Can we just….. The Carolina Panthers Select:

Evan Neal.

Best tackle in the draft.  We haven’t drafted a quality OT in the first round since Jordan Gross.  We haven’t had a quality OT at all since…. You guessed it, Jordan Gross. 

Evan Neal is that man.

If they don't take the first quarterback available, somebody's head is going to roll.

Hmmm.... 

6' 6" & 360 lbs ----  Huge guy for an OT.  I am not sold on his movement. Probably will be a good run-blocking OT. Consensus says he will go high in the draft though. 
Here are a few comments on Neal...(TheDraftNetwork dot com..)

"Balance: Neal has great linear movement but struggles to redirect laterally due to balance issues. In the run game, he gets too far over his feet and it causes him to miss defenders. His pass set can be thrown off-balance when defenders use quick counter pass-rush moves. Quicker defenders force him to use reactionary athleticism, which is not a strong trait of his and exposes his balance issues when moving laterally."

"Lateral Mobility: This is the biggest question mark of Neal’s game. He lacked elite quickness to react laterally to defenders’ counter moves in pass protection. Displayed average ability to redirect when working to second-level defenders when trying to run block, resulting in him missing blocks." 

"Anchor Ability: Displays the ability to anchor on defenders, but it is an average trait of his. Balance and lateral movement issues negatively affect his ability to anchor. Speed-to-power pass rushers can give him issues because of his lack of ability to get reset and synchronize his lower half to anchor on defenders."

"Football IQ: He demonstrates average Football IQ. Struggled to ID blitzers and what guys to pick up, resulting in free blitzers to the QB. There are plenty of examples of this in the 2021 Texas A&M game..." 

"NFL prospect comparison: Orlando Brown. 2018 draft, Baltimore Ravens"

On the plus side--- He's big.  Oh, did I mention he is BIG.?  GREAT length. Good Competitive Toughness.. GREAT power at the POA (point of attack..).

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If they don't take the first quarterback available, somebody's head is going to roll.

Yes...except...

This is not shaping up to be a good QB year.  The latest 'big board' I've looked at shows only three (3) QBs with 1st round grades. And all of them are around 6' 1' -- actually, the top four are all about 6' 1'.  And none of them are from a real power football program..  The top three shown here are projected for the 1st round. If these guys came out last year, they would have been 3rd round talent... (Or most any year for that matter..).  Pretty sad..

Matt Corral-- Old Miss (current prediction = #6) ---** PFF has him at #16, 1st QB off the board**
Kenny Pickett-- Pittsburg (#14) --- ** PFF has him at #20**
Sam Howell-- North Carolina (#19)--- **PFF has him at #32**
Malik Willis-- Liberty (#36)--- **PFF has him at #39**

Biggest QB in the current top 20

Desmond Ritter-- Cincinnati-- 6'4"  225lbs  (currently projected at #38)--- **PFF has him at #36**

No real standout talent listed. Going to be slim pickings for QBs this coming year.!!  Of course, some QBs could slide UP the board, and there might be some more declare later..??

I’d love Darnold to ball this week.  We will see.  D is ready when healthy.  O is missing protection (all 5, I know the star).  Great ol helps the qb so much.  Running game too.  There’s not a qb out there (even in fantasy land) that could b successful last game for us.  We gotta improve 3-4 ol, a dt/2, n a couple of lbs.  s/te also.  do like tremble!

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LINEMAN!

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We have good depth, but we need difference makers!

I’d love Darnold to ball this week.  We will see.  D is ready when healthy.  O is missing protection (all 5, I know the star).  Great ol helps the qb so much.  Running game too.  There’s not a qb out there (even in fantasy land) that could b successful last game for us.  We gotta improve 3-4 ol, a dt/2, n a couple of lbs.  s/te also.  do like tremble!

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LINEMAN!

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We have good depth, but we need difference makers!

Yes... But so does EVERY TEAM.!! The NFL is built for parity. Thirty two teams with evenly matched talent. It gets that way because of the way the draft works and because of the salary cap.  Look at the team records. There is one team at 12-3 (Packers..), three four teams at 11-4 (Chiefs, Bucs, Rams, Cowboys..)....;  Most of the rest are clustered in the middle with 6, 7, 8 wins or less (like the Panthers..). There are currently twenty-one teams with 8 wins or less.!! Sure, there are a few (6 teams..) with 9 or 10 wins, but by FAR the most teams are clustered with 8 wins or less.  SO... eleven (11..) teams with 9 or more wins and twenty-one (21..) teams with 8 wins or less.  Of the eleven teams with 9 or more wins, six teams are in the AFC and five are in the NFC.  Pretty evenly balanced I would say.

We (Panthers fans..) are upset because of how our team is playing (not winning everything..). But REALLY... we are just one team amongst many.!!  I don't ever remember a season with so many teams clustered around mediocre/poor records.  Very, VERY strange year.!!

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I’d love Darnold to ball this week.  We will see.  D is ready when healthy.  O is missing protection (all 5, I know the star).  Great ol helps the qb so much.  Running game too.  There’s not a qb out there (even in fantasy land) that could b successful last game for us.  We gotta improve 3-4 ol, a dt/2, n a couple of lbs.  s/te also.  do like tremble!

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LINEMAN!

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We have good depth, but we need difference makers!

