Long & Rangy- The Panthers Prototype?

[Bear Hands]

I think we have a type

One of the biggest observations I've taken away from pressers since the new regime took over (plus Fitt gaining a bit more pull), is the emphasis they keep pressing on athletic guys with length & rangy-ness.  And in the last presser, they kept mentioning this in regards to defenders, specifically, linebackers (whether it's ILBs or EDGE/OLB is to be seen)

As a precursor, there are plentiful outliers, this is not some end all/be all, but it seems like these are the priority physical traits that we are targeting from everything I can tell whether it be at EDGE, ILB, or even larger DB that play nickel.

So, let's check out who is in the higher percentile length+athleticism wise in the draft.    

My gut tells me one of our picks (or more) is in this lot...why? Well after making the list, I realized that we've met with almost ALL of these guys.  Didn't do that intentionally.

Now, if someone unexpected falls at 39, then maybe the choice isn't at that spot, but one of these later names could VERY WELL end up a Carolina Panther.

All of these peeps are 33" plus arms (sans 1 hyper-athletic guy), +/= 6'1.  Identifying a mix of proven production & athleticism score:

 

Round 1

Joey Porter Jr.  (known visit) 

Obvious, high-end prospect, great length, instant outside starting corner.

6'2 1/2, 193, 34" arms, 10" hands

4.46 40, 35" vert, 10'-9" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/joey-porter-jr./3200504f-5277-3442-9f31-894fa5a2ca5d

 

 

Potential R2/#39 Range:

Will McDonald IV OLB/EDGE (potential visit request/had to turn down 6+ due to availability/too many visits)

6'4 239, 35" arms (34 7/8), 9 1/2" hands

36" vert, 11'-0" broad (top)

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/will-mcdonald-iv/32004d43-4459-9665-e69d-a74762fc7e67

 

BJ Ojulari OLB/EDGE (known visit)

6'2 248, 34 1/4" arms, 10 1/4" hands

32.5" vert, 10'-6" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/bj-ojulari/32004f4a-5542-6541-4cd9-8e817d1b5514

 

Adetomiwa Adebawore Northwestern EDGE/DE/DT (Panthers defensive coaches were at the NW pro-day)

6'2 282, 34" arms (33 7/8), 10 1/2" hands

4.49 40, 37.5 vert, 10'-6" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/adetomiwa-adebawore/32004144-4502-1468-3d33-a0f9da804e5c

 

Julius (JuJu) Brents Kansas State DB (known visit)

6'3 198, 34" arm, 9 5/8" hands (for a DB that's high end rangy)

4.53 40, 41.5" vert (top DB), 11'-6" broad (top DB)

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/julius-brents/32004252-4551-0110-2798-7a9b05aa2760

 

 

Fringe 2nd/3rd:

Derrick Hall Auburn OLB/EDGE (known visit)

6'3 254, 34 1/2" arms, 10" hands

4.55 40, 33.5 vert, 10'-7" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/derick-hall/32004841-4c27-4589-50da-dbb78b921d81

 

Daiyan Henley Wash State LB (known visit)

6'1 225, 33" arms, 9 1/2" hands

4.54 40, 35" vert, 10'-5" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/daiyan-henley/32004845-4e46-6212-4f0a-603906125b28

 

Dorian Williams Tulane LB (D Captain) (known visit)

6'1 230, 33 3/4" arms, 10 1/4" hands

4.49 40, 33.5" vert, 10'-0" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/dorian-williams/32005749-4c24-3940-708f-17c023a4d993

Notable: 17 tackles in the bowl game win vs. Caleb/USC 

 

Darius Rush CB South Carolina (known visit)

6'2 198, 33 3/8" arms, 9 1/2" hands

4.36 40, 35" vert, 10'-1" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/darius-rush/32005255-5305-7910-a1a9-d9de1ee2cde8

*Would be able to pair him with a pal of his in Horn.

 

 

Fringe 3rd/4th Round

Byron Young EDGE Tennessee (known visit)

6'2 250, 32 1/2" arms, 9 1/4" hands

4.43 40, 38" vert (top), 11'-0" broad (top)

*3rd ranked EDGE in athletic score

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/byron-young/3200594f-5512-7040-ee4b-f8bc5d0b4a6e

 

YaYa Diaby Louisville OLB/EDGE/DE

6'3 263, 34" arms (33 7/8), 10 3/8" hands

(2nd highest athleticism score for EDGE)--Is he being super slept on? 14 TFL, 9 sacks in 2022

4.51 40, 37" vert, 10'-0" broad

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/yaya-diaby/32004449-4105-1911-562c-7d76f4e49b99

 

 

Late Round Sleepers:

Ochaun Mathis Nebraska EDGE

6'5 250, 35 1/4" arms, 10 3/4" hands

4.74 40, 33.5" vert, 9'-10" broad (low)

Transfer, not a ton a experience, but that size is tantalizing for a end of draft pick

 

Shaka Heyward Duke

6'3 235, 34" arms, 9 1/2" hands

4.53 40, 31" vert (low), 9'-8" broad

He's not a finished product but could find his way on in a special teams role with starter potential further down the line/some years.  

