MHS831

OK, we are letting our top RB go. We have Chuba, Etienne, and Brooks. Imagine a player who could LEGITIMATELY play the slot and back up at RB? I am sure he'd be a special team player as well. I noticed him at the combine, and thought, "Here is a late rounder who could stand out as a slot and provide depth at RB. Without further ado....(I know one Huddler who might be able to tell us more about this guy): Navy running back/wide receiver Eli Heidenreich headlined the 2026 NFL Combine for the Midshipmen, running an official 4.44-second 40-yard dash and recording 16 reps on the bench press. Recognized as a versatile, "Swiss army knife" offensive weapon, Heidenreich solidified his draft stock as a potential day three target. Eli Heidenreich (RB/WR - Navy) 2026 Combine Performance: 6'0" 200 lbs. 40-Yard Dash: 4.44 seconds. 10-Yard Split: 1.55 seconds. Vertical Jump: 35.5 inches. Broad Jump: 10' 0". Bench Press: 16 Reps. Highlights: Showcased as a premier receiving threat from the backfield, having left Navy as the program's all-time leader in receiving yards (1,994). High character. Smart. Maybe, just maybe....

Correct this logic I might if it meant taking his guaranteed money now and spread it over 3 years (2026-2028) and maybe add $6m. I am not sure you can do that, or that he would do it, but it would be a way for him to extend his career and bank accounts and we would be getting him for $6m for 2 years (if healthy), basically, since his entire salary is guaranteed now. If not, we lose an additional $6m spread over 2 years. So let's say his guaranteed $$ for 2026 is $18m. Give him a $24m contract ($8m per) through 2028. Worst case: We get $10m in cap relief now and create $3m dead cap for 2 years (2027-8). Best case? We get cap relief now and a good/decent guard/tackle for 2 years (2027-2028) and the total salary per year when he is active would be $12m if you don't count any money for the season he cannot play. That is a good value, and we'd basically be getting a 50% discount rate. Since we have so much guaranteed now, extending him is not as crazy as it seems. Something has to be wrong with this logic...

Basically, Sadiq means you would have to cover him with a safety or nickel instead of a LB. Not a huge advantage, but he can create mismatches in some sets.

He could, but we can't replace him (as a cap casualty) with what we'd save. I mean, saving $4.75m is not worth losing a starting edge, especially if we let Wonnum go (we will, as you know). I think we keep jones and Scourton as starters--hopefully, Princely will come on stronger in 2026.

Not trying to derail the topic, but my LB crush Golday from Cincinnati is a 6'4" 245 lb WLB who has experience as an edge player. Imagine what you could do with that..... We have Jones II and Scourton to start and hold the edge--imagine a LB who can step up and play the 9tech while Scourton and or Jones slide down. Princely should improve. We could kill 2 birds here--at least on paper.

I think we traded up for Armanti Edwards in the third round when he had a 7th round grade. Feel the Hurn.

There is only 1 place to get an OT--these experts need to read the tea leaves--I am OK with Golday and Slaughter (C will probably have to start), but we are going to need a LT. We have already sent Nijman into the market, Ickey may not be back ever, and BC is not going to be available. All signs point to a LT. Freeling or Lomu. Even if Ickey is coming back, let him play RT after Moton or G.

This just in: We will have a new center in 2026. I think the draft is solid at C, and a rookie would be decent between our twin veteran guards. While we could go free agency, I just do not see pouring more $$ into the OL aside from Ickey, Moton, Hunt, and Lewis. We have a QB we might have to sign, Coker, and you can't spend $200m on offense because you have a short qb with a below average arm and limited mobility.

I don't know if Leo C can or not--not really well read about the free agents.

Supposedly, his college coach (defensive coordinator) Jim Leonhard is the new Defensive Coordinator in Buffalo. Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson (starters) are free agents. Buffalo will switch to a 3-4 and will seek LBs. I predict that Leo Chenal goes there. In college, he flourished under Leonhard who used him aggressively in the blitz packages. So I dunno. Buffalo is over the cap, but nothing they can't work out. I predict he becomes a Bill, but money talks. I agree with you about Devin Lloyd. Every year, there are players who command more money than they are worth. Morgan needs to stay in his lane.

I don't like the fact that he is on the broadcast during preseason. he is even a dick to the play by play guy at times. POS.

Excellent way of describing him. Then there was Rozeboom made a lot of tackles, but they were often 5 yards past the LOS...

We need to find 3 starters in this draft--a tall task. Maybe not immediately, but sometime during the season to take over long term. I will blindly enter my draft right now with No trades. Not the way I planned it before seeing the board, but I like it.

