Carolina Panthers 2009 Draft Preview.....

[AKPantherFan]

Since our own newspapers wont follow our team;

By Tony Moss, NFL Editor

(Sports Network) - Unless they deal Julius Peppers and move into the first or early second round, Carolina will be the last of the league's 32 teams to make its first pick. Whether or not they move the franchised Peppers, the Panthers have to select a pass rusher with one of their first two picks, given that the North Carolina product is unhappy and has been prone to bouts of on-field invisibility. Elsewhere on defense, a cover corner and a multi-purpose linebacker to complement Jon Beason would be nice. The elephant in the room from an offensive standpoint concerns Jake Delhomme, who could be gone after 2009. The Panthers probably won't find their quarterback of the future in this Draft, unless they trade Peppers in order to finance a first-round pick of Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez.

2008 Record: 12-4

First Pick: No. 59

Number of Selections: 5 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2008 - Jonathan Stewart (RB, Oregon), Jeff Otah (T, Pittsburgh); 2007 - Jon Beason (LB, Miami-Florida); 2006 - DeAngelo Williams (RB, Memphis); 2005 - Thomas Davis (S/LB, Georgia); 2004 - Chris Gamble (CB, Ohio State); 2003 - Jordan Gross (OT, Utah); 2002 - Julius Peppers (DE, North Carolina); 2001 - Dan Morgan (LB, Miami-Florida)

more-- http://www.seattlepi.com/scorecard/nflnews.asp?articleID=199344

[AKPantherFan]

interesting to see it being an "all defense" draft in their view.....

[AKPantherFan]

BTW- nice to see a newspaper in SEATTLE covering our team.............

[Lt Pinkerton]

RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2008 - Jonathan Stewart (RB, Oregon), Jeff Otah (T, Pittsburgh); 2007 - Jon Beason (LB, Miami-Florida); 2006 - DeAngelo Williams (RB, Memphis); 2005 - Thomas Davis (S/LB, Georgia); 2004 - Chris Gamble (CB, Ohio State); 2003 - Jordan Gross (OT, Utah); 2002 - Julius Peppers (DE, North Carolina); 2001 - Dan Morgan (LB, Miami-Florida)

Those are some damn good drafts.

[carpanfan96]

Just nice to see a paper covering the team and the draft period.

[CatMan72]

RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2008 - Jonathan Stewart (RB, Oregon), Jeff Otah (T, Pittsburgh); 2007 - Jon Beason (LB, Miami-Florida); 2006 - DeAngelo Williams (RB, Memphis); 2005 - Thomas Davis (S/LB, Georgia); 2004 - Chris Gamble (CB, Ohio State); 2003 - Jordan Gross (OT, Utah); 2002 - Julius Peppers (DE, North Carolina); 2001 - Dan Morgan (LB, Miami-Florida)

Those are some damn good drafts.

Yeah, I would put this 8 year draft history up against any team in the NFL. Not one bust in this list.

[Fireball77]

I would put the FIRST ROUND draft history up against any other team...the rest? Not so much. They are 100% on first rounders as far as guys who are either still contributing to the team and are still on the roster in Carolina or with another team (Pep will be on someone's roster...). I can't think of too many teams that can say that under their current regimes. The Pats, yes. Maybe the Steelers or Colts too?

[Kyle82]

Finally some decent coverage :hurray:

[monstercat]

Which part of that is supposed to be news?

[rayzor]

Which part of that is supposed to be news?

apparently th crumbs that fall from tables of other teams reporters are enough to keep the bored and news starved fans happy.

more power to them.

there just isn't anything going on.

until the draft and OTAs start up there really won't be anything to discuss for most teams.

people just need a little patience.

[carpanfan96]

Gantt has his mock up in his latest blog.

Little late on the draw with the pre-draft postulating. I think the lack of picks has lulled me to sleep a bit. Here's an early guess as to where they might go with their five current picks. In future mocks we'll fiddle around with the order, and take a stab or two at some scenarios that have them adding selections.

So for a first shot at it, here goes:

2-59 -- DT Sen'Derrick Marks, Auburn

3-90 -- DE Lawrence Sidbury, Richmond

4-128 -- T Jason Watkins, Florida

5-163 -- G Louis Vasquez, Texas Tech

6-202 -- CB Don Carey, Norfolk State

There's a little bit of optimism at work here, as I'm not sure either Marks or Sidbury would be available to them at those spots (particularly Sidbury). But the point is, they need to add talent to the defensive line with or without Julius Peppers.

Watkins and Vasquez would give them the depth they need on the offensive line, while Carey's the kind of late-round hopeful they need to compete for a job in the secondary.

Some might have a problem with them using 80 percent of their picks on linemen, but in my opinion, it's where they need help the most.

[2jakefansinva]

So what did all this great coverage tell us that we didn't already know? nada. Oh that's right........ya'll just what coverage, any coverage. Actually I prefer my team to stay out of the news during the off-season. IDK that's just me.

[Mr. Scot]

BTW- nice to see a newspaper in SEATTLE covering our team.............

And doing a lousy job of it :sosp:

Anybody really believe the Panthers would trade Julius Peppers for a shot at Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez?

And he thinks we need to use one of the few draft picks we have on a linebacker? Seriously?

[AKPantherFan]

And doing a lousy job of it :sosp:

Anybody really believe the Panthers would trade Julius Peppers for a shot at Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez?

And he thinks we need to use one of the few draft picks we have on a linebacker? Seriously?

the whole thread really wasnt too serious. Its very little coverage, if nothing more than just a blogwith of coverage.

I was cracking more on the fact that it was a paper 3000 miles away covering our team more than the charlotte guys