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/shaka-heyward/32004845-5927-7986-59f2-11ab553226ec

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Bear Hands

[Mr. Scot]

Kinda makes sense because I believe that was the Seahawks prototype as well

[WUnderhill]

I recently watched ThatFranchiseGuy’s t10 LB breakdown video on YouTube and I’d highly recommend it. I thought I liked Daiyan Henley for us before, but I’m not so sure after watching that video. I still like Drew Sanders and Trenton Simpson for us as potential 3-4 OLBs, but not sure if either will be available for our 2nd rd pick. I like Dorian Williams possibly at our 3rd rd pick, and Ivan Pace maybe in the 5th. I don’t think we have 6th and 7th rd picks right?

[Bear Hands]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Kinda makes sense because I believe that was the Seahawks prototype as well

Yep.  I do see some parallels Morgan & Fitt could be identifying.

Not straight equal comps but....Irvin:Ojulari, Sherman:Porter, Chancellor:Brents

 

[Bear Hands]

5 minutes ago, WUnderhill said:

I recently watched ThatFranchiseGuy’s t10 LB breakdown video on YouTube and I’d highly recommend it. I thought I liked Daiyan Henley for us before, but I’m not so sure after watching that video. I still like Drew Sanders and Trenton Simpson for us as potential 3-4 OLBs, but not sure if either will be available for our 2nd rd pick. I like Dorian Williams possibly at our 3rd rd pick, and Ivan Pace maybe in the 5th. I don’t think we have 6th and 7th rd picks right?

Saw that vid.  I still like Henley, he had him as his #3 over Simpson.  Like the general feel and how Wash State wasn't afraid to play him up standing at the line.  His overall size is on the smaller end, but the proportions put him on the lengthy side with some really great quickness/wrap up ability.  

Henley as an ILB in a 3-4 isn't optimal/the perfect fit, but could work like some other undersized ILBs did in the past for Fangio.  Funny enough, my prediction for him is to Miami at 55, straight to Fangio himself.  

Edited April 20, 2023 by Bear Hands

[WUnderhill]

24 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

Saw that vid.  I still like Henley, he had him as his #3 over Simpson.  Like the general feel and how Wash State wasn't afraid to play him up standing at the line.  His overall size is on the smaller end, but the proportions put him on the lengthy side with some really great quickness/wrap up ability.  

Henley as an ILB in a 3-4 isn't optimal/the perfect fit, but could work like some other undersized ILBs did in the past for Fangio.  Funny enough, my prediction for him is to Miami at 55, straight to Fangio himself.  

Oh yeah, he likes him as an overall prospect, I just wasn’t sure where he fit into our current needs at the position.

[Jackie Lee]

We're probably taking Bryce Young. Their type isn't long and rangy

[Untouchable]

I looked through RAS scores and picked out the names that scored top 100 all time at their position and had length (min 32" for WR, TE, CB, S, LB and min 34" EDGE, DT, OT, G, C and no min length for RB).  There's a good portion of these names I haven't even looked at but some could be underrated right now and some could be picked up as developmental prospects as the draft rolls on or as UDFAs

RB - Bijon Robinson, Chase Brown, Isreal Abanikanda, Deneric Prince, Darius Hagans, Xazavian Valladay

WR - Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Andrei Iosivas, Jonathan Mingo, Matt Landers, Colton Dowell

TE - Zack Kuntz, Darnell Washington, Luke Schoonmaker, Luke Musgraves, Tucker Kraft, Major Roman, John Stephens Jr.

OT - Broderick Jones, Earl Bostick Jr., Ryan Swoboda

LB - Trenton Simpson, Nick Hampton, Yasir Abdullah

CB - Julius Brents, Christian Gonzalez, Tre Hawkins III, Darius Rush, Kaleb Hayes, Joey Porter Jr., Cory Trice Jr.

S - Gervarrius Owen, RJ Hubert

EDGE/OLB - Will McDonald IV, Isaiah Foskey, Derrick Hall

DT/DE - Keion White

 

[MasterAwesome]

Is this really any different than our approach the last few years under Rhule?  He constantly went after extremely athletic high RAS players, and we know how he felt about short arms...

