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Jeremy Igo

By Jeremy Igo,
in Carolina Panthers

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Icege Grand Master

Icege

Posted
Posted
On 5/2/2017 at 0:54 PM, WUnderhill said:

So we're down to 0 round 4 or later draft picks left on the roster from the 2013 & 2014 drafts. I say this only because there seems to be a lot of talk about Gettleman's late round drafting prowess, but the evidence points to the complete opposite:

2015 not looking super promising, either. Williams having trouble winning the RT spot, CAP buried on the depth chart and maybe on the way out, best hope for Mayo may be the AJ Klein route.

Of 2016 Sandland didn't even make the roster last year and Sanchez looks like he may be replaced sooner rather than later.

Not really meant to hate on Gettleman, but really just hit me how terrible we have actually been at drafting past round 3. Only batting .500 on 2nd and 3rd round picks, too. Yikes. I'm actually a bit worried about our newest draft class now.

It's funny that you mention this, because the days leading up to and following the draft I started to scribble down and assess Gettleman's drafts (including "notable" UDFAs).

2013
1. DT Lotulelei
2. DT Short
4. OG Kugbila
5. LB Klein
6. RB Barner
U. DE Horton
U. CB White
U. TE Williams
U. SS Lester

The team has retained Short for 5 years while also picking up Star's 5th year option. AJ Klein was a LB that Gettleman had rated as a 3rd rounder and was still able to grab him in the 5th after the Kugbila pick. Overall, I find the 2013 draft to be successful. Any time a team is able to get 2 long term starters from the draft I consider it to be successful (for the most part), but the team was also able to get solid back-ups such as Horton and Klein who contributed throughout their rookie deals in Carolina. White, Williams, and Lester I didn't feel were bad for UDFAs, especially White.

2014
1. WR Benjamin
2. DE Ealy
3. OG Turner
4. FS Boston
5. CB Benwikere
6. RB Gaffney
U. WR Brown
U. OG Norwell
U. LB Glanton

The Panthers at this point were looking for life after Steve Smith and it came in the form of Kelvin Benjamin. Benjamin had a wildly successful rookie season followed by a season-ending injury before his sophomore year could begin. We are aware of his disappointing return last season, but word is that had more to do with the knee of a 6'5" 245lbs man healing rather than a 5'10" 205lbs guy. Ealy had a great Super Bowl, but otherwise could never tap into his potential. I hated the Boston pick, but I feel like Benwikere was crazy great value. Yes, he had a bad season last year (historically bad at that against ATL), but that appears to have been for the same reason as KB: returning from injury too soon. For what he did in his time in Carolina, I think Benwikere in the 5th was an excellent pick. Oh, and did I mention that we finally filled the chasm at RG while also finding life after Travelle Wharton? Two Pro Bowl level guards and a giant weapon for Cam Newton? Glanton wasn't a bad special teamer and Cory Brown had a lot longer life here for a body catcher than I could have imagined.

2015
1. LB Thompson
2. WR Funchess
4. OT Williams
5. LB Mayo
5. RB Artis-Payne
U. WR Byrd
U. RB Wegher
U. S Marlowe
U. LB Blechen

A lot of people believe Shaq Thompson would have been there in the 2nd but I don't see it. The Funchess pick is also heavily criticized, and rightfully so, but this is the season to assess the results of this draft imo. Funchess was very young and learning not just how to play WR but how to love football. Williams has shown promise, but wasn't reliable enough to not draft Taylor Moton this year. Artis-Payne has never looked as good as Brandon Wegher whom is now in STL, and who knows if Byrd will ever make an impact during the regular season despite how well he plays in preseason. The only non-controversial pick from this draft is the most controversial pick at the time and that's David Mayo who has turned out fantastic imo.

2016
1. DT Butler
2. CB Bradberry
3. CB Worley
5. CB Sanchez
7. TE Sandland
U. LB Cash
U. LB Norris
U. WR Garrett

I'm of the opinion that the 2016 & 2015 drafts were the biggest question marks today for Gettleman. Double dipping at CB was understandable after losing Josh Norman and Charles Tillman, but triple dipping? Beau Sandland was my favorite player of this draft (I developed a huge player-crush on him during the combine) but now he's just trying to stay in the league. Bradberry, however, lit it up last season and Worley started to appear comfortable down the stretch (more comfortable than I EVER saw Boston).  Butler I think we're going to see even more flashes of this season (two blocked kicks last season + a sack or three despite a bum ankle and a crazy deep position on the roster? Yes pls).

