CardiacCats Top 5 Players on the Panthers Draft Board - V. 1.0

[jramsey4]

Burfict>Brown

[jramsey4]

I like him a lot too, but I'm thinking we end up picking 8th-12th and he'd be a reach that high. He's more of a late 1st guy and there should be several solid options in the 2nd at OLB.

That said, if Kirkpatrick, Claiborn, Blackmon, & Jeffey are off the board, I think it comes down to Brown or Janoris Jenkins. I actually would take Jenkins in that scenario; I really believe he's worth the character risk. He's by far the best pure cover corner in this draft and all he got in trouble for was weed, which we know a good 2/3 of the NFL smokes anyway.

My early projection based on current rankings:

1st: Zach Brown, OLB, UNC or Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

2nd: Dwight Jones, WR, UNC or Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma

4th: Brandon Washington, OG, Miami

5th: Vince Browne, DE, Northwestern

6th: Philip Lutzenkirchen, TE, Auburn

7th: T.J. Barnes, NT, Georgia Tech (Jeff King comp. pick)

7th: Jonathan Bostic, ILB, Florida

I would love to get Jones or Sanu in the 2nd. Jones is a huge target with decent speed (needs work on his route running) and Sanu has great size and is an outstanding athlete. Thats one reason I don't want a WR in the 1st those 2 guys will most likely be available in the 2nd.

[prowler2k8]

1. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State: Far and away my top WR in this draft. Is WR our biggest need? Potentially, but the reason I have him at the top is simply because I feel when you put all our needs together and look at the top players we're likely to have a shot at, Blackmon is by FAR the BPA. He's actually my 3rd overall player behind Andrew Luck and Matt Kalil.

2. Alameda Ta'amu, NT, Washington: The fact is the DT position is fairly weak this year. Plus, what we really need is a dominant nose tackle, not another 305-310 pound guy like McClain/Fua. Ta'amu is a fuging monster; 6'3, 330 and an athletic freak. He's projected as a late 1st rounder for now, but I have a feeling he's going to shoot up draft boards by next April and could be right in line with our pick.

3. Zach Brown, OLB, UNC: Will be a need with Thomas Davis being hurt and likely released. My concern here is that he could be a bit of a reach at where I see us picking (8th or so, give or take) but I don't think he's the type of player who would be a bust by any means. Perhaps a slight reach, but not a player we're likely to regret picking. Ideally if Blackmon isn't there we'd trade down to 15th or so and get Brown anyway.

4. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama: Corner is obviously a huge need, but TBH I'm not sold on guys like Kirkpatrick and Gilmore. The one guy that stands out to me as a pure cover corner is Jenkins... now, obviously there are some character concerns here. He was dismissed from Florida and transfered to North Alabama, but it was for smoking weed and honestly, I couldn't care less so long as he can play football. It's not like he killed someone. We took a chance on Brandon Hogan and he had worse issues plus a torn ACL.

5. Cliff Harris, CB, Oregon: He's not the cover guy Jenkins is, but he's VERY athletic and a gifted return man. He's projected a late 1st/early 2nd prospect, but could be a riser come April. He rather reminds of a slightly smaller Chris Gamble at 5'11, but a similar athletic skillset.

:iagree:

Great point! Thompson's a good player but not a top 15 player IMO. We need a plugger on the DL and Rivera loves big guys @ the NT position. I think Ta'amu has the potential to dominate like Ngata with his size and athletic ability and would instantly improve our run and pass defense. Imagine a lineup with Hardy, Ta'amu, McClain and CJ with Fua/Kearse and Ron Howard in rotation. :eek: Grab a FA or lowe tier DE for depth and our DL is set.

However, if we do end up with a top ten pick, I can see us going with a top-flight WR like Jeffrey or Floyd (would be similar to Vincent Jackson).

[Ivan The Awesome]

Burfict>Brown

This might be true, but isn't one ILB and the other OLB? We need an OLB..

[jramsey4]

This might be true, but isn't one ILB and the other OLB? We need an OLB..

Beason played wlb last year. He would be a stud at SLB.

[HeatCheck]

Burfict is having an underwhelming year. Watched a bit of the Oregon-AZST late last night and he seemed to be a bit late on plays. I am sure the Oregon's fast pace offense had something to do with it.

Last year he was a beast.

[nonniey]

Have to go Corner or DL, WRs will be available in free agency.