BlitzMonster

According to Spotrac there are 10 teams right now with greater cap space than Carolina. But only three of these teams have 10M + more than we do. So maybe you're right ?? SPOTRAC

what a wall of beef ! CMC could rush for 3000 yards behind that bunch of steamrollers

I'd love the guy as would most teams in the NFL. But his salary was 8.6M last season I don't see that (or anything close) fitting under our cap.

enjoyed that video - thanks for posting

I love that the Panthers management now seems to be making proactive moves. As MHS points out the OL draft picks and FA signings all seem to have been designed to eventually replace Miller & Paradis as their contracts run out (if not even earlier).

outstanding write up very well thought out Posts like these make it fun to come here in the off-season

CMC is coming off a major injury. And the season is now 1 game longer. For the long-term health of CMC I hope the team distributes the rushing load more evenly. Let's not grind down one of our most talented players (again).

If you look at the team stats from last season, I think Carolina's draft logic becomes more clear. As chaotic as they were, the Panthers OL was middle of the road (18th) in sacks allowed for 2020. You want to improve on that but it's not a glaring weakness for the team. However the defense was ranked 31st in 3rd down completions last season. So Carolina was basically one of the very worst in the NFL for getting opposing teams off of the field. I think that poor 3rd down ranking encouraged Fitterer/Rhule to go CB with the first pick. The choice became even more attractive when they could get one of the very top defenders in the draft who was battle tested in the SEC. And Horn also had off-the-charts athleticism which would allow the defensive coordinator to scheme press coverage more often. That's especially important in the pass-happy NFC South. The BPA philosophy and Carolina's team needs pretty much aligned at pick #8 for the selection of Horn.

An extension for Moton would absolutely be the best use of the remaining cap space.

Jameis Winston may keep that Saints offense rolling along so they probably won't be easy to sweep. I'd say 8 or 9 wins for the Panthers in 2021. Which would be fine. A big improvement over last year. And something to build on for 2022.

kungfoodude claimed Rhule was drafting guys based on their athletic ability, not their achievements. And it was pretty easy to show that wasn't the case. All of Rhule's top draft picks have been very accomplished on the field.

Excellent take on this topic. I also don't see the Panthers adding much of anybody now (outside of an injury replacement).

So if we go with about half the cap space is for the rookie pool and 3 or 4 M should be saved for in-season signings, that would leave us with somewhere around 3 or 4 M for any additional free agents.

I saw an early estimate for our rookie pool cap space at 4.5M. That's before the extra draft picks were added. So now it's maybe 6M ?? 2021 rookie pool cap space estimates

I think you pretty wrong on this point. Rhule's top picks are being drafting on athletic ability and accomplishments: Derrick Brown - SEC Defensive Player of the Year Yetur Gross-Matos - first team All Big 10 Jeremy Chinn - consensus FCS All American Jaycee Horn - second team All SEC Terrace Marshall Jr - 104 yards receiving per game in 2020 Brady Christensen - first team All American Chuba Hubbard - Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 when he rushed for 2100 yards Daviyon Nixon - Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

OK I think I understand Steven's role better now. He's not a traditional #3 developmental pure QB. Stevens is a gadget player who also contributes on special teams. And he can play emergency QB if necessary. I still don't see that as more valuable for the roster spot than stashing another OL or DL (especially a DL - you can never have too many of those guys to rotate in and keep everybody fresh).

The PFF grade on DJ Moore is 79.1 which is pretty good. Also 0.1 point higher than the 32nd guy on their list. So go figure . . . PFF grades for Carolina Panthers

My bad - both Brady and Stevens were at Penn State in 2015. Brady as a graduate assistant. Stevens as a Freshman. Not sure if they knew each other then.

I know Tommy Stevens played for Joe Brady in New Orleans. But Stevens did virtually nothing as a college QB. And his NFL draft profile includes weaknesses such as Dual-threat who lacks passing profile of an NFL quarterback Will air-mail throws over the receiver's head Lacks field vision to recognize trouble Anticipation is below average as a passer I can't see why the Panthers would keep this guy on the roster as a QB ?

He could definitely get 25% of the snaps. I'll bet the Panthers run a smash-mouth rushing attack next season to help support Sam Darnold. I wouldn't be surprised if Carolina was in the top 10 in rushing attempts for 2021. In that case, Tremble might play a lot as both a blocking TE and a FB.

Because money also. The Panthers are in salary cap hell right now due to the Bridgewater, Short and Kuechly contracts. The teams needs a bunch of cheap players this year to compensate for all of that dead money.

Maybe not star power but there's definitely been an increase of talent on the defensive side of the ball in the last couple of years: (As debatable as the PFF rankings are) PFF gives above average grades to four of our defensive starters: DE Brian Burns DE Haason Reddick LB Denzel Perryman CB Donte Jackson DL Derrick Brown made the 2020 PFWA All-Rookie Team S Jeremy Chinn made the 2020 PFWA All-Rookie Team everybody who sees rookie CB Jaycee Horn reports he's big & crazy athletic, the "real deal" A.J. Bouye was a Pro Bowl CB in 2017 So I see some definite improvement. But, as you say, until the entire defense can start making consistent stops, it doesn't mean much.

This year there's more depth and more competition for playing time. That's always a plus.

Agreed. Horn starts day one. The only other 2021 starter I'd bet on would be Christensen at LT or LG after the bye week Several of the other draft picks will rotate in often during 2021 ( Marshall, Tremble, Hubbard, Nixon). And maybe Deonte Brown gets some work in the jumbo OL packages. I think the real benefit for this draft class will be seen in 2022 when a few veteran contracts will end and some of these rotation rookies will be able to challenge for starting roles.

The new roster limits are complicated. I think it helps if you have a law degree from Stanford. Here's a good run-down of the specifics: 2021 roster rules