BlitzMonster

I was able to get the starters and the key backups without too much difficulty. After that it comes down to how strict you want to be about identifying players. I could get a few more by just the first or last name (like "Paddy" (Paddy Fisher), the UDFA LB). Several others were guys who I knew their history such as what team they played on before or which college they attended, but their names escaped me ("that rookie DT from Kentucky"). That's good enough for me (since most of those guys will get cut) but it's not their exact names. A good exercise !

Other guys who also played on the Panthers Senior Bowl team: OG Deonte Brown LS Thomas Fletcher UDFA LB Paddy Fisher The benefits of coaching the Senior Bowl during the COVID quarantine season just can't be overstated. It was close scouting and interactions with the players that almost no other team had in 2020. That's a huge advantage. Basically the bottom of our draft and many of the UDFA were Senior Bowl guys. The close contact with the Senior Bowl players might have even affected our draft strategy. Carolina traded down and amassed lots of late round picks. I think the Panthers were confident that given their Senior Bowl knowledge, they could hit on many of those late selections.

It was a good risk. Small school kid who's team canceled the 2020 season during COVID. Scouting NFL-wide was way down because of the epidemic so a lot of teams likely didn't even know who he was. Is short for an OL at 6-1. Panthers had 1-on-1 experience with him at the Senior Bowl. So we knew his potential when many other teams did not. It was a shrewd calculation of his likely availability.

Maybe the coaching staff told Thompson to bulk up during the off-season in anticipation of a specific role they had for him ? But in general it's better for older players to get more lean instead of adding weight. The loss of weight helps improve quickness and speed, which counteracts the normal speed decline due to aging.

Absolutely. Defense almost always outshines Offense in early season camps, regardless of the team. Offense is a big dance where everyone has to learn the steps. That group coordination takes time & practice. Defense is far more "read & react" which favors raw athleticism.

No but the Carolina coaching staff sure sees it. And coaches are a big fraternity who are networked with each other. So you don't want to have a reputation as a lazy guy or poor worker. It could affect whether another team takes a chance on you or not.

I'm really curious how the greatly expanded practice squads are going to affect team behavior. Will there be constant grabbing people off of other teams PS ? The wild, wild west ? Or will it be "hands off mine, I'll be hands off yours" detente. It will be fun to watch.

The practice squad consists of 12 players in 2021. So a few more marginal guys can hang around. NFL roster rules 2021

I see this too. Tremble's position versatility allows the team to save a roster spot. But in case of an injury to Tremble, the team doesn't want to have to change its gameplan. So a FB will be kept on the practice squad to serve as an immediate fill-in.

I have some concerns about CMC and his coming back from a lost season. I am hopeful that we'll see the same explosive player that we saw in his first three years. But it's always unclear how guys come back from multiple injuries, both physically and mentally. And now he's got the big contract and I wonder about his focus with all his recent photo ops and social media posts with his Miss Universe girlfriend and such. The good thing is that the injury last season wasn't a knee or some other structural problem. Still I think the Panthers over-use of CMC has contributed to him being so banged up in 2020. In that light I hope the team spreads out the rushing to two or even three players to keep Christian fresh this season. Remember the team has another game to play. So the Panthers have to let some other players help CMC carry the load.

Richard Sherman is a really interesting case study for the draft. He was a WR for 3 years at Stanford and then switched to CB for his last two. So he had some position uncertainty among scouts. He ran at the Combine and really bombed the 40 at 4.56. Which was ridiculous since in HS he was a track star. Sherman was a USA Today All-American after winning the California state title in the triple jump. Placed third in the California state finals for 110 hurdles. So he was a great athlete. He returned several punts for TD's in HS. Sherman re-ran the 40 at his school's pro day and had a 4.26, along with an 11 foot broad jump and other outstanding numbers. Which showed the Combine numbers were just a really bad day. All that mixed information led to a lot of questions about Sherman and he fell in the draft. And then was selected by Seattle and became one of the best cornerbacks of his generation. FINAL TAKEAWAY: if a guy has a long history of great athleticism, trust that and not one bad day at the Combine

With his size I thought maybe Carolina was considering Taylor as a potential FS. But you generally want ballhawks in that position, as well as guys with excellent speed. Taylor doesn't fit either of those qualities. So I'm not sure how he'll be used.

