Matthias' Mock Offseason (Post Playoffs)

[Matthias]

We now know where we are picking in the draft.  Unfortunately, it's not 32 overall, but it's been a good year.  In year three of Rivera and Cam, we were supposed to make the playoffs.  Yet we have overacheived considering the talent we were working with, and the drastic drop off of Smitty's ability.  So now it's that time of the year to start preparing for a new season.

 

 

There's been a lot of talk of giving Hardy the franchise tag and trading him.  I'm all for that unless we take a cap hit due to the franchise tag.  It doesn't appear no one here has any information concerning that, of course we know how things worked in the old CBA.  If doing this move does cost us anything with the cap, I would simply let Hardy walk and pick up a compensation pick next draft.  If the overthecap website is worth it's salt, after a couple of cuts, we should be under the cap by 21 million.

 

 

 

 

Re-Signings:

 

 

Mike Mitchell - 5 million yr

 

 

Gross - vet mininum

 

 

Colin Cole - vet minimum

 

 

Ted Ginn - 2-3 million yr

 

 

These are the main guys.

 

 

 

 

Free Agents:

 

 

 

Jared Allen

 

 

 

 

6 million dollars yr

 

What's that?  Kraken's leaving?  No sweat.  This is classic plug and play right here.  If we sign Allen, I really don't think there will be a drop off of meanness nor ability.  This dude brings his own edge that equals the fear of the Kraken, and career wise, Hardy can only hope to match his with Allen.  With all that said, the main draw for Allen of course won't be the money.  If it came down to money, he could make a lot more somewhere else.  Yet he's pretty much confirm the next team he plays for, will be one that has a chance to win a superbowl.  We fall into that category, and we sport one of the best defenses in the league.

 

 

 

Terrell Thomas

 

 

 

 

1 yr 2 million

 

 

At first I wanted to bring in Charles Tillman.  However, we are going to need at least 5-6 million for him to come here.  I don't want to stretch our cap that thin.  It was either Tillman or Allen, and I chose to go with Allen as the good free agent signing.  So with that, were there any other decent corners on the market?  I believe Terrell Thomas has great potential.  Thomas will be our one year rental, a quick fix to one of our corner positions.  He's still looking for that big deal somewhere, but injuries have set him back in that endeavor.  No one is going to pay him big money just yet, and I'm sure he wants to prove he's an elite corner.  If he does prove himself worthy and we can't pay him next year, at least we would have had him for one year. (And gave us another year to look for our shut down corner)

 

 

 

 

Reed Doughty

 

 

 

 

vet minimum-1 million yr

 

 

Perhaps best known for trying to the fill the void at the safety position for the skins after Sean Taylor's death.  He would be a decent back up or rental starter.

 

 

 

So those are my free agent signings.  Just like with my last mock, I went pretty much defense concerning free agency.  There isn't a lot of offensive talent concerning the receiver position.  Yeah we could bring in Hakeem Nicks, but how good will he be?  Eric Decker is pretty good, but you will have to pay him some money, and while he's good, I don't think we would get equal value in his play, especially if he would be our number one receiver.  After those two guys, it's a drop off.  The next best name would be Kenny Britt.  I'm not touching him, even if he signed a dollar contract.  Signing him would be like throwing a grenade in our lockerroom.  Don't know how Cam would react to a guy like Britt.  Steve Smith might get in a fight with him, etc.  So I built up an already strong defense, particularly the secondary.  I also believe with Allen, we will consistently put pressure on QBs next year.

 

 

 

 

NFL Draft:

 

 

 

 

1st Round pick -  Jordan Matthews

 

 

 

 

Been my first pick for a while now.  I would say he's the best all around receiver after Sammy Watkins.  Realistically, he would be a top 15-20 pick, but he will slip due to other players being higher on teams draft boards.  Yet after a good combine workout, all bets are off.

