Pro Football Focus - Panthers free agency strategy

[DaveThePanther2008]

Marvin Jones is a terrible idea.  Not on a talent point but why sign a guy that would be 4th or 5th on the depth Chart.  He won't move KB, Funchess or Ginn out of their spot and Philly Brown is starting to turn into a very valuable receiver so why add Marvin?  For the number of plays and the money we will spend I don't see the value.

Bersin is a solid #5 or someone everyone seems to have forgotten about Stephen Hill.  Not that he is a savior or anything.   Maybe R. Proehl was being kind as to not knock a guy when he is down but his comments a couple months ago said Hill had been progressing really well.  His speed and height could play a big factor on this team.

Furthermore, DG will find a WR at a much better rate than M. Jones.

 

[JARROD]

Have we given up on Norwood?  Somehow I doubt Gettlemen has.  Hes pretty good with making trades for picks. Allen worked out, really helped us.  Getts probably knew Jared would retire if we had a season he could live with or make a new Carolina friendly contract if he wanted to stay/we wanted to resign--- and Allen was blowing kisses at one point. 

In Getts I trust.

[Adb6368]

Am I the only one that doesn't think we need to spend a dime of FA money on a WR? KB is coming back from a leg injury that would concern me A LOT more if he was a speedster instead of the towering possession receiver he is. And I was very impressed with what I saw from Funchess over the second half of the season. Further, Philly absolutely balled out in the Super Bowl before getting injured and ran right past the Arizona secondary in the NCFG. And all that is before we even talk about our #1 receiver this year: Ginn. With KB coming back Ginn could potentially have a better year next year than he did in 2015. 

If a stud WR falls in the first such as the Coleman kid from Baylor or Treadwell from Ole Miss, I would jump all over it because they are straight difference makers. Other than that, I'm fine with the WR corps we have going into next year.

[KB_fan]

1 minute ago, Adb6368 said:

Am I the only one that doesn't think we need to spend a dime of FA money on a WR?

No, I'm totally with you.  I want to prioritize our FA spending on a starting-quality pass rushing DE, CB, and perhaps OT - positions where we're pretty thin, and where we can't be sure we'll find what we need in the draft.  Fill those holes in FA and then G'man can really go BPA in the draft.

With our current projected WR starters (Benji, Funch, Ginn, Brown), plus Bersin for backup depth, and the still relatively unknown / unproven commodities in Hill, Norwood, and Byrd, I think we're in pretty good shape.  Sure we could upgrade, but I don't think it's where we MOST need an upgrade.

If there's a WR BPA in the draft, I will trust Gettleman if he goes for one.  Actually, I'd really like him to find another big, great pass-catching TE to complement Olsen.  I'd be quite excited if Hunter Henry fell to us.

[Mr. Scot]

I'm not sure why we'd want a change at right guard. Trai Turner is doing a great job there. Ditto Norwell on the left.

Right tackle is the only position on the offensive line that has big question marks.

[MountainHeel66]

The views on WR around here are just a major facepalm.. Why on earth you guys are willing to avoid proven talents for the crap shoot, more likely to fail than not, what if scenarios of guys like Norwood and Hill and be happy with Philly or Funchess as a #2/3 with little to no depth behind them is beyond me. Can we get away with it?? We did this year so yes. Should we rely on it consistently?? Hell no. Philly Brown, Devin Funchess and Ted Ginn would be #3-4 AT BEST on most good teams right now and just because they are ours you all want to praise them as legit #2 candidates and potential #1's should anything happen to KB again. Funchess was decent at the end of the season but is still a fairly raw talent and we don't know where his ceiling is. Ginn isn't getting better, Brown has likely gotten close to his ceiling. All are good but none are true #2 guys at this point.

Sorry but I'd rather bring in talent and let the bodies sort themselves out in the end. If Norwood or Hill develops well enough to knock off a Marvin Jones, Alshon Jeffrey or even a guy on the roster such as Ginn, Bersin, Philly,  or whoever else you cant think of, then great because we just got THAT MUCH BETTER but I sure as crap wouldn't want my fate in Stephen Hill's stone hands. I don't understand why some of you are so adverse to getting BETTER. This feels like back qb syndrome. Everyone is convinced the backup is so much better than the starter (on struggling teams) but forgets that there is a reason why they are the backup. Guys like Bersin, Hill and Norwood were not on the main roster or active most games for a reason (beyond Hill's injury). Does a lineup of Benjamin, Jeffrey/Jones, Ginn, Brown, Funchess, XX draftee, not sound better than Benjamin, Ginn, Brown, Funchess, Norwood/Hill/Bersin?? Leave bodies in your wake, get better, go further. 

