Dan Connor?

[gorillamilitia13]

This guy needs an opportunity to play next season and I believe he is going to be a star, he was a huge steal. But with Beason how are we gonna do it? 3-4?

[methodtoll]

We are not switching to a 3-4, we don't have the personal nor players to run it. Period.

Connor will be a career back-up at most unless he can prove that he can play OLB.

[bLACKpANTHER]

some might think he could fill in for Diggs when he tires, but i doubt Conner has the speed to cover the TEs of the league, or seal the edge for speed RBs..

he is suited for the middle, so yea.. a 3-4 is the only possible situation i see him playing in, cus Beason is our ROCK..

[southcakalac]

I think Connor has a chance to take Digg's spot this coming year. He is more than likely just as fast as Diggs or faster. You don't just draft a linebacker like Dan to make him a backup.

[Fox007]

He will be a very good insurance policy for Beason.

If Beason gets injured, or misses time, Connor has the potential to make that drop off not too deep.

[Brooklyn Bully]

He won't take Diggs spot as a "rookie". He needs time under his belt since all he's really had is preseason work. Not everyone can make an impact Day One like Beason.

[SorthNarolina]

We originally drafted him just because of his value, he was too good to pass up in the 3rd round even though we didn't need him, so he's going to be a back up for some time now

I don't think he has the physical attributes to start in our system, guys like witherspoon, morgan, davis, fields, and beason are a lot faster and athletic

I see him being a special teams ace and possible role player, but hopefully he can contribute more than that

This continues our odd situatoin of having completley different personel when compared with our starters

[Ashor]

Think outside the box... given that everyone thinks Connor can play better than Diggs in the future, would anyone think outside the box and move Beason to OLB and put Connor at MLB?

[SCpanther]

Think outside the box... given that everyone thinks Connor can play better than Diggs in the future, would anyone think outside the box and move Beason to OLB and put Connor at MLB?

Beason is a Pro Bowl MLB, so why risk messing things up? In his rookie year they started him at OLB but then when Morgan got hurt he was much more effective on the inside.

[Ashor]

Beason is a Pro Bowl MLB, so why risk messing things up?

I'm absolutely confident that even if Beason did switch back, he wouldn't be any less phenomenal than he is right now.

[jramsey4]

This is exactly why I harped when we picked him. I have always believed in picking the BPA but even if he was the BPA it doesn't really matter when they never see the field. At the end of his contract do you think he will want to stick around here only to be a backup. I sure wouldn't.

[frash.exe]

I don't know really why they did draft him in the first place. He was an ILB prospect, with Beason there there's really no room for him, and I honestly don't know if he could play SLB.

I compare it to the whole situation where Dallas drafted Bobby Carpenter in 2006. They didn't really need him and worst of all, they drafted him with their first round pick. Now a prospective first round talent, that, if given opportunities early would've probably been a starter is a wasted talent.

[Darth Biscuit]

I see absolutely no problem with having a good backup for our star middle linebacker... we were lucky with injuries this year and didn't have to utilize as many backups as a lot of teams. We won't always be the frortunate. I think Connor was a good pick and will prove his worth in the coming seasons.

[monstercat]

Yeah, it seems that people have forgotten how many times the Panthers had to play a back up at MLB over the last 5-6 years. Having good depth is never a bad thing, and I'm not so sure Conner can't play on the outside anyway.