Can the Panthers afford to go Offense with their 1st pick in the Draft?

[Pantherman]

If we did go offense for the first round pick. I would say go for a top WR more then anything. Because we really need to start looking for another top WR to help out Smith and someday take over for him in the near future. Oline is fine right now.

[Soul Rebel]

I think the better title for the thread (rather than start another repeat thread) is "Can we afford to miss on a franchise changing player with our 1st round pick". We could use an upgrade all over the team, so as long as we pick the BPA that isn't a QB, RB, TE or C, than we are straight. DT is our biggest glaring need, but nobody in college football fits the value of a top-3 pick. Right now, Kalil or Blackmon present the best overall pick for where we are picking. They both fit a need, and have franchise changing skills. The worst thing we could do is reach for a player due to need. Our best play honestly is that Barkley or RGIII entrench themselves as the #2 or #3 QB in this draft and someone gives up the farm to move up and select them.

[Snake]

RJ Stanford played like crap against the Lions. Our LB corps, even Anderson, was getting burned all game long. Our DLine did almost nothing, gave Stafford plenty of time to find open targets.

Teams run the ball on our defense like it is swiss cheese. All together, our defense is just so, so horrible. Rivera was *supposed* to be a guy who can create a solid defense, even with sub par personnel. So far, either our guys really suck, or hes not doing his job.

As for the draft, draft a fugging DT, LB, and Corner. Hell, even Martin sucked. Go for a safety too. I just tired of seeing the opposing team walk down the field. So frustrating.

TBH this is two coaches now that cant make our defense not suck. The first thing Rivera did was sign a massive DT and depth to the LB core because he knew that both were very important in this system. Sadly injuries took there toll on both units and we have been stuck with Rookies and street walkers almost all season.

[Snake]

not that i have seen anywhere i read.

zack brown from unc is ok i guess.

a #2 pick needs to be a game changer imo

I have reservations on picking Kalil so high but can anyone tell me another guy who could come right in and have an immediate impact like he could?

DT,CB,LB,DE,or S I just dont see any one...

WR,TE,or OG I dont see anyone...

So its trade down(and for what?) or pick Kalil.

I think we just picked a bad time to suck balls on defense.

[tiger7_88]

Claiborne is right behind Kalil as a prospect actually.

Its like people on this board don't want Claiborne to exist. By year two hes likely to be our best defensive player if we draft him.

Claiborne *might* be as good as PP7 was last year.

And PP7 is struggling mightily in the NFL in pass coverage.

Taking a cornerback not named Deion Sanders Top 5 is the absolute biggest waste of a pick possible.

The NFL is won and lost on the OL and DL, not at WR and CB. If a franchise DT is not available, take the damn OT if he is available. Besides, our defense doesn't suck because we have awful corners, our defense sucks because we have awful DT and all but one of our NFL-capable linebackers are sitting on the bench or standing on the sideline in street clothes. Oh, and add horrible safety play on top of that.

[rayzor]

all otah's going to do if he comes back is hurt his knee again

same with davis

they're both done and we're better off cutting our losses at this point.

i mostly agree, though TD will probably restructure and i wouldn't mind having him as at least backup and i think his presence great for the team. otah would be cheap as a backup, which is about all he can handle, imo. use OTAs and TC as an eval time and cut him if he doesn't "feel good". we should act as if neither are options for next year, though.

Kalil is, barely, the top tackle prospect in this year's class. You seem to have this misconception that he is a once a decade can't miss prospect. Truth is, if given the choice of him or other tackles taken in the top five over the last ten years, Kalil would be near the bottom. I understand you are enamored with him because of his last name, which is fine, but when it comes down to it, he's a good prospect-nothing more. If you think the OL was at fault for today's performance, then I'm disappointed in you. I expect better from you. I don't know how much time you expect them to give our QB, but he certainly had enough most of the time today.

not sure you know what you're talking about here. i don't think he's a once in a decade talent, but the guy is far from being as bad as you say.

oh...OL wasn't THE thing that caused the loss, but they didn't help that much. they were getting blown up and pushed around all day. 2 of newton's INTs were a direct result of that.

obviously trade down to select the insanely underrated *insert UNC player* who will be the biggest steal of the draft

I mean I know there are no DT's worthy of a top 10 pick so trading down may be smart if they really want to fill that big need, but I hate the idea of passing on a guy like kalil for an inferior talent because it fills a bigger need

agreed.

