2009 Draft Mid Season Review

[Gman was right]

YOU EFFING NOOB THEY ARE ALL GOING TO BE IN THE HOF MARK MY WORDS YOU PUSSOIR.

lol just kidding

Yep just like that. Only you forgot to add a few waaaahs! Lol

[Guild]

Yep just like that. Only you forgot to add a few waaaahs! Lol

Howabout I just add in some QQs and a few random expletives? I'm not much for waaaahing.

[scpanther22]

Hurney let go two scouts..so he did a lot of scouting himself ..this is his draft...

[MaineManPanther]

Halfway through the his rookie season Davis looked like a horrible choice. Now he may be the best Defensive player we have.

Many of the players we drafted Goodson,Robinson, Fiammtea, even Brown. Were not expected to be starting this year and more are long term. To judge rookies halfway through there rookie season when they werent even planned on starting, isnt really a good indicator at all, even intially.

[AceMan]

Trading away a top 15 pick for a DE, a position we didn't need since we planned on keeping Peppers, will always make this draft one of the worst ever. Especially since we were in "win-now" mode.

[Sultan33g]

Halfway through the his rookie season Davis looked like a horrible choice. Now he may be the best Defensive player we have.

Many of the players we drafted Goodson,Robinson, Fiammtea, even Brown. Were not expected to be starting this year and more are long term. To judge rookies halfway through there rookie season when they werent even planned on starting, isnt really a good indicator at all, even intially.

know you guys are right...I just have a bad feeling about this draft class and when we dont have a first round pick this upcoming season I get a little worried.

[Guild]

know you guys are right...I just have a bad feeling about this draft class and when we dont have a first round pick this upcoming season I get a little worried.

We'll just trade next season's first rounder for a high second or low first this year

[MaineManPanther]

Trading away a top 15 pick for a DE, a position we didn't need since we planned on keeping Peppers, will always make this draft one of the worst ever. Especially since we were in "win-now" mode.

Worst ever? Peppers was/is still up in the air after this season, we needed insurance for next year. At the time no one had a idea that it was a possible top 15 pick. Thats pure hindsight.

[AceMan]

Worst ever? Peppers was/is still up in the air after this season, we needed insurance for next year. At the time no one had a idea that it was a possible top 15 pick. Thats pure hindsight.

I know it's hindsight. But that's how you have to judge these drafts. At the time, the draft was average and that trade was bad. You don't trade for next year when you are in win now mode. Now, that draft looks horrible mostly because of that trade. Top 15 pick for current back up DE. Right now, 49ers look like huge winners.

[chbright]

honestly waaaaaaaaaaaay too early to tell. if anything its been surpisingly good. remember we came into the season with almost all the starters back from a team that had the 2nd best record in the NFC. it wasnt like we expected alot of day 1 starters out of this draft. last years draft also was one of the best, then again we got 2 1st round picks that year. spoiled by the instant success of both stewart and otah?

captin has been an absolute steal so far. 6th round pick that is your nickle back, and PR. not bad at all.

martin might be a steal too, but sample size is waaaaaay to small, but he has been very good in filling in for the injured, much critized, godfrey. he was projected as 2nd or 3rd rounder as a CB/S hybrid. yes he went as projected and as a CB he didnt look comfortable, but as a safety, well he has been very very good for starting camp out as a CB, and only getting converted back to S at the end of camp. he still likely learning on the fly (previous safety experiance saving his ass likely). this guy switched possitions now twice within a year (from S to CB, back to S) and has looked 10x better than godfrey's stretch run last year or godfrey's play this season. while i am pissed we drafted safeties in consecutive years, martins play makes his pick worth it (godfrey might be ok at cb?)

goodson is a wild card that showed he has big play potential. yeah sutton looked good for a UDFA. i wanted him when he went undrafted and the packers picked him up. goodson may eventually end up at WR.

