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Shaq Thompson has officially arrived at Panthers training camp. While being largely absent the first two practices, he started to come into his own on today's third practice. During 7 on 7 drills, Thompson made a speedy break on a Cam Newton pass intended for Greg Olsen. Thompson batted the ball now, marking his first official play made in Panthers training camp. One of Thompson's primary responsibilities will be to cover talented tight ends like Jimmy Graham (now in Seattle). Getting camp experience against pro bowler Greg Olsen can only accelerate his learning and adjusting to the pro game. Thompson continued to impress throughout the day. Another play that sticks out in my mind is a very quick gap stop, halting Fozzy Whitaker's progress. The Carolina Panthers had issues with plugging the correct gap in run defense for a good portion of last season. Shaq Thompson is having more thrown at him than most defensive rookies. He is learning what is probably the most complicated position on the defensive side of the field. While other rookies can be thrown into the mix relatively quickly, Thompson will require more film room time in addition to playing time. If today's performance is any indication, Thompson may be a quick study. View full article

Here are some general thoughts and musings on how day one of the Carolina Panthers 2015 rookie camp went down in no particular order... Yes, Devin Funchess appears to be worth that first round grade Dave Gettleman tagged him at. I understand why people want to compare him to Kelvin, but when they see him on the field they won't ever again. He is much more of an athlete than Kelvin is. I don't mean that as a knock on Kelvin at all. Benjamin uses his size and length as his main weapon while Funchess appears to use his legs. He is sneaky quick. Funchess and Benjamin are two completely different types of receivers. Devin caught everything that was catchable in the team drills. A few balls were very poorly thrown, and somehow he was still able to get a hand on them, a major accomplishment in itself. I was actually more impressed with David Mayo than Shaq Thompson as far as the linebackers go. Of course, Mayo stayed mainly at the middle linebacker spot where he is most comfortable. Shaq definitely has more of a learning curve ahead of him in the Panthers defense. Mayo didn't have a perfect day and did get burned in coverage a couple of times, which is concerning. Still, I feel he had the better performance of the two. Unfortunate Shaq could not get in on the team drills due to injury. Maybe that is where he would shine. Damiere Byrd had the best play of the day, a gorgeous one handed grab over Corey Trim. I really like this Byrd kid and am excited to see more of what he can do in camp. UDFA Garry Peters out of Clemson also looks like he could push for a roster spot early. He made more than one really nice play on the ball and a nice strip on a ball that would have been a touchdown. Keep an eye on this, he could change the roster up a bit. Daryl Williams so far looks to be a real keeper. Its funny how obvious a true tackle is to spot now that we haven't seen one in a while. This kid has a future. Compared to the performance of David Foucault last year, he already looks like a 3 year veteran. Not sure why people say Cameron Artis-Payne is a "bowling ball" or is compared to Tolbert. He looks and plays nothing like Tolbert. Truth be known, his performance today reminded me of the first day of the old #34 back when he was second string to Desean Foster. His game resembles Deangelo's much more than Tolbert's. He had a few really nice quick shifts at the line today and found the hole quickly. That was encouraging. The quarterbacks this year have been.... bad. I mean.... really bad. I feel sorry for the receivers trying to make a name for themselves on such little opportunity to begin with, much less the fact that the ball is no where near them. View full article

One of the more intriguing defensive players in this years draft is Shaq Thompson out of Washington. While reading up on his abilities, I couldn't help but make comparison's to the Panthers own Thomas Davis. Davis is in the twilight of his career, and now would be the time to groom an eventual replacement. Shaq Thompson might be the perfect candidate. Here is why... View image | gettyimages.com First, the measurables ... Thomas Davis 2005 Draft Profile Height - 6'1 Weight - 230 40 yard dash - 4.6 3-Cone - 7.10 Vertical - 36.5 20 Yard Shuttle - 4.01 Shaq Thompson 2015 Draft Profile Height - 6'0 Weight - 228 40 yard dash - 4.64 3-cone - 6.99 Vertical - 33.5 20 yard shuttle - 4.08 As you can see, the two have a similar size, with Thomas Davis being slightly taller. Thomas Davis has slightly faster straight line speed, but Shaq Thompson was faster in the 3 cone (a more important measurement for a linebacker, imo). Most NFL scouts have Thompson playing a OLB in a 4-3 scheme but have some concerns about his size and ability to keep enough weight on. Thomas Davis had these very same concerns surrounding him, enough so that coach John Fox tried him at safety early in his career. I am not so sure if Shaq Thompson's case that is of real concern to the Panthers. They have a good history of keeping guys bulked up through their training staff. Like Thomas Davis who played safety and linebacker at Georgia, Thompson also played outside and inside linebacker and safety on occasion. He also played running back, which is pretty incredible. This tells me this kid is just pure football player, and if there is one thing that Dave Gettleman loves, its real football players. Shaq Thompson is all over the place on the mock drafts. Most agree he is a first round selection, but no one knows where he should fall. It is hard to project with a player like Thompson. Many teams may pass on him due to his uncertainty. It will take a strong defensive mind to take him and put him in a place of success. Should Shaq fall to the 25th pick, don't be shocked if the Panthers pull the trigger on him.