nothing to chance in trading back.

This was confirmed on the Panthers' official site. Actually, they turned several offers down to move back, not just the Bears. Without actually saying it (the inference was there), Sewell was target 1 and Horn 1a. When the Lions took Sewell, the team was not about to let Horn get past them.

Who cares? If the number isn't retired (like #51) it's fair game. Sure, it's a courtesy to dissuade new players from wearing a jersey of a marquee player that has recently left the team, but that should only be a season or two. After that, why not? If the organization thought highly enough of the player's contributions, they would retire the number. If someone wants to wear #89 right now, fine. Smitty has been gone for several years now. If Smitty gets into the HOF, then it would anticipated his number will get retired and thus #89 would be off limits.

I'm actually excited about this year. Last year I knew was going to suck for a rookie coaching staff with a stripped down roster in the midst of a pandemic. The organization built a nice framework to spring forward into 2021. Solid, cost effective FA moves and a very good draft furthers the needle in the right direction. While Sam Darnold is a wildcard, we now know his price--gamble--is extremely low-risk. Fitts and crew recouped the 4th and 6th by trading back in the draft. He's essentially costing us a 2nd rounder and for a 'potential' franchise QB that value is tremendous. Rhule and staff were utterly hampered by Covid during last offseason is what was an uphill climb even in normal times. With systems now in place, cohesion with staff, familiar surroundings, understanding League processes etc... this staff is in a great place to succeed. Now it's about what they were brought here to do--COACH-- and develop players. I still think we are probably a year away from being unquestioned playoff contenders, but even this season we should at least sneak into the conversation. That, my friends, is something we've been waiting several years for and that is, in the words of our old friend Ron Rivera, "to be relevant ."

His dumb-butt cost me a bet. I had him a late 2nd or 3rd round selection. It wasn't a lack of talent, but a lack of judgement.

Eh, they have enough JAGS vying for the FS spot that they are hoping one of them will shake out of the bunch to be an effective starter. There were too many holes to fill this offseason and if FS is the last one to be occupied by a stopgap, then the front office did about as good as we could have hoped for.

I happier about the TE position than I have been in a couple of years, but still not overly excited.

Hey bud, looking sharp these days in the personal profile pic. Digging the 90's spiked hair, you'll bring it back into style. I can't help but think you look like someone, though. Who could that be?

First thing I looked for was Buffalo. Week 10 shouldn't be too cold or snowy around the middle of November.

That's why we drafted Nixon. Many had a second round value on him, but apparently had some character red flags and caused him to drop. My favorite draft site had him second only to Barmore.

If Christensen fails at LT, I don't think it will be because of his arms. The bigger issue and the unknown even as of now is what to make of Moton? Does he play the year on the tag or does he get the long-term deal? RTs are a dime a dozen and if he prices himself too richly, I think we let him walk after the season. If that's the case, I could see us moving Christensen to RT (assuming he struggles at LT) and going back to the well at LT next draft.

Unless Darnold tanks he'll be our guy in 2023 as well. To that point, I think a 1st round QB is about .1% likely to happen. By passing on a QB this draft, we hitched our wagon to Sam Darnold for at least two seasons and confirmed that by picking up his 5th year option. He would have to be well beyond Teddy bad for us to do the exact same thing and move on after just one season. Paradis is an average center and I think we could upgrade by going younger and cheaper. Burris is simply a placeholder until we can upgrade.

Center would be my 3b-right behind DE. For the right value, I wouldn't mind center being the second pick off our board to be honest. I don't see Paradis as the long-term solution there.

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?