Tony Pauline: Panthers like CB Will Johnson

[flagfootballcoach28]

23 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

They stayed with TD, and that paid off.

I think people are wondering if the rumored interest is indicative of their thinking. You have to know they are working the cap all day--and looking at Horn's deal.  In the past, we dealt players with injury concerns--Horn has missed a season and a half.  We are about to invest a lot of money in him if we keep him.  Horn's CarFax report has 3 accidents on it.  You buyin'?  Just reading tea leaves.  I think I would keep him with the new training and conditioning staff-but I hear you.

 

Yes, I would keep him 100%. One silver lining of his injuries is that it might lower his price a tad. Yes, signing him has some risk, but you have to start taking some risks at some point. It would make me sick seeing Horn become an All Pro CB for another franchise knowing we could’ve kept him. 

Edited 22 hours ago by flagfootballcoach28

[shaq]

8 hours ago, Jackie Lee said:

After watching last night how could you do anything but take the best pass rusher possible? If one isn't there trade back and grab two and maybe one will be legit lol. It's a huge problem. I miss Monsters Inc

Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell(RD1 and Cooper Dejean(RD2) last year, went from the 30th ranked defense last season to the best in the league. Obviously, adding Fangio has a lot to do with that but their defense is so elite because of both their monster Dline and secondary. It’s a synergistic relationship, more QB pressure = more interceptions and breakups. And better coverage = more time for the DLINE to get home.

[Panthero]

5 hours ago, AU-panther said:

Teams don’t think in terms of positional rankings, they think in terms of grades.

CB2 could have a higher grade than Edge2 or even WR1. 
 

Think in terms of tiers.  Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of teams end up with  1-2 players in their top tier, and 3-4 in the next.  If any of those fall to 8 they have to be considered. 

Yes, but positional value matters when you include FA and the draft. If I need to bring in a free agent do I want to pay a high end edge or safety? Obviously an impact safety is much cheaper. Buidling your OT, DE, CB, WR, and QB through the draft makes the most sense. Fill in the rest with FA - safety, te, lb, rb, oc, etc. 

So unless a safety is rated far higher, you always default to the premium positions as your high level draft picks. 

Edited 17 hours ago by Panthero

[CPF4LIFE]

12 hours ago, SCO96 said:

Take a look at the below Eagle draft classes since 2020. Compare those classes to ours. This is the reason why they're at the top of the NFL and were floundering at the bottom of it. They are killing it in the first 3 rounds of the draft. The same cannot be said for our woeful Panthers.

Jalen carter in the first and Smith in the second. Thats the kinda draft I want us to have. 

[CPF4LIFE]

I dont think jackson makes it to our pick in the second. But i would love for it to play out like this. 

[d-dave]

I have no problems with the Panthers adding to their defense, period.  It was historically bad.  They couldn't stop a wet fart...

That being said, Will Johnson has some injury concerns (which are always overblown in the lead up to the draft).  Medicals at the combine are going to be important for all prospects with any hint of an injury.

A pass rush's best friend is great backend coverage.  Coverage's best friend is a good pass rush.  They can absolutely work together to change the tone and performance of a defense.  If Morgan thinks Will Johnson is  the dawg we need to rebuild our defense, great!

For signing Horn, yes.  I'm all about it.  He's had some bad injury luck, no denying that there.  We've also had the worst run of injuries it seems over the past several years, which is why its important we're bringing in new staff to help there.  IF we can get another 15-17 games from Horn with Johnson, it could really be great!

I love draft season   Hopefully this one helps us steer towards the post season so we can delay our draft talk!

[MHS831]

2 hours ago, d-dave said:

I love draft season   Hopefully this one helps us steer towards the post season so we can delay our draft talk!

When your team sucks, draft season is "da bomb" to use a phrase those youngster are using nowadays (I know, Gen Zers, it was a joke).  But it is a lot of fun piecing it together and seeing what others (close to the team) are thinking.  Here you go:

[MHS831]

[AU-panther]

13 hours ago, Panthero said:

Yes, but positional value matters when you include FA and the draft. If I need to bring in a free agent do I want to pay a high end edge or safety? Obviously an impact safety is much cheaper. Buidling your OT, DE, CB, WR, and QB through the draft makes the most sense. Fill in the rest with FA - safety, te, lb, rb, oc, etc. 

So unless a safety is rated far higher, you always default to the premium positions as your high level draft picks. 

I never said anything about need or positional value, I was pointing out that comparing players based on their positional rank is pointless and that isn’t how teams look at it, they look at grade. 

[WhoKnows]

23 hours ago, SCO96 said:

Take a look at the below Eagle draft classes since 2020. Compare those classes to ours. This is the reason why they're at the top of the NFL and were floundering at the bottom of it. They are killing it in the first 3 rounds of the draft. The same cannot be said for our woeful Panthers.

I don’t mean this to disparage you, but duh. It’s why some of us still don’t get why we think Morgan had a solid draft this year. I don’t think the huddle gets what a strong draft is. We haven’t had many in our history but drafts like 2017 that net an MVP level RB, a very solid long career RT and a top K plus role player like Samuel or getting top DTs and top Gs plus a couple more average starters in back to back drafts solidifies a team that goes to 4 out of 5 playoffs. The 2018 to 2024 drafts got a handful of decent players but is basically a net negative talent building.

Pick 8 better be a pro bowl level players or we’ll stay where we are. We also need some other picks to hit as well.

[Panthero]

1 hour ago, AU-panther said:

I never said anything about need or positional value, I was pointing out that comparing players based on their positional rank is pointless and that isn’t how teams look at it, they look at grade. 

I know what you said, scrow and I elaborated. Those grades if close default to positional need and value. Get some. 

[WhoKnows]

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

We almost beat both #1 seeds in Rhule’s first year. If we finished 5-1 with the 1 loss being a road playoff game like we did in 2014, I’d be feeling great. We finished 2-5 and got crushed in 2 of our last 4 games. 2024 was a vast improvement but we need a great draft so we get out of the good loss business.

[TheSpecialJuan]

Lance Zierlein's combine prospect analysis is now up on NFL.com. He compares Will Johnson to Jaycee Horn 

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/will-johnson/32004a4f-4875-1013-48cf-31d3acf04800

Edited 3 hours ago by TheSpecialJuan

[Donald LaFell]

If he’s the best pick then so be it. I’d be happy with it. 
 

d line is obviously a bigger need and more impactful but you gotta get the right players