Yes... But so does EVERY TEAM.!! The NFL is built for parity. Thirty two teams with evenly matched talent. It gets that way because of the way the draft works and because of the salary cap.  Look at the team records. There is one team at 12-3 (Packers..), three four teams at 11-4 (Chiefs, Bucs, Rams, Cowboys..)....;  Most of the rest are clustered in the middle with 6, 7, 8 wins or less (like the Panthers..). There are currently twenty-one teams with 8 wins or less.!! Sure, there are a few (6 teams..) with 9 or 10 wins, but by FAR the most teams are clustered with 8 wins or less.  SO... eleven (11..) teams with 9 or more wins and twenty-one (21..) teams with 8 wins or less.  Of the eleven teams with 9 or more wins, six teams are in the AFC and five are in the NFC.  Pretty evenly balanced I would say.

We (Panthers fans..) are upset because of how our team is playing (not winning everything..). But REALLY... we are just one team amongst many.!!  I don't ever remember a season with so many teams clustered around mediocre/poor records.  Very, VERY strange year.!!

Yes, Josh... I would LOVE Sam to come out strong this week. He has a quick release and a strong, 'live' arm.  I know no-one has asked my opinion, but I still think that Darnold has the talent to be a very good QB.  With a little team support, and decent coaching and play-calling, Sam will be just fine.
Here's the problem. Sam had very poor support with the Jets. We brought him here planning on giving him what he needed... FAIL.!! 
It's not Darnold's fault we can't put together an offense. Look at the reality.... Sam has played in ....what??....parts of nine/ten  games for the Panthers.??  Now all of the fans are ready to fire him, after nine games.!!!  Really.?? Can we expect him (or ANY QB..) to come in to a New team, NEW coaches, New system, learn everything and pull us out of the fire in NINE (9..) games. !!! ????  It's not realistic....AND it's not fair to Darnold.

Not to mention we have a terrible offensive line. No QB no matter the talent will do well in our offense. The line is atrocious.

Yes bad o-line is the problem, but is it coaches, or players? Inclined to say a mix of both. At least try to upgrade it this offseason! Bottom teir/deal fa’s n 3rd to 6th round picks to FIX it? Needs an influx. Majorly. Major fa(s), n best lineman n the draft would dent it. If not a qb, what else do we need round 1? If not we got a 4th rounder to try…

Not to mention we have a terrible offensive line.  No QB no matter the talent will do well in our offense.  The line is atrocious.

You're right, BCF... We have been unable to provide QB protection for almost every game this year. But it's not all about the players. Some of the issue is a resultant. That is to say, the results have been dependent on other dynamics in the game. We have some good (decent..) linemen. They don't ALWAYS show up. Sometimes it's injuries, sometimes it's Covid, sometimes it's lack of experience, and SOMETIMES it's lack of talent.

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Yes bad o-line is the problem, but is it coaches, or players?  Inclined to say a mix of both.  At least try to upgrade it this offseason!  Bottom teir/deal fa’s n 3rd to 6th round picks to FIX it?  Needs an influx.  Majorly.  Major fa(s), n best lineman n the draft would dent it.  If not a qb, what else do we need round 1?  If not we got a 4th rounder to try…

Here's the way I look at it.  We need to solidify the O-line AND the protection SCHEMES  (BOTH run and pass..). To do that we need the coaches to study and modify the schemes as necessary every week dependent upon available personnel. We need enough talent to play at a high level at all times everywhere on the O-line. And we need a TEAM desire to succeed. ALL of those things are needed, but we will never have all of them at any one time. So, we need to have enough overlap in areas to make up for deficiencies that WILL occur in others.

WE have SOME talent. Unfortunately, we have had a LOT of injuries and now, a LOT of Covid impacts on the whole team. We need a solid core of O-linemen who have experience and who are dedicated to the TEAM...willing to do whatever is necessary. We also need a good supply of young talent to fill in and play alongside the veterans.  BUT, make no mistake about it, a team full of rookies, fresh from the draft, will NOT show up well against NFL competition.!!  We are NOT going to draft 3 or 4 linemen and have them ready to start against experienced NFL defenses. That's how you 'break' or 'destroy' good prospective talent... i.e., force them into untenable positions against tougher, more experienced, more mature opposing lines. The only way to get there (in the short term..) is to draft the best talent that is available and coach them alongside true veterans with great work ethics. The problem is finding several veteran O-linemen with the right 'maturity', 'fit', and 'desire' to play for the Panthers. It's a delicate balancing act.

The draft.???  I don't know. I THINK we may see some trade movement along those lines BEFORE draft day. And some more during the draft. BUT, I've said it before, and I'll say it again....  I would much rather have 3 or 4 solid players early in the draft than a whole bunch of numbers in rounds 5,6, or 7.  So... DRAFT STRONG, EARLY!!! If we happen to find a surprise late in the draft, then GREAT.!  Just don't count on it.

Next year's success will depend on the talent we have available right now, and what we can acquire by trade or through free agency. Add in a couple of EARLY draft picks, and we should have a 'serviceable' O-line. Then, "cross your fingers, and pray a lot".

With our current draft situation, we will HAVE to be active in FA. Simply too many areas needing upgrade. “Injuries”. I get that, but we have had people who have barely made it here this season that we are relying on to be there. Durability speaks volumes. Some good OL fa’s available this off-season. But not sure what we can afford. We have Moton, but isn’t he a FA this year? We really need only 2-3 stalwart OL to make up for the rest. But we don’t have that. Zero continuity.