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Round 3 - The Carolina Panthers Select DJ Johnson - EDGE - Oregon

rodeo

By rodeo,
in Carolina Panthers

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Stuart Smith Mentor

Stuart Smith

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11 hours ago, WUnderhill said:

I don’t know much about the player, but if you look at the trade itself it makes a lot of sense. First, LBs/Edge guys were coming off the board fast. Just a couple picks earlier, Zach Harrison, Marte Mapu, and Byron Young all came off the board in a row. Then a pick after we took Johnson, Diaby came off the board, and just a couple picks later Simpson and Henley came off.

It’s fallacious to assume that nobody else was targeting Johnson just because he wasn’t high on the media radar. Did anybody in the media have Marte Mapu going before Trenton Simpson? It’s interesting some people defending the Mingo pick and hating on the Johnson pick because the arguments against both are similar. When Mingo was picked, I was a bit disappointed because it seemed like a reach based on the media boards, so I get it, but ultimately I understand why they made that pick and this one. Both guys have skill sets and athletic profiles that are hard to find in the other players left on the board. If we’re looking for a big dude who can set the edge, contain the run, rush the passer as a 3-4 OLB, and also put his hands in the dirt when needed, there just wasn’t much to choose from in the entirety of the draft. Even if you look at Ojulari at the top of the second, you’re looking at a guy who has question marks around taking on blockers and stopping the run, though the pass rush skills are better. Even the age makes a little bit of sense, for instance I wanted Sanders for the same role, but he would have spent 2 years bulking up to be as big as Johnson is now, and Johnson has already shown he can carry the weight and retain his athleticism. 

In their presser, Fitt/Reich talked about the four different types of linebackers they need, and Johnson fills a gap there. It’s dangerous to assume that just because the media isn’t as high on a guy (which, btw, there were some who had him ranked close to where we took him), that he will be there at 93 or 114. If they felt the gap was significant between him and the next guy who fit that profile for them, then the smart move is to go get him. As the draft goes on, the differences in big boards increases, I’m just giving the new coaching staff the benefit of the doubt for now. I can’t call them an all star staff up until the draft and immediately turn on them.

Well said! Two months ago our coaching staff was awesome, now there are a lot of melt downs over a 4th round pick. We are not privy to every scrap of information about these players, there may be a lot we do not know. As far as going by the “experts” and pundits who write these articles and evaluate these players many know nothing about them, just repeating what others have said. Truth be known, every draft pick taken this weekend is a gamble. Mel Kiper? How did it go picking Levi’s in the top ten? I will trust this coaching staff until they fail to improve this franchise. Their job depends on it. 

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Jackie Lee Grand Master

Jackie Lee

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3 hours ago, Stuart Smith said:

Well said! Two months ago our coaching staff was awesome, now there are a lot of melt downs over a 4th round pick. We are not privy to every scrap of information about these players, there may be a lot we do not know. As far as going by the “experts” and pundits who write these articles and evaluate these players many know nothing about them, just repeating what others have said. Truth be known, every draft pick taken this weekend is a gamble. Mel Kiper? How did it go picking Levi’s in the top ten? I will trust this coaching staff until they fail to improve this franchise. Their job depends on it. 

It's a shame Mel Kiper has a career predicting young peoples futures. 

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Swaggasaurus Community Regular

Swaggasaurus

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Pick is still a head scratcher but every time I look at the picks it makes me feel better. Around pick 60 the suck really entered this draft.

Covid super seniors really changed the landscape of this draft. There are guys who are better than those who were drafted who haven’t started a game yet in CFB. It’s just weird.

 

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Wolfcop Grand Master

Wolfcop

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Ran across this in my Lindy’s Draft magazine: 

Sleeper

“While he is still light on technical polish, his outstanding athletic traits suggest he could outperform his draft slot.” 
 

They also rated him the 11th best OLB. 

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GRWatcher Mentor

GRWatcher

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On 4/28/2023 at 10:36 PM, Black&BlueBubba said:

I want to hear the presser on him.  Maybe that will give some clarity. 

The Panthers YouTube channel has everyone's meet-the-press zoom call except Johnson's. Yet Mike Kaye on Twitter referenced it so we know it happened. Does anyone have a link to anywhere it might be?

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