Offseason and Draft Assessment

[Adb6368]

35 minutes ago, Toomers said:

Then maybe he shouldn’t have been signed in the first place. 

 And any draft pick could provide what Shaq does. For 8M less. What has Shaq done in his career that can’t be easily replaced?  

We won’t know that until the end of this season. He’s a TD replacement and have been playing out of position his entire career because of this. Hurney didn’t draft the guy mind you. 

[JARROD]

6 minutes ago, Adb6368 said:

We won’t know that until the end of this season. He’s a TD replacement and have been playing out of position his entire career because of this. Hurney didn’t draft the guy mind you. 

Yeh but Hurney is keeping the guy around or has up until this point.

8 million is pretty steep for his position,.. points to a guy that is much more valuable than what we’ve seen.

 

[Toomers]

1 minute ago, Tepper's Chest Hair said:

Got it.  So bringing up Poe as something Hurney did wrong *this off season* was a pointless remark.  Thanks for clearing that up.

Little for Joseph?  Man.  We definitely need a back up QB if we are doing that.  

No. Little and Grier could have been  Adderly, Saunders, Love. 

 Could have filled 3 holes instead of none. 

Is there a player that we could have possibly drafted that you wouldn’t be “pumping up”. Right now? Just because we took them doesn’t automatically make them good. 

 

[Toomers]

9 minutes ago, Adb6368 said:

We won’t know that until the end of this season. He’s a TD replacement and have been playing out of position his entire career because of this. Hurney didn’t draft the guy mind you. 

Who cares who drafted him? This is about paying him 9.2M THIS year. Not his cheap rookie deal 

 And where’s he playing in a 3-4 nickel package? 

[MHS831]

About free safety: 

Damian Parms is 26 and has shown flashes.  He would be depth in the best case scenario, but not the "end of the world" on a team that does not prioritize the position.

DeNorris Searcy is not chopped liver--he is a weak starter or strong reserve on most rosters. 

Cole Luke: The experiment, he is only 23 and ran in the 4.65 range in college, but was quick enough to stick as a CB on the PS. 

Rashan Gaulden:  Was recruited to Tennessee to be a S, but played nickel for the most part.  Was drafted in the third round, probably a round too early.  Was labeled a project when drafted, but many Carolina fans have already labeled him a bust. I tend to give a player time to transition.  My theory? When you draft a guy too soon, it increases expectations.  Gaulden was a 4-5 rounder who needed to change positions while transitioning from NCAA to the NFL.  Hard for a first rounder, but a day three talent?  He could be decent with a bit of patience.  He will never be more than decent.

I would say that Searcy and Gaulden are your Free safeties right now, with Luke a wildcard (unknown) and Parms is a tease entering his prime.  We have 4 potential backups.

Cutting Searcy (30) would save the Panthers $1.7m in cap room. 

Is it time to bring Tre Boston back home?  With about $8.7 million in cap room (and I am not sure about post june 1 Kalil numbers), cutting former Tar Heel Searcy to sign former Tar Heel Boston would probably take at least $4m more per season than we saved from the cut.  At 26, he is probably not interested in his third consecutive "show me" deal.  His stats are solid.  We would have to commit to a 3-4 year deal in my opinion.  I am guessing (totally) that we could get him for three seasons at $20m. 

[Cpt slay a ho]

22 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Gaulden is likely a bum too. IMO, they plan on starting Searcy. For some reason he is still on the roster, so that makes me think he is our guy. I suspect we might see Gaulden at nickel where he will be getting toasted.

I honestly believe both Rivera and Hurney think we are just fine at FS.

Too early to tell for galduen but I’m not too hopeful, I don’t think hurney thinks we’re fine at fs, he even said so recently that if we had the chance to pick a fs in the draft we’d have gotten one. I think it’s more so on Ron, 2 gms and still the neglect for the fs position. 

[Black&BlueBubba]

Carolina Panthers
Draft picks: Florida State DE Brian Burns (No. 16 overall); Mississippi OT Greg Little (No. 37); West Virginia QB Will Grier (No. 100); Alabama DE Christian Miller (No. 115); Florida RB Jordan Scarlett (No. 154); South Carolina OT Dennis Daley (No. 212); Georgia WR Terry Godwin (No. 237) 
Day 1 grade: A 
Day 2 grade: A
Day 3 grade: B
Overall grade: A-
Draft analysis: Burns made himself a lot of money by adding weight for the combine. With his explosiveness and bend, adding strength to his frame will help him meet his potential. They met their need for an offensive tackle in the early second round, giving up a third-round selection to move up 10 spots and select Little. He should help protect Cam Newton and Grier, a third-round selection who will likely beat out the team's current backup QBs for a job. 

Miller is a stiff defender with an injury history, but the Panthers hope he can avoid the training room to reach his potential. Scarlett is a power back who will pair well with Christian McCaffrey. Daley's a swing tackle prospect that the team coveted. Godwin excelled at the East-West Shrine Game, which may be more indicative of his talent than his average workout numbers.

 

[Black&BlueBubba]

Walter FB grades  

16. Brian Burns, DE/OLB, Florida State  A- Grade  
I slotted Brian Burns as high as No. 8 in my mock draft at one point. I thought that was a bit too high for them, but the 16th-overall selection provides good value for the Seminole. The Panthers are moving to a 3-4 defense, and they needed to select one of the talented edge rushers. They certainly got one in Burns. He has explosive ability and high-character marks, as he was a captain at Florida State. This is the right move by the Panthers, though Andre Dillard could be argued for at this juncture. 


