Carolina Panthers will target offense in round one

[uscgamecocks]

I don't love Hunter Henry as a first round talent, so I'm hoping he's not the pick.  But Gettleman knows more than me, so if he is the pick, it'll probably be a good one.

I generally don't love the idea of drafting RBs early, for obvious reasons.  That being said, Derrick Henry is a monster at RB.  Gettleman likes big people, and Henry's about as big as you can get at RB (and he's still fast).  Cam, Henry, KB, Funchess, Olsen, and our O-Line - that would be the most imposing lineup in the NFL and its not even close.  That lineup would physically dominate the softer defenses in the league (and there are a lot of soft defenses in the NFC South).  Good luck trying to slow our offense down in the fourth quarter after we've been pounding you on the ground and through the air.

Seems like a Gettleman pick to me.

[The_Rainmaker]

22 minutes ago, Snake said:

This is where people get confused and I get it.  What you just said was drafting by need.  We needed all those positions and drafted them because we didn't play in FA. BPA means a guy that is graded highest by our team is drafted. The tricky part is we don't know who is rated the highest. Doubling down on DT was definitely a bpa because other players were there we needed. 

actually Kuechly was BPA he graded the best in just about every category. 

[Kevin Greene]

OT in the first if the right player falls.

Protect the Franchise, make everybody else better.

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, firstdayfan said:

Pretty sure Hurney had the same pattern.

 

/theory.

For a while there, Hurney's first round pattern was linebacker/runningback.

[The_Rainmaker]

53 minutes ago, Snake said:

This is where people get confused and I get it.  What you just said was drafting by need.  We needed all those positions and drafted them because we didn't play in FA. BPA means a guy that is graded highest by our team is drafted. The tricky part is we don't know who is rated the highest. Doubling down on DT was definitely a bpa because other players were there we needed. 

Well how do you know the player we drafted didn't have the highest grade, so in essence your just speculating much as anyone else.  Can't trust a snake.

[Snake]

34 minutes ago, The_Rainmaker said:

actually Kuechly was BPA he graded the best in just about every category. 

He was still need based.  A need that became very apparent real fast. 

[Saca312]

50 minutes ago, The_Rainmaker said:

actually Kuechly was BPA he graded the best in just about every category. 

Should I mention that Hurney was targeting Mark Barron until Tampa Bay took him? Yes, Hurney has had some good draft picks, but when it comes to managing the cap and the team in general, he's a bit lacking in that area. And as far as BPA, as you can see, Kuechly was an obvious need from the get go. 

[jdpanther5]

3 hours ago, davos said:

Outside of QBs, in the first, on offense we're basically looking at:

RB: Derrick Henry

TE: Hunter Henry

WR: Corey Coleman, Josh Doctson, Laquon Treadwell, Will Fuller (Could likely all be gone)

OL: Conklin, Ifedi

 

 

Very imbalanced draft as far as offense vs. defense. I could see about as many defensive linemen going ahead of us as offensive players in total.

Defensive Linemen: Bosa, Buckner, Lawson, Dodd, Robinson, Reed, Rankins, Billings, Butler, Nkemdiche, and potentially guys like Clark, Jones, Spence, Bullard, or Ogbah. 

Offensive players: Goff, Wentz, Elliott, Tunsil, Stanley, Conklin, Decker, Treadwell, Coleman, Doctson, and potentially Lynch, Fuller, Kelly, and the Henrys.

Obviously some of those will fall and others rise, but that's just to illustrate the gap between offensive and defensive talent at the top this year. And that's not even including LBs and DBs on the defensive side either. 

Could make for an interesting situation where we have to decide between taking our 5th ranked DE/DT/OT/WR or take a top RB/C/TE/S.

Edited April 8, 2016 by jdpanther5

[Panthro]

5 hours ago, carolina-chuck2 said:

Don't see it. I'd like Spriggs at 31, but BPA has to be on the defensive side of the ball. Too much depth there.

I would too considering we pick 30th 

[GoobyPls]

8 hours ago, Thanatos said:

I don't like going RB in round 1. I don't feel the position is worth the value, unless you are for sure getting an AP type of guy. I especially don't like Derrick Henry. Trent Richardson had the same type of hype.

Edit: I also don't agree that the area we drafted for was an area of great need for the past three years.