All that being said, it doesn't even have to be a high end guy like Jeffrey or Jones. I'm perfectly fine bringing other mid card guys to see if anyone pops but lord knows if you guys can't get behind Jeffrey or Jones I'd hate to see what happened if we went after a Heyward-Bey, Mariani, Randle, or God forbid Daniel Brown, Jace Davis type guys. If you aren't looking to get better or improve you are going to fall behind. At the very least develop better depth.

[Peppers90 NC]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I'm not sure why we'd want a change at right guard. Trai Turner is doing a great job there. Ditto Norwell on the left.

Right tackle is the only position on the offensive line that has big question marks.

Yea I'm not sure why that guy suggested us add Boone when we already have our ideal RG in place. Andre Smith seems intriguing and maybe a guy like Tyvon Branch at SS. 

[Adb6368]

3 minutes ago, MountainHeel66 said:

The views on WR around here are just a major facepalm.. Why on earth you guys are willing to avoid proven talents for the crap shoot, more likely to fail than not, what if scenarios of guys like Norwood and Hill and be happy with Philly or Funchess as a #2/3 with little to no depth behind them is beyond me. Can we get away with it?? We did this year so yes. Should we rely on it consistently?? Hell no. Philly Brown, Devin Funchess and Ted Ginn would be #3-4 AT BEST on most good teams right now and just because they are ours you all want to praise them as legit #2 candidates and potential #1's should anything happen to KB again. Funchess was decent at the end of the season but is still a fairly raw talent and we don't know where his ceiling is. Ginn isn't getting better, Brown has likely gotten close to his ceiling. All are good but none are true #2 guys at this point.

I'm not saying we couldn't use another receiver, I'm saying that there are much more pressing issues out there than the WR position. When saying that Brown, Funchess, and Ginn are #3 or 4 AT BEST you are not taking into account they WILL be our #3, 4, and 5 options next year. Our true #1 receiving threat is Olsen, followed by KB. 

Further, you have to take into account that we rarely have 4 receivers on the field at one time. That is not the offense we play. We usually have 2, maybe 3, wide receivers on the field on any play so, with the rotation we have, we will always have someone on the bench to sub in as needed.

Lastly, I don't think there is any chance Gettleman drafted Funchess to be anything less than a #2 receiver. We haven't had enough time to gauge whether or not that is possible but I don't want to sign some guy to a lucrative long-term contract to be a solid #2 receiver if Gettleman still believes we are grooming Funchess for that role. It would just be wasting a high pick. 

We had the number 1 offense in the league. Let's calm down saying that we are dead without adding receivers when we didn't even have our best one throughout a season we went to the Super Bowl.

[KB_fan]

2 minutes ago, MountainHeel66 said:

The views on WR around here are just a major facepalm.. Why on earth you guys are willing to avoid proven talents for the crap shoot, more likely to fail than not, what if scenarios of guys like Norwood and Hill and be happy with Philly or Funchess as a #2/3 with little to no depth behind them is beyond me. Can we get away with it?? We did this year so yes. Should we rely on it consistently?? Hell no.

I understand this sentiment, but for me it's a question of what needs we really NEED to fill via FA first.

1) a starting pass-rushing DE opposite Kony.  CJ is not this guy anymore, even if we keep him.  He's solid against the run, but he doesn't have what we need in terms of speed pass rush, and I don't think Addison is starter quality.  Such a player is not going to be cheap.  Would eat up a lot of our cap in addition to resigning / tagging Josh, and resigning KK.

2) CB.  If we only tag Josh and assume he could be gone after 2016, we're really really thin at CB.  Tillman may be gone.  Even if he stays it will likely only  be for 1 year, and also we can't count on him to play a full season injury free.  Bene is fine, but we need another starter, and I don't think we've def. got one on the roster.  McClain is ok depth.  Not sure if Finnegan will stay...  I don't see a lot of great CB depth in the draft for us at our position, at least not CBs who fit the Panthers...