[ForJimmy]

8 minutes ago, MasterAwesome said:

Is this really any different than our approach the last few years under Rhule?  He constantly went after extremely athletic high RAS players, and we know how he felt about short arms...

But now we have a staff capable of developing them.

[Bear Hands]

16 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

I looked through RAS scores and picked out the names that scored top 100 all time at their position and had length (min 32" for WR, TE, CB, S, LB and min 34" EDGE, DT, OT, G, C and no min length for RB).  There's a good portion of these names I haven't even looked at but some could be underrated right now and some could be picked up as developmental prospects as the draft rolls on or as UDFAs

RB - Bijon Robinson, Chase Brown, Isreal Abanikanda, Deneric Prince, Darius Hagans, Xazavian Valladay

WR - Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Andrei Iosivas, Jonathan Mingo, Matt Landers, Colton Dowell

TE - Zack Kuntz, Darnell Washington, Luke Schoonmaker, Luke Musgraves, Tucker Kraft, Major Roman, John Stephens Jr.

OT - Broderick Jones, Earl Bostick Jr., Ryan Swoboda

LB - Trenton Simpson, Nick Hampton, Yasir Abdullah

CB - Julius Brents, Christian Gonzalez, Tre Hawkins III, Darius Rush, Kaleb Hayes, Joey Porter Jr., Cory Trice Jr.

S - Gervarrius Owen, RJ Hubert

EDGE/OLB - Will McDonald IV, Isaiah Foskey, Derrick Hall

DT/DE - Keion White

 

Thx. Foskey & White were two that I looked past on this.  Thanks for the post with the full breadth of positions. 

[Bear Hands]

21 minutes ago, MasterAwesome said:

Is this really any different than our approach the last few years under Rhule?  He constantly went after extremely athletic high RAS players, and we know how he felt about short arms...

The short arms thing is more than Rhule.  That's a league wide baseline a lot of scouts have in respect to guys on the perimeter line.  But definitely echo Jimmy re:this being a much better staff.  

Given Brown & Evero's nuance when they speak to talent & scheme, I'm sure they are balancing pure skill/player with these type of traits.  I can see it as a priority in identifying guys that match their physical prototype but it's no doubt part of a bigger equation.  

edit--Also: The emphasis on physical traits seems to be more in the LB & DB department from what I'm seeing.  Like Mr. Scot mentioned, it could due to the Seattle influence from Fitt and Morgan.  Align that with the Fangio inspired Evero, there could really be an interesting fusion going on here on defense.  I think it's really exciting.  

Edited April 20, 2023 by Bear Hands

[Wundrbread33]

This makes me think of the ridiculous raw athleticism that Brandon Smith has. I’m excited for this staff to work with him.

[MasterAwesome]

31 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

The short arms thing is more than Rhule.  That's a league wide baseline a lot of scouts have in respect to guys on the perimeter line.  But definitely echo Jimmy re:this being a much better staff.  

Given Brown & Evero's nuance when they speak to talent & scheme, I'm sure they are balancing pure skill/player with these type of traits.  I can see it as a priority in identifying guys that match their physical prototype but it's no doubt part of a bigger equation.  

edit--Also: The emphasis on physical traits seems to be more in the LB & DB department from what I'm seeing.  Like Mr. Scot mentioned, it could due to the Seattle influence from Fitt and Morgan.  Align that with the Fangio inspired Evero, there could really be an interesting fusion going on here on defense.  I think it's really exciting.  

Yeah that makes sense.  To your point about a league-wide baseline: I wonder how much disparity there truly is at the end of the day between the 32 teams when it comes to their ideal prototype at positions like LB & DB.  Because I always find myself nodding along when our FO is speaking about what traits they look for in a player (length & athleticism in this case for LBs, edge rushers, DBs) - it resonates with us because it makes a lot of sense, right?  Well, making a lot of sense is what also makes me think every other team in the league is basically going to be prioritizing the exact same attributes lol.  Just like long arms is a league wide baseline for OTs, I imagine long arms and athleticism are very much sought-after for DBs and pass rushers as well.  You can say maybe some FOs will value intelligence over athleticism, but I remember an earlier presser this offseason where we were all excited about our FO saying they were looking for "smart" players.  So if you extract everything our coaching staff has said that they value, then it appears we're essentially looking for uber athletic, very smart, skilled players  sounds good, sign me up!

Appreciate all the work you put in on this content.  Helps me learn about new prospects, as someone who doesn't watch college football.