TBH this is two coaches now that cant make our defense not suck. The first thing Rivera did was sign a massive DT and depth to the LB core because he knew that both were very important in this system. Sadly injuries took there toll on both units and we have been stuck with Rookies and street walkers almost all season.

couldn't be more right in this.

great post.

[Lout]

Our offense will only get better with Cam at the helm.. as Cam progresses, the offense will progress.. If Pickles can make Gettis look good, Cam is going to make him look twice as good. I have full confidence in Gettis to come back and he our #2. Therefore, I do not consider WR an likely option in this draft.

We all know that when Otah is healthy, he is a monster. Fact of the matter, is he is as durable as glass.. and can not be depended on. It sounds like he never fully healed from his knee injury from last season, so I think the guy should be ready to go next season with 2 seasons of rehab. If coach Rivera and Hurney believe this to be the case, I do not expect us to draft OT Kalil either. Yes, Gross is getting up there, but I think the LT position can hold off for another year or two.

Our defense is the worst I have seen for this team in a long long time.. Rivera is a defensive guru.. he just needs a little bit of time to get the right pieces and guys need to buy in to this system. We have all seen what he did in Chicago, and in San Diego.

That being said, we need to go defense early and often in this draft.

If we can trade down to gather and extra 2nd rounder, and maybe a 1st or 2nd from next years draft, that would help tremendously. Our top needs can all be had later in the 1st round.

CB - Claiborne is being compared to Charles Woodson on many scouting sites.. and his stock is rising fast. He has no comparability to Peterson of last season besides both going to LSU. Munny is better at nickel and he should stay there. Ideally, I would trade down with the Skins, whom love Barkley.. draft Claiborne and then take the best Nose Tackle and OLB available with the first 10 picks of the 2nd round.

[Mr. Scot]

My philosophy tends to be BPA at a need position unless there's a guy you just absolutely can't pass up.

As to the topic, depends on what we do in free agency. We will have an actual full offseason next year as opposed to this year's fire sale.

[Snake]

Our offense will only get better with Cam at the helm.. as Cam progresses, the offense will progress.. If Pickles can make Gettis look good, Cam is going to make him look twice as good. I have full confidence in Gettis to come back and he our #2. Therefore, I do not consider WR an likely option in this draft.

We all know that when Otah is healthy, he is a monster. Fact of the matter, is he is as durable as glass.. and can not be depended on. It sounds like he never fully healed from his knee injury from last season, so I think the guy should be ready to go next season with 2 seasons of rehab. If coach Rivera and Hurney believe this to be the case, I do not expect us to draft OT Kalil either. Yes, Gross is getting up there, but I think the LT position can hold off for another year or two.

Our defense is the worst I have seen for this team in a long long time.. Rivera is a defensive guru.. he just needs a little bit of time to get the right pieces and guys need to buy in to this system. We have all seen what he did in Chicago, and in San Diego.

That being said, we need to go defense early and often in this draft.

If we can trade down to gather and extra 2nd rounder, and maybe a 1st or 2nd from next years draft, that would help tremendously. Our top needs can all be had later in the 1st round.

CB - Claiborne is being compared to Charles Woodson on many scouting sites.. and his stock is rising fast. He has no comparability to Peterson of last season besides both going to LSU. Munny is better at nickel and he should stay there. Ideally, I would trade down with the Skins, whom love Barkley.. draft Claiborne and then take the best Nose Tackle and OLB available with the first 10 picks of the 2nd round.

I guess CB really just depends on how the staff feels about Hogan and his recovery. They want wast there 1st pick on CB if they feel they have a starter in Hogan.

There is not a Patrick Willis or a Suh in this draft and that saddens me.

[Seltzer]

There is not a Patrick Willis or a Suh in this draft and that saddens me.