 

 

 

 

2nd Round pick -  James Hurst

 

 

 

 

There's quite a few ways we could go with this pick.  Do we double dip at receiver?  Do we go BPA no matter offense nor defense?  I really love Kyle Fuller.  I believe he is full of potential and the second best prospect at corner.  Yet we really need to build up this offensive line.  The veterans are aging, and our young guys suck to be quite honest.  As expected, we will probably keep Shula as our OC, and it seems his gameplan is heavily dependant on a great O-line.  So this is where I will spend my second pick on.  Now, what is available at this spot?  All the best tackles will be gone by our pick here, and I'm not impressed with this class of guards. (Not impressed enough to spend a high round pick on any of them)  Due to his late season injury, James Hurst will be the only guy left on the board that can help us improve next year.  If we want Hurst, we will have to pick him here.  Even with his injury, I don't see him falling far in the third, definitely not to our third round pick.  So I'll take him here.

 

 

 

 

3rd Round Pick - Donte Moncrief

 

 

 

 

Moncrief would be a great value pick here.  Capable of catching long balls down the field.  If we are able to get Matthews and Moncrief, I would consider letting them start, and Smith be the third/slot receiver.

 

 

 

 

4th Round Pick - Jaylen Watkins

 

 

 

 

Not a sexy pick.  Someone we can bring in at corner, fighting for the job as a starter.

 

 

 

 

5th Round pick - John Urcshel

 

 

 

 

A great pass blocking guard right here.  As you see, he keeps his head on a swivel, making it hard for any kind of blitz or stunt to get pass him.  Good value here.

 

 

 

 

7th Round pick (trade Giants) - Spencer Long

 

 

 

 

Great run blocking guard to be had here.  An injury kept him out for most of the year, and so his draft stock took hit.  I think before he was projected to be something like a 4th round pick on the rise.  So he's another gem to be found.  It is very important that we have a strong offensive line in this Shula offensive scheme.

 

 

 

 

7th Round Pick - Ed Reynolds

 

 

 

 

I must say, this safety class stinks.  If your best prospect at safety is named "HaHa", you know you got a bad class.  I debated whether or not to draft one, and the only name that consistently gets my attention is Ed Reynolds.  Mostly because of the hype that surrounded him at the end of the prior season before this past one.  I believe Reynolds can be a dangerous ball hawking defender, but he was quiet all year in his last season as a Stanford Cardinal.  Now to his credit, I believe the Stanford coaching staff didn't put him in a position to truly show his skills.  Everytime I looked at a Stanford game, Reynolds was 50 yards off the ball down the field on every snap.  Once the opposition threw a quick 10 yard pass, all Reynolds could do was run up and try to make a tackle.  So we'll see.  As for where I'm drafting, I'll put him right here currently.  If he has a good combine, his stock will go up.

 

 

 

 

This concludes my draft portion of the topic.  I went pretty heavy on the offensive side of the ball, which is definitely warranted.  I focused on building up that O-line as much as possible.  Some of you want to bring back a guy like Geoff Schwartz, but we need to stop bringing in old guys from the past and hoping they solidfy the line.  We also shouldn't be confident in Amini nor Kugz.  These guys were heavy reaches, and they are probably best served as back ups in this league.  That's my expectations, but anyway, this draft will bring a lot of competition.  Perhaps that will motivate Amini and Kugz.

 

 

 

 

 

Depth chart projection (Starters):

 

 

 

QB - Cam Newton

RB - Jonathan Stewart

FB - Mike Tolbert

WR - Jordan Matthews ®

WR - Steve Smith

TE - Greg Olsen

LT - Jordan Gross

LG - Toss up

C - Ryan Kalil

RG - Toss up

RT - James Hurst ®

 

 

RE - Jared Allen (FA)

DT - Star Lotulelei

DT - Kawann Short

LE - Charles Johnson

OLB - Thomas Davis

MLB - Luke Keuchly

OLB - Aj Klein

CB - Melvin White

FS - Toss up

SS - Mike Mitchell

CB - Terrel Thomas (FA)

 

 

K - Graham Gano

P - Brad Nortman

PR - Tedd Ginn

KR = Tedd Ginn

[carolina-chuck]

I dont like the FA moves at all. I hate the Doughty pick up. Do not need another Nakamura like scrub. However, I like the draft very much. Only problem is, I see Ed Reynolds being a 2nd-3rd round pick.