the duke. well, everyone wanted him from the 3rd round until we finally selected him. something drove him down until the 5th. i hoped he could be a key backup at G as a rookie. after the year vincent had, only the injury was a concern. he was a revelation at RG when paired with otah.

fiametta was always considered a project at coming in. yeah he was great as a college FB, but expected to need time to sit behind hoover. he got thrust into playing time early. he was not as ready as schmitt from the 08 draft.

brown. well hmmm, cyberjag had a thread on him with his production. its better than most other DE rooks which is sad really. the reason he will always be looked at as a bad pick is the price. i, like others here, completely agree that we gave up too as it stands right now. the biggest reason is the likely value of the pick is top 10, not 20th or later. i am willing to give him more time to see if he pans out.

[Snake]

Way to early to judge these kids. I will atleast wait till next season but I like to give them 3 years. Just like Jarrett he has been given all the chances he needed and did not perform. He my friends is a bust.

[zebrainz]

A few random thoughts about the development of the 2009 draftees' development

(no bust labels here)

1. Robinson was inactive last week, LT Garry Williams and RT Geoff Schwartz were the backup linemen. That indicates to me that the coaches aren't comfortable with Robinson backing up interior line positions other than RG and/or they aren't comfortable with Otah or Schwartz swinging over to LT. I understand it, but it seems odd to use an undrafted rookie ahead of Robinson for the backup role. I thought you were supposed to utilize your best talent. It looks like Robinson may be slated to strictly be Vincent's eventual replacement. Meh, it's early yet, I'm basing that on one game.

2. Unlike some, I think Brown is on pace to be a solid DE and be a solid equivalent to a late first/early second rounder (which was the goal when they drafted him). The team's poor play this year that makes our former 2010 first round pick more valuable is not his fault. Get over it. He's played very well in his rotational role and looks to be on track to start when needed. He's ahead of where Johnson was at this stage. If/when JP leaves, we have a decent rotation at DE if we keep the others. We're getting better pressure this year overall, and it's not all JP.

3. I wasn't impressed with Irvin before his injury. I'm not talking about his mental development learning the defense, I'm talking about his motor/physical presence when he did manage to get in the right position to make a play this preseason. I would much rather have Leonard, Tyler, Kemo and Lewis as the DT rotation next year (with Hollis Thomas on speed dial after the season starts). Irvin won't solve our problems at NT if Kemo can't go next year, he's just looks like another mediocre UT so far. It's not time to give up on him yet though. I thought his IR status was more of a redshirt than anything else. If he was more talented/ready, I think they would have waited for him to heal. It would be nice to add him as the 5th guy in the mix in competition for the rotation next year, but he really needs to show more next year than he did before his injury this time around. BTW, they keep trying to make Hayden into Carstens, move on already. He ain't that guy.

4. I'm not too worried about Fiametta yet, it looks like he's right on track to be Hoover 2.0. His mistakes have been minor and correctable. Sutton looks good as a replacement for Goings, you know, back when Goings was still young and could play. Finally, a positive addition to our special teams (fingers crossed).

5. Goodson has let his ball security issues mess with his brain. This issue is also inhibiting his development in other areas. He's a gifted athlete the coaches need to figure out how to use in a minor role until he regains his confidence. His high boom/bust potential hasn't changed, everybody knew that when we drafted him, but if the staff can't figure out a way to develop him, his talent will atrophy into uselessness (like many other Panther boom/bust projects).

6. Munnerlyn has far exceeded what is expected from a rookie 7th rounder, overrated or not. He's a good football player and a keeper. The trouble I see is 2 nickel CBs on the roster with him and Marshall, and only 1 true starting corner in Gamble.

7. It was known pre-draft that Martin was unpolished, even at his primary college position of safety. I feel a lot more comfortable about him now after his performance at FS. The guy can play. It definitely looks like he can fill the void at free safety if that's how the team chooses to use him. If they do, it still leaves a void at #2 corner. Marshall and Munnerlyn are doing a good job given their skills, but I don't think they are the solution there. It would be nice if Wilson or Godfrey could step up at #2 corner as they have the proper size/physical tools, but that's just crazy talk, especially mid year. The real solution (as always) is to keep drafting those young legs and try to limit their mistakes.

