Re-picking the drafts of the past 3 years... Who's still here, who is replaced? A Bye week reflection...

[CPF4LIFE]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:57 PM, saints4lifeagain said:

Dudes a beast. Drew obviously helps everyones numbers, imo, but Thomas has some of the best hands I've ever seen, and is an absolutely fantastic route runner. 

You really cant go wrong with a skill player from Ohio state lately. They are putting out absolute gems, and nobody has noticed more than  Sean Payton and the saints cuz they keep drafting them. Its why i am hoping samuel is no different.

[saints4lifeagain]

16 minutes ago, CPF4LIFE said:

You really cant go wrong with a skill player from Ohio state lately. They are putting out absolute gems, and nobody has noticed more than  Sean Payton and the saints cuz they keep drafting them. Its why i am hoping samuel is no different.

Payton has loved OSU for a long time lol. I agree. Great football program.

[Snake]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:40 PM, electro's horse said:

hunter henry over vernon butler and you don't fuging look back

I hated the Butler pick. I will never get drafting a guy when you know you will be paying the guy in front of him. I get BPA and all that crap but we didn't really need a DT much less a bust one. 

[Snake]

On 9/26/2018 at 5:17 PM, Saca312 said:

All honesty with hindsight, I still wouldn’t know if I’d take him.

What JuJu did was phenominal. He was basically DJ Moore based on college tape. He can do some stuff, but man his snaps against press were ugly. Most scouting reports I saw noted that.

Steelers coaching staff did a great job focusing in on fixing his technique and it shows. Looks like a completely different WR out there.

However, the question remains even if we drafted JuJu, could we fix up his press technique as fast as the Steelers did? DJ Moore has shown in preseason his press technique isn’t all that fixed yet. That tells me we’re likely not as well off fixing that.

So, with hindsight, I’d still be iffy on JuJu.

Moore’s knock coming out was he was used more as a RB then a WR and his team didn't use a complete route Tree in their system. So far those knocks look to be valid and fixing those outweighs press problems. We could have fixed juju because we have always had good WR coaches. Some players like Funchess are just naturally lazy in their routes though. DJ Moores problems come from not working out of a pro system like Ridley. Alabama is not only in the SEC but also has a pro system in place. 

[GoPanthers123]

DJ Moore is a win just based on his pre season play and his 1st Catch for TD.  He has already shown that he is legit.

[4Corners]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:29 PM, Bronn said:

So, we're all thinking of things to do to occupy us this week. Why not roll back the clock three years and see who could have been Panthers, and who wouldn't be if we had Nostradamus on our scouting team.

We all know hindsight is 50/50, so let's take a look at what could-have-been...

2018:
Rd1: DJ Moore
Status: -unknown-
We've yet to see Moore given a fair shot to contribute. Calvin Ridley is looking pretty good but, until we have more info, this pick is still hard to judge.

Rd2: Donte Jackson
Status: Epic Win
Solid starter, and already playing at a high level. You won't make a good argument for another player in his place here, as he filled a need and is already paying off.

Rd3: Rashaan Gaulden
Status: -unkown-
Much like the Moore pick, it is still too early to tell. One could argue a true safety prospect was still there in Ronnie Harrison, but I'll give Gaulden time.

Rd4: Ian Thomas
Status: Win
First pick in the round, and thrown into the fire early due to Greg's leg. He's done very well so far, and there isn't anyone who came off the board the rest of the round that I would have rather had here.

Rd4: Marquis Haynes
Status: -unknown-
Again, like Moore and Gaulden, we haven't seen enough yet to judge. Tre Flowers was still on the board, but not sure one could argue his merits against Haynes, especially considering our already young DB crew at this point in the draft.

Rd5: Jermaine Carter, Rd7: Andre Smith, Rd7: Kendrick Norton
Status: -unknown-
Ditto. We're pretty late in the draft at this point, and the guys drafted here haven't had much of an opportunity.