This. I have no idea at this point who would be a slam dunk pick for the Panthers since we are not looking for QB (Luck/Barkeley).

I am hoping the Panthers will be able to trade down with a QB needy team and pick up draft picks.

Injuries have exposed how thin this roster is, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Regardless of what anyone would lead you to believe, the difference between winning and losing is razor thin in the NFL.

The Panthers have some quality starters at a lot of positions, but then there was a HUGE drop-offs to the back-ups. A lot of this falls on drafting well, but Hurney is getting somewhat of a pass this year from me for drafting Cam when all the "experts" wanted him to fail so bad.

A lot of our back-ups (Connor, Senn, Pugh, Norwood, Williams bros, etc.) that have been pressed into duty would be special teamers at best on the best teams. And I can't pick out one out of that group that is great enough on ST to justify a roster spot strictly for ST's.

I don't think the Panthers can go offense with our first pick unless there is a stud Offensive linemen. Don't know enough about Matt Kalil to make that statement.

Biggest need in this draft is to boster defensive side of the ball

[tiger7_88]

LSU corner hype is going on at basically every draft article and website on the interweb

LSU has two starting cornerbacks in the NFL.

Two. (Patrick Peterson/ARI and Corey Webster/NYG).

Bama has one starting cornerback in the NFL.

One. (Kareem Jackson/HOU).

Compare that to the fact that South Carolina has FIVE starting cornerbacks in the NFL.

Other teams: Ohio State has 3, Georgia has 3, Auburn has 2... hell, even freakin' Louisiana-Lafayette has 2.

I really can't quite understand this new "legend" about LSU and Bama cornerbacks and where it is coming from.

[pantherj]

I'm expecting something like this:

Panthers select - MATT KALIL, OT, USC

Or

Panthers trade down and focus on defense.

[theyhateme45]

Guy’s the answer is very simple!!!

Best Player Available!!

It’s that simple…. Really if we end up drafting that high we need to take the BPA available outside of RB, TE, QB, K, and P. You don’t need to reach for needs at the top of the 1st round. We have rounds of picks and Free agency to work on our picks. With a top pick of the draft you need to make it count a draft the best playmaker/Stud on the board. Period. You want to draft a pro bowl type player there.

No matter what the position, if that player is a stud he will help this team. We have had games where we scored little points, games where we gave up a lot of points… point is this team needs a lot of help and with our first pick I would like to take the best damn football player there is.

If it’s a O-lineman, he will help give Cam a little more time, maybe just enough to completed a pass he would not of had time to before, or open a bigger whole for the RB. If it’s a WR, then he will help stretch and control the defense. If you have a stud opposite side Smith who can make defenses pay for bringing pressure or double covering one side that will make our offense run that much better, and cams job that much easier… then we can dictate the defense and not allow them to do what they want. O-Line/Wr could mean better offense which gives us that one extra score, or more leads the defense can play against better (easier playing with the lead vs trailind) and gives them more time on the sideline.

Same goes for defense… If there is a Sug type DT… draft him. He is a game changer that can make the rest of the defense better, and make a few plays that causes an extra possession or two for the offense. It can be in the secondary where we can now lock down a side of the field allowing more time for the D-line to get pressure or make or sack. Or maybe this guy makes a few interceptions which can be major game changers. Any stud on defense can have a effect on the whole defense, which can lower the # of points given up per game and make up for slower offensive days.

The point is there is no right answer. We need to go into the draft willing to draft whichever stud falls to us and is the best available. No matter the position if it is a stud it will improve the team. Think about it, right now if we add a Calvin Johnson, Suh, Jake long, Ed reed type safety, another stud LB… they will all help this team for years. When you are drafting that high you need to look for those type of players…. The team will change over the years, but when u get a pick that high you need those type of players who can be your core during the next 5 + years.

Do not forget, the first pick is not our only acquisition in the year… We have other draft picks/FA to target needs… So for the first one get the BEST DAMN PLAYER AVAILABLE!

To answer your question yes we can afford to go offense with our first pick… and we can also afford to go defense.

[Fiz]

Btw guys a lot of things will change regarding the draft/team needs by April.

It's kinda pointless to talk about this right now.