MHS831

Ravens, Chiefs, Dolphins, Texans, Bears, Rams--all desperate for a T to protect their franchise QBs--and the free agent market sucks. We could get a nice haul.

Yeah, this kinda makes it fun though.

I saw him too!!! Here is the photo I got at the Hornets game!!! I found a pink backdrop too. He looks smaller without the pads on.

I trust your insights 100% and will not doubt a word on this topic--ever.

Personally, and those using stats are on point to do so, I think it is fairly misleading to judge a DL/OLB based on sacks. How well does he hold the edge? How many times does he pressure the QB? Can he cover if he needs to? You can have 4 sacks in one game because some third string emergency hybrid OL from the practice squad was pulled up for a week. If you get one sack every other game after that, you have 12 sacks and you are negotiating your contract based on that number. Derrick Thomas of the Chiefs faced Seattle and he had 7 sacks in one game. FYI, the average number of sacks for an NFL edge is 10--I found that to be a bit high, but the internet does not lie.

It would. That is why what looks decent on paper is not necessarily the best move. The most successful CEOs know that the culture is more important than the bottom line. In my doctorate of Organizational Leadership classes, I used to teach a text that said--"if you make decisions based on side effects, you are not addressing the core that leads to those side effects. No company or business or school was ever successful without a shared vision and a supportive culture."

yeah, most of us are so tied to DL (DE, DT/NT, Edge) or WR for this pick, we sorta have blinders on. As I said 2 posts earlier, they might add a future draft pick, knock $17m off their cap number (because the option is to extend a RT with a possible knee issue), and get younger. He could play swing T for a season to learn both sides, moving to RT (or having Ekwonu move to RT) and Moton's deal is voidable in 2026. However, it is my opinion that we do not need a T right now, and later in this draft we should draft a swing T. However, other teams need a LT and they will be willing to trade up. I think the presence of an elite college OT when we pick could get us a nice trade back package offer.

While I would not like the idea of this, I might put my emotions aside to analyze the logic and strategy behind it. Understand that Moton (followed by Hubbard and Coker) might be my favorite Panther, so I am struggling here: Moton is starting to have a few knee pains--could be nothing, but knee pain is not ideal for a 320 lb OT who is 32 on his next birthday. He has value now, so we could trade him for a third rounder in 2026, for example, and dump a lot of his cap hit (up to $17.5m). That money could be used to pay for a stud DT, and we know that our T position is still solid. Not sure if he can play RT, but I will assume he can be taught. So we would get younger and add a stud free agent or two and get a day 2 pick. I don't like it--I think we have enough to fix without fixing that which is running fine--but there could be an argument made for a strategy/logic behind it.

Cant trade our way to being competitive--gotta fill spots and draft the best. I'd love to have him, but we lose to much and pay too much. I think we need to use free agency wisely. We need to sign free agents and draft people. If we give up draft capital to take in huge salary, what are we doing?

Mays stepping up was huge. Expect him to improve. He seemed to be accepted by the OL, especially Hunt. that is a good sign. He had a 75 PFF pass blocking grade and a 67 run blocking grade. That is starting material for a developing center.

Milton was not good vs the run, per PFF.

If he was 5'11" from Beaufort NC he would have been a third or fourth rounder. Seriously, I could see where a 5'11", 300 lb DT could be a real problem for some OL consistent. Should be in the $16m range.

I like the DT from Dallas. I think Morgan will splash with a few big signings day 1 like he did with Hunt and Lewis last year. I agree. Stay away from the big $$$ if possible

Had not thunk of that. That is a better comparison.

As a guy who was a defensive coordinator at Walker's high school years ago, (coincidence and not related to my point), I look at the fact that some teams will try to keep your run defense on the field and transition a back and TE to WR roles without subbing and forcing you to keep your run D on the field to defend them. However, if we had a Strongside Edge who could move inside to a 3, 4i, or 5 technique, Parsons could then slide in beside him as an edge. In other words, the way I am seeing it without giving it a ton of thought, it would give you a dominant pass rush on passing downs. If you did that, your NT would stay put, which is why Evero likes smaller NTs that can pressure the passer. Then Brown, for example, could slide out to a 3, 4i, or 5 technique and your rush edge (only in this situation) could rush--giving you 5 DL/Edge getting after the QB from any number of alignments, with the option to drop Walker or the rush edge into coverage. Then the MLB, Nickel, and maybe a S could blitz because a RB and TE in this formation can be covered with a lone S or even the LB in some cases. Whew. I have seen offenses running the hurry up doing this more and more, and the large edge-holding Edge and a hybrid ILB could be the answer.

It is really hard to gauge Walker because he is not nailed to one position, so your comparisons are very limited--that probably explains the range of opinions on him. I think he wears 11 for a reason, and that is to make people compare him to Parsons. The Combine will be huge for him.

1

I can always count on you being up, Aussie, when nobody else is here!! Yeah, that is my problem--a tweener for a first round pick and a system that may not know how to use him.

I would like to know if Walker is going to market himself as an edge or hybrid ILB? It is easy to say Micah Parsons and move on, but we are talking Evero here--has anyone heard anything or are we assuming Walker is a LB who can move to edge etc. like MP? It is hard to give him value if we don't really know where he will play--he is small for an edge, imo, but that is his best spot--any opinions?

Yes, it sure was. He just gave me 2 days worth of homework. I would add that cutting players to increase cap room is a bit misleading because you still have to fill 53 jerseys--so if you cut a guy and benefit by $1m, who are you replacing him with?

good memory. We do--I still say we are 2 years away (said it last year) but when your first two picks are XL and Brooks, you just have not grown. I am not giving up on XL and think Brooks might be pretty good in 2026, when we have paid him for 4 years to play 2 and had to pay someone else to take his place until then. So basically we got Wallace, a fringe starting LB who would probably be better as depth, Sanders, a TE with potential, and a weak nickel in Smith Wade. That did not make us better. XL needs to step up, Bryce needs to continue to get better, and we need a defense that can keep us in games.

I see that--so no to T-Mac and no to Will Johnson? I could build a case to support you for each player.

Call Vegas---I am all in now!!!!

he always was self-centered. Great athlete, but he was about some Cam. Maybe that was his way of being great--but think how he must have been treated his entire life--so he was a product of us. He is also very kind to his fans--saw him signing autographs for people after OTAs--he missed my son, holding a Cam jersey, and saw it when he looked back--he froze and looked sad, then smiled and ran back to him and signed it. I saw him "showing off" at practice when nobody was in the stands--high energy, fun, contagious. Finally, I would say his teammates may not feel about the organization like Cam does. I think the Panthers should have protected him better, offensive line, had him run less, slide more, and never let him run that QB draw. But RR was worried about his job, and Cam is a gamer--Cam took a beating like no other QB before him--and he did it for the team. So his bitterness may be misguided here. Rivera and Hurney need to take some responsibility for the shortening of Cam's career and the feeling that he might have had the team on his back. The OL was usually bad and there were not the best weapons after 89. I understand it--he is not handling it well, but I see his source of irritation.