BlitzMonster

That's what I'm fearful of. And then, when the Panthers have another 5 win season in 2022, Rhule says "My rookie QB is making great strides even if you can't see them. Give me another year or two to keep developing him and he'll be great." Rinse and repeat

Regardless of what the Huddle consensus seems to be (for the love of God, an LT), here's what's likely going to happen. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid reports that general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule are in attendance for today’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl to view Tar Heels passer Sam Howell. source

A DJ Moore trade might return a 1st or 2nd round pick. I don't think he wants to stick around here with the rebuild and poor QB situation. Maybe go QB with that pick. But if it were me, I'd probably double down and take another OL to really build up that unit.

I'd still pass on any of the 2022 QB with our # 6/7 pick for a true blue-chip LT. There are three available this draft so Carolina could definitely get one of them. Or the Iowa center who looks like he'd be a leader on the OL for the next decade. One of those four would be my pick.

Great post. Thanks for the write-up for all of us guys who aren't watching too much college ball. From my non-studied perspective, Pickett seems like one of the best bets. Experienced. Very Successful. The kid knows how to get W's. He's also reported to have that charisma you need in a #1 QB. Willis is a guy that is super athletic and has a gun for an arm. I've watched a few of his Youtube highlights and they were impressive. Not sure how good a pure pocket passer he would be. But he seems like Cam Newton lite so maybe that's not too big of an issue.

Tepper

That's the infuriating thing about Rhule. It's a lost season so why not play the rookies ?? But he keeps trotting out the same bunch of vets for the OL that we already know are not good. For next year's planning you have to know what you've got with the current group of rookies.

Maybe there are levels of benefits depending on what your residency status is. I am familiar with people that have homes there explicitly for the purpose of estate planning. There is no estate or inheritance tax in Wyoming.

Trey Smith had a history of blood clots in his lungs. He was likely medical red flagged by a lot of teams. I don't criticize the Panthers for passing on a guy like that.

Wyoming is literally the wild, wild west as far as tax havens and financial planning. The place is on par with the Caymans or Panama or Luxembourg as far as hiding / keeping money. You have to have a home there and visit it regularly. But the estate benefits and tax avoidance make it well worth the effort if you have a lot of $$. It's like why all companies have incorporated in Delaware.

This is a great post ! Very good observation and thinking about the O-line. I am also surprised at how bad our OL has played this season. The moving players around constantly has contributed to the offensive failures this season without a doubt. It's almost like a case study in how not to handle an NFL line. I think the whole problem started with Rhule's talent evaluation of Erving and Elflein. Here were two guy with poor recent performances that had bounced around the league. Both of them had significant injury histories. Yet Rhule signed them on the first day of free agency to relatively big contracts. I think Rhule somehow believed he / his staff could "coach up" these guys and that they could be capable starters for the Panthers. Well the reality is that the pair were exactly what the entire NFL knew they were - not very good and injury prone. Rhule thought he was being smarter than the rest of the league but he just showed how naive he was in the pro game. And this was from a guy who coached the Giants OL !! Did Rhule not learn anything from that experience. The cascade effect from the decision to sign Erving / Elflein meant that the team no longer felt pressure to go OL in the draft. So they missed out on taking LT Rashawn Slater who went a few picks after ours and made the Pro Bowl his rookie season.

Yeah, I was thinking more in terms of any generic NFL team as far as the scheme and gameplans. As you correctly stated the Panthers are particularly bad at this. In the hypothetical Alabama game there might be a few sophisticated plays thrown in that Rhule has learned from the pro game in the last 2 years but basically he runs a simple college scheme. That's why the Panthers have appeared so overmatched week after week.

I think Rhule's two drafts have been pretty good. He has added a bunch of young talent to this roster. Unfortunately, however, Rhule is not doing anything to help develop this young talent. In fact a lot of them aren't even playing. And Rhule is not putting in schemes or game plans to maximize their skills and give the team a better chance to win. Otherwise the team would be much more competitive. So Rhule is really making the least out of the one good thing he's done. And that's not saying Rhule's drafts have been perfect. In retrospect going Horn over a LT was probably a strategic mistake (as good as Horn may turn out to be). But overall there are some good young players on this team.

LLC's can be done just for privacy, of course. But there can also be significant financial gains to the process as well. There's no shortage of clever lawyers and accountants out there who can take your tax bill down to zero fairly quickly. The 1% live in a different world than the rest of us.

It would be no contest - the pro team would win. NFL players would be bigger, stronger, faster and more experienced than the college guys. More skilled. Almost every pro was all conference in college and has done nothing but workout and practice or play the sport 12 months a year since graduation. The NFL teams would also have much more sophisticated offensive and defensive schemes. Even better kickers. Just better at everything.

"Rhule didn't go for it on 4th and 7. Let's burn his house down." As scary as it seems, I could imagine conversations like that actually happening.

Also could be just financial stuff that rich people do. Have it owned by an LLC and Rhule rents it out to himself and writes off a business expense. Or some other crazy accounting maneuver that's only available to the super wealthy.

Cumulative load on the body. CMC has had no contact injuries but it's all those big hits which likely lead up to them. And CMC does himself no favors by constantly fighting for more yardage at the end of every play. Watch the Panthers trade CMC to New England for a 6th just to dump the salary and then he goes to 5 Pro Bowls in a row.

6) Las Vegas → Carolina (PD). Las Vegas traded a sixth-round selection to Carolina in exchange for linebacker Denzel Perryman 7) Miami → Carolina (PD). Miami traded a seventh-round selection to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for offensive tackle Greg Little

The team would be trading CMC at his lowest value so minimizing the return. At this point I'd much rather keep him and have him play the vast majority of snaps as a slot receiver like Wes Welker or Julian Edelman. His longevity will improve significantly when he stops smashing into 320 lb defensive linemen 20 times a game.

sign rookie Michal Menet on the Green Bay practice squad a 3 year starter at Center for Penn State where he was a 2-time team captain third-team all-conference in 2020

thanks

I loved the guy and thought he was great for the game. But I also thought he had been dead for many years.

No trading away future picks. This team has a lot of guys on rookie deals so cap space is not a huge problem. Just eat the 18M for Darnold and move on. The salary is only for one year. Then those $$ come off the cap for 2023.