For me, the biggest plus for Taylor is that the Carolina coaching staff saw this kid first hand at the Senior Bowl practices. Even though he was on the opposing team, they still did some drills with him and would have had the chance to talk with him often. So I trust if the Panthers saw something in Taylor, he was worth drafting. As to Taylor's expected draft position, the NFL had him with a 5.50 grade, which is for end-of-the-roster / practice squad guys. So not that positive. NFL prospect page

There will always be exceptions but you generally want your CB to have some speed. One of the criticisms I have read about Taylor is that he gives too much cushion to receivers, which might be his own recognition that he lacks overall speed. Which seems odd since he did some track work in high school where he ran some decent times (low 11's for the 100 meters). Maybe getting bigger, heavier since HS has slowed him down a bit ?

I'm not so sure about Taylor. His RAS scores are pretty mediocre including a 4.54 40 time. At that stage in the draft you take it but it's not great. Also his 0 interceptions in his college career questions whether he has the ball skills to succeed at the next level. We'll see if the Panthers staff can make the most of Taylor's length & coach him up to be a productive DB in the NFL.

This may have been part of the motivation for Rhule to clean house of the older vets in the last 2 years. Also they were underperforming on the field compared to their cap charge. I think a number of vets got complacent under Ron.

I think the results are generally abysmal. In 2021 Mel Kiper had 5 players correctly mocked to the teams that actually took them. Todd McShay of ESPN and Peter King of Sports Illustrated had nine. Who had the most accurate NFL mock draft? Not ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

I think the League now treats draft night as some type of reality TV show that they want to manipulate for higher ratings. Must have some surprises, some heart-wrenching human interest stories, some shocking reveals. In the future look for a WWE brawl on camera between two teams over a pick. Would make for lots of newspaper coverage. Who cares that it is totally staged.

I wouldn't discount the NFL stepping in and asking them to keep quiet about their selection. Gotta have some drama in the draft now that it's a prime time television event (especially with picks 1 & 2 already known).

In this COVID year, I don't think the importance of the Senior Bowl for Carolina can be overstated. Scouting was severely curtailed in 2020. Schools just canceling their entire football seasons. Players opting out so no game tape for them. No Combine. As a consequence, the intelligence buildup on the draft prospects was a mess. Thank God the Panthers sucked so much this year that their coaching staff got to coach one of the Senior Bowl teams. The experience gave them a week of direct contact & hands on coaching with a full team of draft prospects (as well as being able to see the other team's workouts & talk to those players after practice). The very top 1st rounders don't go to Senior Bowl but much of rounds 3 - 7 are there. And that's where Carolina was able to really shine - the middle & late draft. Four of our picks in rounds 5-7 & two UDFA were all Senior Bowl attendees. And, as MHS astutely observed, knowing which guys you DON'T want to pick is also tremendously valuable - whether for bad scheme fit, bad athleticism, bad attitude, whatever. So that knowledge helped the franchise as well. I hope Carolina doesn't get to coach at the Senior Bowl again any time soon. But the opportunity was a real advantage during this recent COVID year.

If nothing else there's always a use for Brown & Moore in short yardage - 3rd & 2, goal line, jumbo package, etc. Basically with these two, when we're inside the 5 it will be lots of rushing TD. That alone should make the case for both of them making the final roster.

I love Moore, don't get me wrong, and I hope he makes the team. The video you posted clearly shows Moore is willing to get up the field and block at the second level. That's great. Still his agility scores were horrible and his 40 time pretty mediocre. How is he going to be able to make plays like these when his opponents in the NFL are much, much better and more athletic than the FCS players he faced previously ? That's the biggest question for me.

Interesting post MHS ! One thing I'm a bit confused about is that Elflien, Christensen, Tremble and (to a lesser extent) Cam Erving are "move" blockers, guys with agility that can run and make blocks all over the field. Moore and Brown seem to be the polar opposites of that - big, strong, round boulders that can withstand any bull rush but have below average athletic ability. They seem to be best suited to play in a phone booth. You say Moore "can move" but his RAS scores were pretty bad ( and Brown's were even worse ). So how do you get an OL to function as a unit when you have two very different body types on it ? I don't get it. Shouldn't the Panthers have either all agile, zone blocking OL or all massive man blockers, not both mixed together on the same OL like some type of Frankenstein's monster ?

Latest rumors have KC looking at Moses since they need a RT. Would not be for much $$ but, on a one year "prove it" deal, Moses would be joining a Super Bowl contender. Pretty tough to beat this.

I'm curious about Pride. A great athlete that I'd love to see make a big jump from year 1 to year2. Biggest problem for him is that the team's #1 draft pick was a stud player at his position. So Pride is less likely to get extra playing time (outside of injuries).