 

 

Then, my question is, do you really think that Cam would have a better year than the one he just finish with two rookie receivers for next season? I dont believe so. Cam need a vet he can go to.

[ncfan]

Not sure about Reynolds being anywhere near 7th.  Everything I have seen is him being a round 3-4 guy, plus not even sure if declared.  Saw some 2015 mocks having him borderline 1st to 2nd round guy.  If he is there in the 7th we have to grab him

[Panthersguru14]

I like the first four picks. The free agents are so unpredictable I'm not worried about those.

[Clicheking]

Gross would not take/nor would we insult him by offering him the vet minimum. Would also rather resign Mikell than sign Daugherty.  Other than that I like the draft(love me some Moncrief), I see Hurst slipping at the moment unless something comes out otherwise regarding the timetable of his return.

[Kurb]

Wonder if Hurst would fall to the 3rd.

 

That broken leg will be watched closely, guy is talented but we need a RT to contribute next season.

[Matthias]

I dont like the FA moves at all. I hate the Doughty pick up. Do not need another Nakamura like scrub. However, I like the draft very much. Only problem is, I see Ed Reynolds being a 2nd-3rd round pick.

 

 

Then, my question is, do you really think that Cam would have a better year than the one he just finish with two rookie receivers for next season? I dont believe so. Cam need a vet he can go to.

 

 

What Cam was missing in the passing game was a guy that could stretch the field, and a guy that could consistently catch the ball, even make the tough catches.  Matthews and Moncrief can do those things.  Now after the June 1 cuts, perhaps we can snag what's leftover in the free agency market, yet Smitty and Olsen are veteran enough to help these guys out.

 

 

 

Not sure about Reynolds being anywhere near 7th.  Everything I have seen is him being a round 3-4 guy, plus not even sure if declared.  Saw some 2015 mocks having him borderline 1st to 2nd round guy.  If he is there in the 7th we have to grab him

 

 

I definitely think if he has a good combine, his stock will sore.  For all intents and purposes, his stock right now is around 2nd-4th round, but at the moment I wouldn't take him that high.

 

 

 

Gross would not take/nor would we insult him by offering him the vet minimum. Would also rather resign Mikell than sign Daugherty.  Other than that I like the draft(love me some Moncrief), I see Hurst slipping at the moment unless something comes out otherwise regarding the timetable of his return.

 

Maybe I got a little carried away. :D  Perhaps I would offer him a 1-2 million dollar deal, but I wouldn't go any higher.

[Clicheking]

Not sure if you're serious or not, but he made 8 mil this year. 4 or 5 million is more realistic, you don't disrespect vets that have done so much for your franchise like that

[Matthias]

I think for Gross, he should be doing it to win a championship, not for money.  If that be the case, I would let him walk in free agency.

[IamSoClutch]

I like the first 3 picks in the draft. FA is iffy

[unicar15]

Not sure if you're serious or not, but he made 8 mil this year. 4 or 5 million is more realistic, you don't disrespect vets that have done so much for your franchise like that

Gross wants a championship and will take very little money in order to stay and try to get a ring. It's not about respect it's about winning...Giving Gross a lucrative deal is a Hurney move. Not a Gettledog move.

I have doubts about Matthews as a 1st round pick. IMO Watkins and Evans are only sure things at WR. I'd also rather have KB bc of his size. We need a jump ball type of receiver. Matthews is not that.

[jamos14]

We also only have 1 7th round pick.  We traded our other to SF for Colin Jones

[Matthias]

Ah.  Then let's say my last pick is a compensation pick. (Even though I don't know if we will get one there)

[Kuech the Sneak]

Amini wasn't a reach, and he's not a backup.