To summarize, the 2009 draft looks good so far. DT draft need + multiple DT injuries + a poor DT draft class (after the first round) + DT may be the one poor pick we made in this draft may make it look worse in hindsight than it actually was. Hurney did a masterful job recovering from the DT fiasco, I'll give him that. You know, it was one of those times he made me remember that I'm just a fan typing on a computer and he's a professional GM.

2010 draft needs

1. QB - too bad we still suck at QB development. With RFA status extending to 6 years, FA pickins are going to be slimmer than usual. We really need some luck to fix our problems at this position.

2. WR - not a one trick pony that can't play special teams either. We have enough of those already.

3. CB - keep rotating in those young fresh legs.

4. Special Teams (coverage) (multiple picks) - only John Belushi samurais need apply. Kamakazi candidates accepted as an alternative in some cases. Free gunpowder and glass diet for all applicants. Don't care so much about listed college position.

[Davidson Deac II]

I was thinking about the draft that we had and was wondering if you guys might think that so far that this draft might be one of the worst drafts in the history of the panthers. I know most of the times rookies will not have an impact till the 2nd or 3rd year but it is not looking too good.

Lets take a look.

2nd round 43rd pick: We traded away a costly 1st round 2010 pick for Everette brown. It seems to me with Julius peppers having a bad hand injury that Everette Brown hasn't really stepped it up to his potential. I know he is only a rookie but for some reason I thought us moving up and trading a 1st round pick that he might have been a steal. Looks to me like he wasn't worth the trade.

2nd round, 59th overall pick: Sherrod Martin looks to be a better pick than we thought. He didn't look to good in preseason as a CB but as a safety he looks like a good pickup for us. Now we have only seen him in 4 games but I am hoping that he can hold down our inconsistent Free Safety Position.

3rd round 93rd overall pick: Corey Irvin was a pick that seemed to stump me. He looked decent in preseason and with Maake going down he might have had a chance to show what he could do. He got injured early so we really can not judge how well he might have done so I will give him a pass for this year.

4th round 111th overall pick: Mike Goodson seems to have eric shelton written all over him. Now let me say this, he did look pretty good in preseason but the turnovers and his non inspirational time at Kickoff duties makes me worried that he might be the next ryne robinson.

4th round, 128th overall pick: Tony Fiammetta I thought would be the next coming of Brad Hoover in his prime. He actually has had plenty of chances to show what he can be as a fullback and I am a little concerned that he might not be up to the task. He is still a rookie and I see him having potential but right now without Brad hoover in the lineup he hasn't really been very impressive. When Tyrell Sutton looks better than him at times I get a little concerned.

5th round 163rd overall pick: Duke Robinson was someone I thought might take Keydrick's spot or at least compete. I haven't seen enough of him to make a decision but I think he might be our steal of the draft.

7th round 216th overall pick: Except for Sherrod Martin, Captain Munnerlyn I think is probably our best pick of the draft. It is sad to think that our last pick of the draft might be our best one.

Overall a very poor draft in my opinion. Now we might see a Thomas Davis that looks out of place and a bad draft pick at the start of their career and be able to turn things around and make a name for themselves. But to me in the Marty Hurney era this draft looks like one of the worst drafts we have ever had.

What say you?

Regarding Brown, very few defensive ends make an impact in their first year. Michael Strahan had one sack his first year. Bruce Smith had just a few. Recently, Mario Williams only had four his first year, but made a significant leap in his second year. The only DE that I can think of that made a real impact his first season was Julius Peppers, and he was an every down player. IMO, we will not know if the Brown pick was worth it until his third season.

[Punisher]

Brown is the shiznit. When he becomes a Pro-Bowl player everyone will act like they knew all along.