37. Greg "Mr. Reliable" Little, OT, Ole Miss  C Grade 
I don't really think the Panthers needed to move up for this pick. There's a chance that Greg "Mr. Reliable" Little would've fallen to their own selection, and if not, Carolina could have obtained a comparable prospect. Little has great upside and could eventually emerge to be a good starter, but he's raw and will probably need to sit for a year. He'll have the opportunity to do that in Carolina, as the Panthers re-signed Daryl Williams for one season. 


100. Will Grier, QB, West Virginia  C- Grade  
I couldn't believe that Will Grier was getting first-round consideration, according to the media. I had him slotted in the fourth round. Grier has bad mechanics, poor pocket awareness and putrid decision-making ability. He throws a nice ball, but he is far from a finished product. He might be able to develop into a capable backup behind Cam Newton and his worrisome shoulder, but the Panthers already had a solid backup in Kyle Allen. I'm not sure Grier is better than Allen. 


115. Christian Miller, DE/OLB, Alabama  A Grade  
The Panthers made an excellent pick in the fourth round with Christian Miller. I thought Miller could've been chosen a whole round earlier than this, and probably would have if he didn't have some injury concerns. Miller is not only a dynamic edge rusher, but also a high-character person. He'll fill a big need for the Panthers in their new 3-4. 


154. Jordan Scarlett, RB, Florida  D Grade  
I can't say I'm a fan of this pick. Jordan Scarlett was a mediocre producer at Florida and didn't test well athletically. Furthermore, he had multiple off-the-field issues, including a situation in which he got into trouble for credit card fraud. I didn't think there was a good chance the Scarlett running back would be drafted. 


212. Dennis Daley, OT, South Carolina  A- Grade  
Dennis Daley is a raw player, but he has enough athleticism to be a potential No. 3 tackle on an NFL roster. He could have been chosen much earlier on Day 3, so I think this is pretty solid value for the Panthers, who needed to add another lineman. 


237. Terry Godwin, WR, Georgia  B- Grade  
Terry Godwin appeared in my mock draft at times, but didn't make the final cut. Godwin is a short and slow receiver who doesn't run routes very well. He also tested poorly at the combine. The one positive is that he possesses high-character marks, so perhaps he'll be able to work hard and develop

[MHS831]

7 minutes ago, Cpt slay a ho said:

Too early to tell for galduen but I’m not too hopeful, I don’t think hurney thinks we’re fine at fs, he even said so recently that if we had the chance to pick a fs in the draft we’d have gotten one. I think it’s more so on Ron, 2 gms and still the neglect for the fs position. 

Exactly--Gaulden was chosen with the caveat that he would be a project and not see the field much in 2018. However, we had no choice but to force him into duty at times.  He is never going to be a star, and I think they are moving him to nickel anyway. 

[Tepper's Chest Hair]

23 minutes ago, Toomers said:

No. Little and Grier could have been  Adderly, Saunders, Love. 

 Could have filled 3 holes instead of none. 

OT and Back up QB were holes.

 

[mc52beast]

9 hours ago, Tepper's Chest Hair said:

Free Safety is now just the war cry of people that want Hurney fired.

We went into this off season with very little cap room, and problems all over the field.  

We have improved in nearly every single area of need, except one position.  FS.  We did it without giving up future picks.  Without tying ourselves to insane contracts we can't quickly get out of.  That in itself is a miracle.

Not everyone who screams FS wants Hurney fired, don’t know how you came to that conclusion. We were among the worst in giving up big plays last year and unless the answer is on the roster or we luck out and sign someone still available we could once again suck at giving up big plays

[Tepper's Chest Hair]

3 minutes ago, Black&BlueBubba said:

37. Greg "Mr. Reliable" Little, OT, Ole Miss  C Grade 
I don't really think the Panthers needed to move up for this pick. There's a chance that Greg "Mr. Reliable" Little would've fallen to their own selection, and if not, Carolina could have obtained a comparable prospect. Little has great upside and could eventually emerge to be a good starter, but he's raw and will probably need to sit for a year. He'll have the opportunity to do that in Carolina, as the Panthers re-signed Daryl Williams for one season. 

What comparable prospect was even available?

We gonna pretend Scharpiing, Pipkins, Edoga were comparable?  

Not aiming this at you, just the review.

[Wolfpredator]

Every team has weaknesses....ours on defense has been the secondary for some time now.  Got most of the pieces we lacked in the off season through the draft and FA.  On paper, it looks like we are going to have a legit pass rush ( if these rookies pan out and our defensive line pans out ), secondary at that point will not be as big of a need.  People complaining are the type who will always find SOMETHING to complain about no matter what.  The thing about a football team is sometimes you have to just hope certain people on your team play beyond what you expect them to do.  No team goes into every season and have every single hole filled with the best talent available in the NFL.  Every year the Super Bowl team has to have players who over perform, as well as having a little luck along the way.  Furthermore the off season is not even remotely close to being over, many more moves will be made between now and the end of the preseason.  

[Tepper's Chest Hair]

1 minute ago, mc52beast said:

Not everyone who screams FS wants Hurney fired, don’t know how you came to that conclusion.

I was not meaning to imply everyone that screams "FS OR BUST" wants Hurney fired.  Only that the people that want Hurney fired are all screaming that.  A strong pass rush definitely can help with big/deep plays.