Our Roster -- Players We Feel Good About (Part 1 - Offense)**

[SetfreexX]

As it stands today (1/20/22) it looks like for whatever reason Rhule is going to be here for this upcoming season. With that poo in mind, I figured why not look at players under contract that we ''feel good about'' moving forward and where the offense could be if FA, and the draft play out well. 

Offense:

QB - We don't have one, sorry Sam Darnold apologist, 4 seasons, two NFL teams, and the same turnover prone play at 18.8M next season.

HB - CMC is great however we don't seem to know how to manage his touches / snaps, so availability is a concern; we still don't have a bigger running back to take some of the loads / hits off our main guy in GL, and short yardage this is an absolute necessity. Chuba flashed I'll give him that, be he seems to have terrible balance at times, and his hands out of the backfield are inconsistent; as it stands I don't see a lot of upside from him but I also can't ignore the poor play from the OL in the running game. 

WR - DJ & Robbie IMO are still a top duo in the league from a ''talent'' perspective, just see the avg QB play of TB and the fact the were both 1K receivers a year ago on a bad team, DJ is coming off a 3rd consecutive 1K season with bad QB play. In regard to TMJ and Shi, I like their skill sets so I am inclined to say I feel good about both, usage was on the staff IMO. 

TE - I had hope for Ian Thomas after the Arnold trade, but he never really did anything, could be the QB, could be the OL but you'd think the TE would be on of the easier completions for a QB to make given their proximity to each other. I still like his talent, but with Tremble looking to be the better blocker with the higher ceiling I think we're in a solid place at this position, more Tremble in the future is necessary. We need an OC that understands the value of the TE position and it's utilization. I'd like to see a veteran added to this group.

T - Christensen (finally), and Moton; I think it's hard not to feel good about these two as a pair, Brady looked pretty damn solid as a rookie at his natural position (imagine that, playing a guy where they spent their entire collegiate career working out), and Moton overall anchored the right side, though he also had some bad moments. I am not against added a top talent at Tackle, I just think IOL proves to be the biggest offensive issue outside QB by the end of the season.

IOL - Elflein, and Brown; Elf actually looked decent at C (also his natural position), the problem was being flanked by an UDFA in Jordan, and then Miller. For the life of me aside from ineptitude I cannot figure out why at the VERY least Deonte Brown was not a spot duty G for us throughout the season, he'd been playing at ALA all this time, and now all of a sudden we need him ''in shape''. Let the mauler maul, and get in shape while getting snaps and experience so we can truly see what we have; even in Week 17 his snaps were limited, why? Miller isn't better, and was often injured I think the staff screwed the pooch here all season. 

Overall Offensive Personnel Grade: (D+), a competent QB, better coaching, and just average IOL play could see this unit jump up to a B'ish grade IMO as it's hard to argue against the talent we have at the skill positions (DJ / Robbie / CMC). 

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What are your thoughts about our offensive personnel moving forward?

[motocross_cat]

Well.  We suck lmao.

[LinvilleGorge]

For a rookie playing behind a terrible OL with no passing game to speak of, I was happy with Chuba. No, he's not CMC by any means but he subbed in better than could be reasonably expected for a 5th round rookie.

[MHS831]

Red Alert needs (needs that MUST be addressed this offseason):  Both G positions, TE, and QB.

Next level needs (needs that should be in the longer-term plan): LT (depending on BC), and Center.

I am OK with the WR group if they involve Shi Smith and Marshall more--I like Zylstra as a possession WR.   I really hope to see a TE emerge as an offensive weapon, and I like the RB rotation when CMC is healthy.

[Khaki Lackey]

Fire Fatty Fat Rhule!!! I want to punch his fat face! 

Did I do good guys? Can I be a moderator now? 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Khaki Lackey

[L-TownCat]

Pretty spot on.

What we have:

CMC, DJ, an ok pair of T’s.

What we don’t have:

QB, interior line, goal line back, TE, and CMC.

 

 

 

[mrcompletely11]

31 minutes ago, SetfreexX said:

As it stands today (1/20/22) it looks like for whatever reason Rhule is going to be here for this upcoming season. With that poo in mind, I figured why not look at players under contract that we ''feel good about'' moving forward and where the offense could be if FA, and the draft play out well. 

Offense:

QB - We don't have one, sorry Sam Darnold apologist, 4 seasons, two NFL teams, and the same turnover prone play at 18.8M next season.

HB - CMC is great however we don't seem to know how to manage his touches / snaps, so availability is a concern; we still don't have a bigger running back to take some of the loads / hits off our main guy in GL, and short yardage this is an absolute necessity. Chuba flashed I'll give him that, be he seems to have terrible balance at times, and his hands out of the backfield are inconsistent; as it stands I don't see a lot of upside from him but I also can't ignore the poor play from the OL in the running game. 

WR - DJ & Robbie IMO are still a top duo in the league from a ''talent'' perspective, just see the avg QB play of TB and the fact the were both 1K receivers a year ago on a bad team, DJ is coming off a 3rd consecutive 1K season with bad QB play. In regard to TMJ and Shi, I like their skill sets so I am inclined to say I feel good about both, usage was on the staff IMO. 

TE - I had hope for Ian Thomas after the Arnold trade, but he never really did anything, could be the QB, could be the OL but you'd think the TE would be on of the easier completions for a QB to make given their proximity to each other. I still like his talent, but with Tremble looking to be the better blocker with the higher ceiling I think we're in a solid place at this position, more Tremble in the future is necessary. We need an OC that understands the value of the TE position and it's utilization. I'd like to see a veteran added to this group.

