"What are we doing in the draft" 2022 edition.

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, Shocker said:

I want us to draft Evan Neal so badly that I don’t even care about QB.  He is the franchise changer we need.  

Like a Joe Thomas type of franchise changer?

[Shocker]

4 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Like a Joe Thomas type of franchise changer?

Haha…funny stuff.  If we get Evan Neal this draft is all good for me

I know you like the trade down scenario which would work but if Evan Neal is sitting there and we take Pickett…man o man.  

Edited April 23, 2022 by Shocker

[Bronn]

On 4/18/2022 at 3:58 PM, Bronn said:

From what I’ve gathered so far, from people I trust to know, is:

We have two tackles we would take at 6 if they are there, but will hear any and all offers to move down a bit. We like a lot of mid round OL guys too.

We don’t want to take a QB at 6.

We already have two potential trade partners for #6 depending on how the first five picks play out.

There are a couple players we could trade to acquire during the draft, none of which are QBs, and there are still players of our own that we’d move.

One real goal is to recoup at least one pick in the second and third rounds, and possibly multiple in each. We see a lot of role players in the 40-80 range.

I’m still hearing a lot of this still holds up. And it is slowly leaking. I’ll drop more as I hear it.

[WOW!!]

Again Great write up Nat .. I agree completely and see it the same way as you do right now...

[Bronn]

FWIW the feeling I’m getting is that there might be a team actually sniffing trading for Darnold, depending on how the rookie QBs fall.

I think the Panthers are looking at one QB prospect in particular, but they will have to move around some to get him at a good spot. There is a possibility that, if they get that one, it could lead to two trades. One for a player already on the Panthers and one not.

ETA all the Baker/Jimmy G trade rumors are smoke. We don’t plan on trading for either, but might try to sign one if cut.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Bronn

[jfo89]

On 4/18/2022 at 10:49 AM, jfo89 said:

@Verge a couple questions

1. Which QB is Pittsburg targeting? If it’s Willis, and the scouting community is pretty sure that the Panthers will not be taking him, then why jump them? Or maybe their target is Pickett?

[Verge]

This thread aged pretty okay compared to my mock

[WarPanthers89]

Bump @Verge for a killer prediction 

[Mr. Scot]

Nice work, Verge.

[thefuzz]

14 hours ago, Verge said:

This thread aged pretty okay compared to my mock

Was coming back to congratulate you.

Great job.

[Black&BlueBubba]

On 4/18/2022 at 12:08 PM, Verge said:

Hi again! Time for another one of these. This is the only type of statement I will make on the draft and I'll answer questions in here so I don't get accused of "throwing junk at the wall" again . So what are we doing in the draft? What is the plan going in? This year seems a little more obvious than last year but we can still walk through it based on information I have gotten over the last few months, and I think I have been fairly consistent with that and not much has changed. 

 

Option 1 (Ideal): 

Ideally, one of these two tackles will land at 6 and Carolina will happily run the card up and be set at left tackle for the next decade. They want to fix that position and these are the top rated guys on their board. They would not entertain trade talks if these two were there. 

 

Option 2: 

Charles Cross is their third graded tackle, they will be happy to have them and would still select him at 6. However, I think they would be more open to trade talks if it was just Cross on the board. Likely would be the pick if he was there, but wiggle room if a desperate team wants the slot for whatever reason (I'll explain the more later) 

Option 3: 


Here is where things get a little unpredictable. Obviously if they do manage a trade down with two or three of the tackles being off the board it would be a little hard to predict the target because we would have to know how far down they go. However, a few targets I know they have their eyes on with first round grades are: 
Matt Corral 
Kenny Pickett 
Trevor Penning 
Cole Strange 

Ultimately I think they would go QB with this pick, and I think they would hope Corral was the guy that made it to them, as he fits what McAdoo's offense best and has a certain grit about him that fits whatever culture they are tying to conjure up. 

 

 

"But Verge! What about Malik Willis?"
Our scouts definitely like him, I just think there is a certain feeling in the building that they are not the right team to develop him, nor can they afford to sit and wait for him to get where he needs to be. Rhule's job is on the line. 

"But Verge! Who will be our QB if we take a tackle?"
I have maintained after the Watson failure that Jimmy G is our preferred option. It comes down to him and Baker Mayfield, whichever teams bends first on taking on part of their contract or outright cutting them. We will not be giving a draft haul for either one, and we will not be starting Sam Darnold in 2022. 


One of the more complicated things about a trade down that people have been talking about wanting to do, is that the Panthers have put themselves in a precarious position by selling themselves as buyers of this QB class as well as not hiding their intent on liking the tackles. Teams want to move AHEAD of the Panthers to nab a tackle/quarterback, and the Giants are willing movers out of that 5th spot. Teams like New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and LA are looking to move ahead of us and nab one of those tackles or quarterbacks (I think, I don't officially know for NO) and put us in a position where a team trading up with us is not an attractive option. 


So there is what I know in regards to our draft. Feel free to fire down some questions at me and I will be more than happy to answer with whatever information I have.

 NostraVerges

[Mr. Scot]

14 hours ago, Verge said:

This thread aged pretty okay compared to my mock

Predictions in sports are notoriously hit or miss. It's just the nature of the business.