In 2013 (Star Lotulelei), most people didn't expect us to go for DT because we had just drafted a couple DTs the previous two years, (Sione Fua I remember, I don't remember the other), and people expected us to let them play a bit more before throwing in the towel on them.

2014, (Kelvin Benjamin) was an area of need, I grant you, but I think it coincided with the BPA.

2015, (Shaq Thompson) was certainly not an area of need. We drafted Shaq to eventually replace TD, I think, but it was by no means a glaring need. 

Championship teams are built by drafting BPA, with the exception of the QB spot, (not gonna draft a QB before round 4, as it makes no sense given that we have our franchise QB). If two players that are close together in overall value are both available, then maybe you take the guy you have rated a tad lower if he also fills a need. Overall though, you don't reach on prospects over the top of players your scout team has rated higher just because they fill a need.

Star was an area of need and the majority of mock drafts had us picking him or Sheldon Richardson, same goes for Kelvin

Shaq came out of left field  

[Woodie]

Don't think either Henry will be the pick. 

Derrick is big, runs far too upright for his style...he also doesn't have great burst and has to build up to speed, so he will likely have some problems quickly hitting those fast closing holes he'll see in the NFL...not to mention that between high school and last year at Alabama he was used and abused (and his style leads to a lot of big collisions), so longevity and health will likely be an issue.     

From everything I have read and heard, Hunter is being talked as a potential high pick because he happens to be the best TE in a bad TE class, not because he is anything special at the position.  Most seem to think he will just be a solid capable TE, not a star.  The impression I get is that if this was even a decent year for TE's, he'd likely be a 2-3 round pick...definitely not a consideration for the 1st.

 

 

[Woodie]

If we go offense, it will likely be for either a versatile WR like Coleman that can go deep and play in the slot or outside (if he drops, of course) or an OT like Spriggs that can develop for a year and slide into Oher's LT spot next season.  A dark horse would be a Center like Kelly if Kalil has let the team know he is about done and ready to pull a Gross after the season.

Defense is probably the more likely choice at 30 with a DE like Ogbah or Bullard being the pick.  However, if the team really does like Cravens as much as has been reported, then he could be a surprise pick since there is almost no chance he'll get close to our 2nd rounder. 

Two position I keep seeing people talk about as possibilities in the 1st that I think are extreme longshots are DT and CB.  Unless a DT they have rated as a top half of the 1st drops, I think they'll wait until the 2nd or 3rd to take one.  Gettleman has made it clear he has every intention of re-signing both Star and KK, so I just can't see him using a 1st on a backup, even with the way we rotate.  And Gettleman has also been very clear that he believes that pressure upfront allows DB's to make plays, and his drafting/FA acquisitions have born that out.  I just don't see him taking a CB any earlier than the 3rd. 

[KB_fan]

8 hours ago, jdpanther5 said:

Very imbalanced draft as far as offense vs. defense. I could see about as many defensive linemen going ahead of us as offensive players in total.

 

SO TRUE.  The first round is STACKED with Dline talent.  (13 or 14 of the top 33 prospects (acc. to NFL.com grades) are Dline guys if I recall correctly).

I've started doing some of the mock drafts to focus on WR availability.  In almost half the mocks so far only 2 WRs are picked in the 1st (usually Treadwell & Coleman), occasionally only 1.  Never more than 3 so far (Treadwell, Doctson, Coleman).

If teams do feast on that defensive line depth, it could open up the door for a surprise player to fall.  I've been seeing CB Hargreaves available in some mocks.  I've seen Treadwell fall to us as well, and every now and again Ezekiel Elliott shows up as being available at our pick...

[Salisburysean98]

Fug it, double dip. Then find a way to trade back into the third round after we give that up to move into the 2nd, like we did when we gave our third to take Funch last year. Especially if one of the marquee pass rushers with a late first/early second round grade, unsuspectingly falls into the early third round. Kony Ealy anyone ? It could happen,  sure it would be mortgaging our picks in the 4th probably 5th and maybe even a 6th to get back to the third round with a team like Tennessee or one of those in the top 5 in the third. But at least we wouldn't be mortgaging our entire future, and could end up with Hunter Henry, Derrick Henry, and possibly a very good pass rusher should they fall for character issues. Risky to trade the rest of your draft for 3 selections in the entire thing, but we are so close ladies and gentlemen. It just makes so much sense to do that and sign whatever is left for veteran depth on the cheap in FA.