3) OT:  It's hard to tell if Daryl Williams has developed as expected because he played so little.  Is he ready to take over at RT?  How much longer can we count on Oher to be solid? (I think he has 1 more year on contract?).

After filling these needs, doubt we'd have enough money left over to also get a very good WR free agent....

[Pantera_Negro_Mateo]

18 hours ago, Ivan The Awesome said:

Don't agree with Harper, he should be let go. It's time for young guys to step in there and do their jobs. I've seen enough to know that sometimes the vets take away playing time from the younger players because of seniority, that's an issue that has been with rivera since he took over. Yes veterans are savvy and can get it done, but you can't develop young talent if you keep them off the field. 

Well you're in for a pleasant surprise.

[crushcard1976]

On 2/19/2016 at 5:15 PM, Thanatos said:

You still want more depth than we had. It's something we need at some point. Injuries will always be a factor in an NFL season, getting more depth at WR is a good thing to have. We have KB, Funchess, Ginn, and Brown as reliable starters. That's it. Bersin has flashed some potential, (just not returning punts please god), so going out and getting Marvin Jones would be great.

My pipe dream is to grab Mohamed Sanu if Cincy lets him walk, but I'm afraid that's just a pipe dream.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000637481/article/report-virtually-no-chance-sanu-stays-with-bengals

[scpanther22]

On 2/19/2016 at 4:51 PM, Mr. Scot said:

I disagree that receiver is a "clear issue" with Benjamin back, Funchess developing and Ginn improving.

And hell no on Bobby Massie. He was horrible in the NFC Championship.

the thing is it may take a little time before KB is really "back" to himself. Getting in football shape after an ACL could take him half of the season or more...No arguments on Funchess and I question if Ginn is improving, at this point in his career  I think he is what he is. Which is isnt bad sometimes its great but i'm not expecting him to suddenly learn how to catch the ball consistently. I think those games where he just has the drops will always be there(hope i'm wrong)

I would like to sign a guy or draft someone with some potential

[top dawg]

On 2/19/2016 at 6:15 PM, TheSpecialJuan said:

Not to worry, Gettleman will find us some good players. Kurt Coleman and Michael Oher were garbage before Gettie picked them up.

Coleman was never garbage. He actually has shown pretty well as a rotational guy over his first few years. Gettleman gave him the opportunity to start and he ran with it 

 

[GoobyPls]

On 2/20/2016 at 11:23 AM, Adb6368 said:

I'm not saying we couldn't use another receiver, I'm saying that there are much more pressing issues out there than the WR position. When saying that Brown, Funchess, and Ginn are #3 or 4 AT BEST you are not taking into account they WILL be our #3, 4, and 5 options next year. Our true #1 receiving threat is Olsen, followed by KB. 

Further, you have to take into account that we rarely have 4 receivers on the field at one time. That is not the offense we play. We usually have 2, maybe 3, wide receivers on the field on any play so, with the rotation we have, we will always have someone on the bench to sub in as needed.

Lastly, I don't think there is any chance Gettleman drafted Funchess to be anything less than a #2 receiver. We haven't had enough time to gauge whether or not that is possible but I don't want to sign some guy to a lucrative long-term contract to be a solid #2 receiver if Gettleman still believes we are grooming Funchess for that role. It would just be wasting a high pick. 

We had the number 1 offense in the league. Let's calm down saying that we are dead without adding receivers when we didn't even have our best one throughout a season we went to the Super Bowl.

I want to know the more "pressing issues" 

 

Even after overachieving the entire season our receivers were among the league leaders in drops and among the worst in YAC and that's while overachieving. I read a stat the other Cam led the NFL (by a wide margin) in yards lost to drops and TD dropped.

 

Ginn is getting older and slower and wasn't that good to begin with, Philly is always injured and has hit his plateau, Funchess seems like he's a couple season away from being a legit number 2, we are hoping Kelvin is 100% and doesn't get injured again.

Personally I would Travis Benjamin or Mike Wallace, two real deep threats who have had productive season with other QB's that are not on Cam's caliber. Alshon is just another big body, I don't really like Marvin Jones either