Yasinkas Has Us Taking Kuechly

[jtnc]

With the No. 9 pick in the Blogger Mock Draft Live, I just selected Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly for the Carolina Panthers.

I went into the draft thinking I would target Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Kuechly. Cox was gone before I got on the clock, so I went with Kuechly.

Why? He reminds me a lot of Dan Morgan, who the Panthers drafted in the first round in 2001. Yeah, I know Morgan dealt with injury issues throughout his career. But, when he was on the field, he was a tremendous player. Take away the injuries and Kuechly could be what Morgan never had the chance to become: a Pro Bowl regular. Like Morgan, who was a favorite of general manager Marty Hurney, Kuechly is coming off a very productive college career and is ready to play immediately in the NFL.

I know a lot of people are saying the Panthers don’t need a linebacker because they have Thomas Davis and Jon Beason coming back from injuries. But Davis is coming back from his third ACL injury and there are no guarantees he’ll be the same player he once was. The Panthers can’t afford to go through another season like last year when they were plugging in backups and special-teams players and asking them to start at linebacker.

I did give some thought to taking defensive tackles Dontari Poe, Devon Still and Michael Brockers, but I don’t think they’re as much of a sure thing as Cox. Besides, I think the Panthers are better off at defensive tackle than people give them credit for. They have Ron Edwards coming back from an injury that kept him out all of last season and they’ve got Terrell McClain and Sione Fua returning for their second seasons. I did give a little thought to taking an offensive tackle because the Panthers need to find an heir to Jordan Gross at some point.

But Carolina needs a guy that can help the defense immediately. That’s why Kuechly was the choice.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/34093/mock-kuechly-to-panthers-at-no-9

[XClown1986]

Smart choice. Kuechly not only makes the defense better, but can arguably extend Beason's career by not needing him to rush back or force him to do too much before he is ready. He'll have time to heal and come back 100%, along with Davis, and have an outstanding linebacker corp to build around. I like it.

[CRA]

Meets the criteria. Could start week 1.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

he adds nothing to the pass rush and isn't great in coverage. QBs will just sit back there all day as our horrible DLine does nothing and pick apart our secondary.

[Jesse]

So Ron Edwards off injury will boost the defense for sure but Jon Beason off injury is a crap shoot?

Yasinkas is a clown.

[Cary Kollins]

Yas obviously read my post before his pick...well done Yas.

[Dex]

[Panthro]

If our need was for someone to lead the team in assisted tackles 5 yards from the LOS then I would be all for him

[CRA]

he adds nothing to the pass rush and isn't great in coverage. QBs will just sit back there all day as our horrible DLine does nothing and pick apart our secondary.

How would you know?

1. We didn't run the JJ43 last year.

2. Beason, Luke are both good enough to play multiple positions in a JJ43 and they would be part of a blitz scheme

When we get healthy, we need good football players to run the scheme. Scheme generates pressure. LBs will be part of it.

What you saw last year was treading water. Nothing more. Using your logic we should part with Beason. He can't pressure a QB either since Fox didn't ask him to

[UNCrules2187]

*puke* Give me Gilmore, Floyd, Brockers, or even Coples over him. Cox would be my #1 but he's not available in this scenario.

[CRA]

If our need was for someone to lead the team in assisted tackles 5 yards from the LOS then I would be all for him

Do you have any idea the number of plays he made behind the line of scrimmage for a loss? Clearly not.....

[GotSwag?]

He would be the "safe" pick. I think its safe to say that we have no clue who will be chosen or if we will even make the ninth pick(trade down).

[frash.exe]

i hate the idea of taking another linebacker in the first

[panthers55]

he adds nothing to the pass rush and isn't great in coverage. QBs will just sit back there all day as our horrible DLine does nothing and pick apart our secondary.

He is great in coverage and will be better than Beason was in coverage before the surgery. If we play JJ 4-3 he will blitz 60% of the time which will help the pass rush tremendously. Our D line is better than folks think and we will pick up someone to help out. Hopefully at DE. I doubt Cox is there and we are not going to move up.