Recap: Two wins and a bunch of unknowns at this point.

2017:
Rd1: Christian McCaffrey
Status: Epic Win
He's our newest puzzle piece for the long haul. A threat in multiple phases of the game.

Rd2: Curtis Samuel
Status: Miss, so far
I know I'll get hate for this, but we haven't been able to rely on him. If he can't get on the field and make plays, we would have been better drafting Marcus Williams or Justin Evans here and having a good, young safety right now.

Rd2: Taylor Moton
Status: Win
Looks to be the answer at RT. Needs to keep it up.

Rd3: Daeshon Hall
Status: Bust
So many options here other than him that would have been better for us. I lobbied for John Johnson prior to this draft, and he's doing good things for the Rams secondary. Kareem Hunt could have made a killer duo for CMC. Same with James Conner. Eddie Jackson, Tarik Cohen, George Kittle, Jake Butt, Jamaal Williams, Josh Dobbs... all came off the board between Hall and our next pick...

Rd5: Corn Elder
Status: -unknown-
He seems to be getting more PT lately, and the injury his rookie season set him back a bit. I'll give him time before I judge.

Rd6: Alex Armah
Status: Imma call it an Epic Win
FB is a lost art. We got us a good one before it becomes a thing again. Extremely good value this late.

Rd7: Harrison Butker
Status: Bust
No value from this pick, really. Gano is solid, and KC profited from our wasted pick. There were a couple undrafted starting LBs out there, as well as Keelan Cole.

Recap: CMC + Armah + Moton - Hall - Butker and a split with Samuel and Elder, I'd say this draft was balanced with hit and miss. Emergence of Samuel and Elder could tip it to win status overall.

2016:

Rd1: Vernon Butler
Status: Bust
He's regressed, and somewhat disappeared. We could be singing the praises of Michael Thomas or Deion Jones, rather than have to play them twice each a year. Instead, we got Star Lotulelei insurance and the company dropped us when we filed the claim. This forced the signing of Poe this past offseason.

Rd2: James Bradberry
Status: Epic Win
He's low-key really good. I said he doesn't have swag, but he sure has skill. I would have still picked him here.

Rd3: Daryl Worley
Status: Bust
Big time miss imho. He did okay for a while and then just lost it all. Joe Thuney would have been a good pick here, as would have Austin Hooper.

Rd5: Zack Sanchez
Status: Bust
Jordan Howard, Alex Collins, Tyreek Hill.. Yeah, give me Sanchez...

RD7: Beau Sandland
Status: Bust
We should have found a way to keep him around, but meh. Hard to hit on a 7th rounder. Rob Kelley, Peyton Barber, and a few decent CBs went undrafted, though.

Recap: Whole lot of bust going on. Could be one of the worst Panthers drafts ever.



IN SUMMATION:

Still here:
All of the 2018 draft, CMC, Moton, Elder, Armah and Bradberry

Could have been:
Justin Evans, Marcus Williams, Eddie Jackson at Safety
Kareem Hunt, James Conner, Jamaal Williams, Jordan Howard, Alex Collins, or Tarik Cohen at RB
George Kittle, Jake Butt, or Austin Hooper at TE
Michael Thomas or Tyreek Hill at WR
Deion Jones at LB
Joe Thuney at G

As you can see, we've had opportunities to bring in some good safeties, TE backups, etc. in the past, but poor draft picks cost us those picks.

Now, I know every team misses out on guys, save the ones they draft. Obviously, players like Tyreek Hill would probably never be Panthers then or now.

But, I just thought it would be interesting to go back a few years and see what we could have right now. To be honest, I think we've done okay overall, but those hits and misses in April contribute to making and breaking teams in the long run.

 

Taking Butler over Hunter Henry has to be one of the biggest whiffs in recent memory. Aside from Bradberry, that entire draft looks like it could possibly be the worst ever for the franchise. 