T - Christensen (finally), and Moton; I think it's hard not to feel good about these two as a pair, Brady looked pretty damn solid as a rookie at his natural position (imagine that, playing a guy where they spent their entire collegiate career working out), and Moton overall anchored the right side, though he also had some bad moments. I am not against added a top talent at Tackle, I just think IOL proves to be the biggest offensive issue outside QB by the end of the season.

IOL - Elflein, and Brown; Elf actually looked decent at C (also his natural position), the problem was being flanked by an UDFA in Jordan, and then Miller. For the life of me aside from ineptitude I cannot figure out why at the VERY least Deonte Brown was not a spot duty G for us throughout the season, he'd been playing at ALA all this time, and now all of a sudden we need him ''in shape''. Let the mauler maul, and get in shape while getting snaps and experience so we can truly see what we have; even in Week 17 his snaps were limited, why? Miller isn't better, and was often injured I think the staff screwed the pooch here all season. 

Overall Offensive Personnel Grade: (D+), a competent QB, better coaching, and just average IOL play could see this unit jump up to a B'ish grade IMO as it's hard to argue against the talent we have at the skill positions (DJ / Robbie / CMC). 

------------------------------

What are your thoughts about our offensive personnel moving forward?

Christenson looked "pretty damn solid"?  Uh no.  He looked overwhelmed for the most part and Elf was dogshit at center.

[SetfreexX]

1 minute ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Christenson looked "pretty damn solid"?  Uh no.  He looked overwhelmed for the most part and Elf was dogshit at center.

I recall two overwhelmed moments that stand out to me versus an all pro caliber guy in Shaq Barrett, and one other that does not immediately come to mind.

For a rookie, and as a 3rd round pick I think he looked solid, and has something to build off of, the bar being Erving is not high, and Brady played above that with actual room to get better. People said Paradis was bad at C, yet those that review / grade felt otherwise about him also. 

I try not to let the ''standout'' bad plays be all that I think about. There's a lot of snaps over the course of a game / season. 

[mrcompletely11]

2 minutes ago, SetfreexX said:

I recall two overwhelmed moments that stand out to me versus an all pro caliber guy in Shaq Barrett, and one other that does not immediately come to mind.

For a rookie, and as a 3rd round pick I think he looked solid, and has something to build off of, the bar being Erving is not high, and Brady played above that with actual room to get better. People said Paradis was bad at C, yet those that review / grade felt otherwise about him also. 

I try not to let the ''standout'' bad plays be all that I think about. There's a lot of snaps over the course of a game / season. 

Its frustrating for sure because he should have way more games to look at but Rhule effed that up.  To me I would not let his play dictate drafting a tackle if one fell to 6.   I think Rhule said as much last week.  I just saw BC get manhandled more times then not.   Maybe that is correctable for a 25 year old but I am not letting that factor into my draft strategy. 

[Louie]

I think Brady Christensen might be a serviceable LT. But, for whatever reason, Rhule decided to not play him until the last 2 games. He looked decent as a rookie. Which makes me think, he could be an average LT. Which is far better than anything we have had since Gross retired. I would be fine naming Brady the starter at LT from the start of OTAs next year, with an eye on upgrading the position to a great player in the future. What we can not do is go into next season with total crap on our O line at the 2 guard positions and center. Who knows how good Christensen can be, if he played next to a good LG! If we just replaced the 3 interior O line positions, we might have enough capital (either draft or free agency $) to get a QB. I think we can do it in a single offseason, I just don't have faith they will!

[SetfreexX]

If we are talking draft strategy, I think we need to trade back from #6, our depth is incredibly thin, and we'll need some cap magic just to navigate our own pending FA's not to mention trying to sign anyone. 

We wouldn't pick til' around #100, I don't think a player at #6 is better than adding picks given the state of the OL, that one player isn't fixing it. 

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, SetfreexX said:

If we are talking draft strategy, I think we need to trade back from #6, our depth is incredibly thin, and we'll need some cap magic just to navigate our own pending FA's not to mention trying to sign anyone. 

We wouldn't pick til' around #100, I don't think a player at #6 is better than adding picks given the state of the OL, that one player isn't fixing it. 

Should the Panthers trade down to accumulate picks?

Dane, do believe the Panthers should/could trade back in his year’s draft due to the fact that they have only one Top 100 selection this year? — Jared F.

 

Absolutely — if they can. There will be multiple teams looking to trade back this year, but most won’t be able to find a deal because few teams will be looking to trade up. The trades that we do see, they might be for less than usual because that’s the market. Unfortunately just bad luck for the Panthers that this is a year with a lackluster top-10, including no top-tier quarterbacks worth trading up for.

[TheCasillas]

19 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Should the Panthers trade down to accumulate picks?

Dane, do believe the Panthers should/could trade back in his year’s draft due to the fact that they have only one Top 100 selection this year? — Jared F.

 

Absolutely — if they can. There will be multiple teams looking to trade back this year, but most won’t be able to find a deal because few teams will be looking to trade up. The trades that we do see, they might be for less than usual because that’s the market. Unfortunately just bad luck for the Panthers that this is a year with a lackluster top-10, including no top-tier quarterbacks worth trading up for.

We all know that this changes after the combine. Right now is all assumptive. If 2-3 players have a ridiculous combine, then this all changes.

[WOW!!]

Wow this is going to be a very short list..

DJ, Tremble, maybe Brady..