Relax. Burn some lilac and honeysuckle incense sticks--waft them. Breathe deeply. Sit with your legs crossed and hold your hands away from your bodies and open them while connecting your thumbs and middle fingers. Close your eyes, then open them to read this. Some random, radical thoughts that may contradict your calcifying opinions of what the Panthers need to do--No. do not lock in. Not yet. As birds know when to migrate to more hospitable climates, you will know when it is time to start thinking that your opinion is all that matters and anyone who disagrees with you is stupid. Avoid that pitfall for now. MORGAN'S APPROACH TO THIS ROSTER RIGHT NOW. Morgan's strategy for re-signing our free agents is clear. "If you love something, set it free..." Morgan is letting Mays, Rozeboom, Nijman, Rico, Wonnum, etc. enter free agency. If they return, they do so on team-friendly deals. Edge is not as big a need as we think. WHAT? AM I CRAZY? Clear your minds of it. Scourton and Princely will no longer be rookies. Our starting Edge players (Wonnum and Jones LL) missed a combined 22 games in 2025--of course we struggled to pressure the passer. Secondly, we did not have LBs that were a real threat to blitz. Rozeboom? Wallace? Puhleeze. More importantly, Wharton, the 5 tech who was supposed to pressure the passer from the inside, sucked a lot. Our two top DTs were not really known for rushing the passer (A'shawn had 5 sacks in 2014, but for his career, averaged 1.5 per season. Brown has averaged about 2 sacks per season). Wharton was supposed to bring pressure from the DT position after sacking the QB 6.5 times for KC in 2024. So maybe another edge is not the best way to address the problem. SUMMARY: improve the ILB play, improve pressure at DT, get a veteran back from IR, and allow your 2025 rookies to improve. Here is my idea: Move up in round 2 and draft Jake Golday (Cincinnati, 6'3", 240 lbs): A flexible defender with experience as a pass-rushing defensive end, capable of filling hybrid roles. (If Golday can slide out and rush the passer from a 9 tech or provide pressure from the 5 to free the nine from the WILL LB position, we could take a lot of pressure off the edges) OT: There are five I would take (realistically after the top 10 run is over) so move back in round 1 and up in round 2: Proctor (I am warming up to him), Lomu (going to be good), Freeling (this should be the guy we target), and Iheanachor--all project to be solid starters in the NFL--trade back and take the best of these. We KNOW we need a starting SAFETY. The draft seems loaded at S in terms of talent. Working with Jackson and Horn (CB) and Moehrig (SS), I think FS is the missing piece. So, based on my mood now: 1st TACKLE Trade back and take an OT--sign Nijman or a vet tackle to take the pressure off, but these OTs can start in a pinch. 2nd: LINEBACKER Trade up and take Golday OLB--if we can't trade back in round 1, and this is my plan, I might take Golday at 19 and hope one of the OTs falls to 51--hope not, but you never know. 3rd: SAFETY Free Safety: I think we can take a player like LSU's Haulcy (who will drop to the third, imo) or Clark (who might even be there in the fourth) who can start. 4th: QUARTERBACK: There could be some hidden, depressed talent to open day 3. If you get rid of Dalton, or not, here is where you grab some fallen, unloved stock. 5th: WIDE RECEIVER--Pretty deep. Give XL a last chance but groom his replacement. 6th: CENTER--there are some solid OTs whose arms were too short. They can be coverted to centers and have superior athleticism. Find a smart one and take him to groom. 7th: BPA FREE AGENCY: INSIDE LB, CENTER, Depth

To illustrate my point, I watched (and commented on the Huddle) that Rozeboom would often wait a full second (or close to it) before taking his first step. I assume that he probably had issues with false steps, a faulty practice that can take an ILB out of the gap completely. Watch Luke and you see a step with the snap, and rarely was it a false step. Rozeboom may have had 100 tackles (speculating) but initial contact was 2-3 yards on the defensive side of the ball. Luke's 100 tackles were made 1-2 yards from the LOS. Over the course of a year, Luke was much more productive (more fumbles, fewer long gainers, more OL penalties, fewer first downs, etc) that Rozeboom, but on the stat sheet, they both had 100 tackles. In fact, Rozeboom's inefficiency kept him on the field more (more first downs, fewer OL penalties, turnovers, and punts) so he should have MORE tackles. I would like to see stats that break down those things. For example again, Josh Norman was slow--4.68 or so at CB. However, his anticipation speed was incredible. He made as many plays as a 4.4 CB. I had one coach (college--later became the head coach at WCU) tell me that slower players have to use their brains more to still be around. Elite athletes can just get by on their physical superiority. He added, "Rarely does a football player run full speed. Most of the time, they are not, so the 40 time is misleading stat. Smart players overcome shortcomings--when the elite athlete becomes average (slows with age, advances in level of competition) they struggle against smarter (football IQ) competition.