[4Corners]

6 minutes ago, Professor Chaos said:

I'm just glad that dickhead Dave is gone.

I’m gonna be pissed if we lose to the Giants 

[tiger7_88]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:29 PM, Bronn said:

Rd7: Harrison Butker
Status: Bust
No value from this pick, really. Gano is solid, and KC profited from our wasted pick. There were a couple undrafted starting LBs out there, as well as Keelan Cole.

lol

How the fug can a guy who who is 8 of 8 on FGs from 20-29, 17 of 18 from 30-39, 11 of 13 from 40-49, and 4 of 5 from 50+ a bust?

Wasted opportunity by Nervous-Nellies Rivera and Hurney?  Yes.  Absolutely.  One of the best young AND CHEAP kickers in the league was in our hands and under our control for at least 4 years and Rivera/Hurney crapped their pants and paid way, way, way more for Gano. 

The fact that Rivera/Hurney made a horrible decision in no way makes the pick a bust.  That's a ridiculous characterization.

[tiger7_88]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:50 PM, ericr0319 said:

Then do we resign D.Williams to a one year prove it,

A proven player approaching his first veteran (non-rookie) contract is

NOT

GOING

TO

SIGN

A

ONE

YEAR

"PROVE

IT".

Please, people... UNDERSTAND THIS. 

Carolina either re-signs him to a deal paying him significant money and rolls the dice on his knee *or* he'll sign somewhere else for more than Carolina is willing to pay him.  OR the team can put the franchise tag on him but if you're going to do that, you might as well just give him significant money on a longer contract.

[Bronn]

20 minutes ago, tiger7_88 said:

lol

How the fug can a guy who who is 8 of 8 on FGs from 20-29, 17 of 18 from 30-39, 11 of 13 from 40-49, and 4 of 5 from 50+ a bust?

Wasted opportunity by Nervous-Nellies Rivera and Hurney?  Yes.  Absolutely.  One of the best young AND CHEAP kickers in the league was in our hands and under our control for at least 4 years and Rivera/Hurney crapped their pants and paid way, way, way more for Gano. 

The fact that Rivera/Hurney made a horrible decision in no way makes the pick a bust.  That's a ridiculous characterization.

It was absolutely a busted pick for us. We got nothing for him. He's not a bust as a player, lol. It was a busted pick for us.

[tiger7_88]

47 minutes ago, bull123 said:

Tough one there...gano is one of the best

Which is better?

A top kicker who is cheap?

Or a top kicker that is paid top dollar?

[RumHam]

I stopped at epic win. Jackson has played 3 games. #getoffhisnuts

[tiger7_88]

1 hour ago, RumHam said:

I stopped at epic win. Jackson has played 3 games. #getoffhisnuts

I do like the kid a lot though.

Wasn't in favor of drafting him because of his size but, as has been proven before, sometimes size isn't everything.

[thefuzz]

On 9/28/2018 at 7:50 AM, tiger7_88 said:

lol

How the fug can a guy who who is 8 of 8 on FGs from 20-29, 17 of 18 from 30-39, 11 of 13 from 40-49, and 4 of 5 from 50+ a bust?

Wasted opportunity by Nervous-Nellies Rivera and Hurney?  Yes.  Absolutely.  One of the best young AND CHEAP kickers in the league was in our hands and under our control for at least 4 years and Rivera/Hurney crapped their pants and paid way, way, way more for Gano. 

The fact that Rivera/Hurney made a horrible decision in no way makes the pick a bust.  That's a ridiculous characterization.

@Bronn

I agree with tiger here...maybe use a better word vs. bust.  Red, myself, and some other poster were back and forth about that the other day.  They were saying that if a top drafted player doesn't get a 2nd contract with the team that drafted him, he's a bust...and I don't agree with that notion at all.

Keeping Gano and releasing Butker was a really really bad move...keeping them both on the opening day roster was even dumber.  That's a really bad move by Hurney, but Butker is certainly not a bust.