2017
1. RB McCaffrey
2. WR Samuel
2. OL Moton
3. DE Hall
5. CB Elder
6. FB Armah
7. K Butker
U. LB Boulware
U. WR Ross
U. DE Cox Jr

These kids haven't even gotten past training camp yet so any analysis at this point is just jerking off to the shape of my own letters on the screen. (*looks left... looks right... fapfapfapfapfapfapfap*)

 

So with all that out there, let's look at the players that the team has landed and when:

1st Round
Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington
Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

Gettleman is money in the first.

2nd Round
Kawann Short, DT, Purdue
Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri
Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
James Bradberry, CB, Samford
Curtis Samuel, WR, Ohio State
Taylor Moton, OL, Western Michigan

Outside of Ealy and Funchess, Gettleman has been successful in the 2nd round finding some solid value. Short and Bradberry are first round talents that we were able to get in the 2nd (tho folks say Bradberry in the 2nd was way too early, but some analysts had him rated as a late first rounder). Even though Ealy didn't pan out, he did show out in the Super Bowl. Should Funchess turn out alright then it's fairly safe to say that in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the draft that the Panthers not only draft guys that are good enough to stay for the long term, but they draft starters.

3rd Round
Trai Turner, OG, LSU
Daryl Worley, CB, West Virginia
Daeshon Hall, DE, Texas A&M

The first 3 rounds are typically when teams take players they figure to make the team. Gettleman has rocked the 1st, had a bit of a rocky 2nd, but he has only picked in the 3rd on three occasions. The first time he picked, he landed a Pro Bowler for a position the Panthers had been trying to fill for over 3 seasons (Duke Williams, anyone?). I like the Hall pick a lot here as I see a lot of parallels between him and Charles Johnson (another 3rd rounder tho not under Gettleman). Worley was a player I had a lot of hope for but also didn't expect to succeed, but as stated earlier he seemed to figure things out towards the end of last season.

4th Round
Edmund Kugbila, OG, Valdosta State
Tre Boston, FS, North Carolina
Daryll Williams, RT, Oklahoma

Ok, so Gettleman is garbage in the 4th. At least he's only made 3 picks here, and I guess we can be fair and say that Kugbila's health issues could not have been predicted while Williams hasn't looked horrible for a 4th round tackle. Tre Boston tho... I hate to see anybody lose their job, but I'm also relieved that I won't be watching him dive at ankles, give up on pursuits that he's taking awful angles on, and I'm even more relieved we won't have to see the one or two flash plays where he would look good and give us false hope for the future.

5th Round
AJ Klein, LB, Boston College
Bene Benwikere, CB, San Jose St
David Mayo, LB, Texas State
Cameron Artis-Payne, RB, Auburn
Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma
Corn Elder, CB, Miami

If Gettleman is terrible at finding depth or any talent in the 4th, he's about fairly solid in the 5th at landing some high quality back-ups (that can start  too on occasion like Klein & Benwikere). The worst pick out of the group thus far has been Zack Sanchez, and he was the 3rd CB that the team picked the year he was drafted.

6th Round
Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford
Alex Armah, FB, West Georgia

Find me a GM that makes their money in the 6th.

7th Round
Beau Sandland, TE, Montana State
Harrison Butker, K, Georgia Tech

See above.

UDFAs 
(starters)
Wes Horton, DE, USC
Melvin White, CB, Louisiana-Lafayette
Philly Brown, WR, Ohio State
Andrew Norwell, OG, Ohio State
(back-ups/ST)
Brandon Williams, TE, Oregon
Robert Lester, SS, Alabama
Adarius Glanton, LB, Florida Atlantic
Damierre Byrd, WR, South Carolina
Brandon Wegher, RB, Iowa
Dean Marlowe, S, James Madison
Brian Blechen, LB/S, Utah
Jeremy Cash, LB/S, Duke
Jarred Norris, LB, Utah
Keyarris Garrett, WR, Tulsa
Ben Boulware, LB, Clemson
Fred Ross, WR, Mississippi State
Bryan Cox Jr, DE, Florida

I mean... not too bad, right?

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Floppin Grand Master

Floppin

Posted
Posted
On 5/2/2017 at 0:22 PM, #PanthersKing said:

Which two were the dummies kneeling down during the Anthem? Oh yes Marcus Ball and Tre Boston

If you want to talk politics take your bitch ass to the TB where the men play. Keep that out of the main forum.

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