Thinking about the draft?

Here's a look at the Panthers' 2024 picks:

— Their own second-rounder (No. 33 overall)

— New York's second rounder (No. 39 overall)

— Their own third-rounder (No. 65 overall)

— Their own fourth-rounder (No. 101 overall)

— New York's fifth-rounder (No. 141 overall)

— Tennessee's fifth-rounder (No. 142 overall)

— Pittsburgh's seventh-rounder (No. 240 overall)

https://www.panthers.com/news/carolina-p...s-nfl-list


Someone mentioned it earlier.  Also asked about trading 33.

The Panthers need players....very good ones. I would think these 2 high 2nd round picks are golden right now.  The only way I could see them dropping a little bit is to trade with a team wanting to jump another team for a pick like a QB who fell.  Here is who is also up near the top of the 2nd:

2nd Round
33
Carolina
34
New England
35
Arizona
36
Washington
37
LA Chargers
38
Tennessee
39
Carolina
  NYG
40
Washington
  CHI
41
Green Bay
  NYJ
42
Houston
  MIN
43
Atlanta
44
Las Vegas

https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/full_draft


I don't see any of those teams needing to jump up for a QB who has fallen by that time.  Raiders could be wanting to make a move but that is 44.  Too low IMO.   Every other player the other teams would want the Panthers need too.

Seems to be the general consensus at this point that 33 or 39 is a WR.  It is supposed to be a deep draft class.  Also deep are centers.

Where can we find an edge rusher?  Also, I would like to see a good TE.  Gems have been found in later rounds if the people who are drafting know what they are doing. (Morgan's rep at other stops is that he has a very good eye for talent).

One big key to the draft....the Teppers staying out of it.

I think your idea about the 2nd rounders is pretty solid. Especially at #33.  A lot depends on whether we sign another Edge guy before the Draft.  Remember, Clowney has a history of delaying until the last minute. Because we've already signed Chaisson, one more Edge guy MIGHT put the 2nd round in play.  I am not as certain about the #39.  That one could move down some without risking much. Everything depends on how the team's big board looks when we get closer to draft day. Specific signings in FA will affect the board, maybe significantly.

Right now, I'm staying with holding on to both of those picks. Could change over the next three weeks or so depending on FA signings.

Need to give this some more thought.

I've seen a few mock draft boards having us selecting Bo Nix at either #33 or #39, but I roll my eyes.

A couple of mocks:

https://www.si.com/nfl/panthers/news/car...ent-trades

RD 2, Pick 33: C Zach Frazier, West Virginia

I'm pretty sure I've had Frazier mocked to the Panthers from the jump. I get the appeal for a wide receiver here, but the drop off from Frazier to the next center is much greater than whichever receiver you peg here to the next. There will be options at WR at 39. I'm afraid Frazier won't make it there. Get your guy in the middle and your offensive line is set.


RD 2, Pick 39 (from NYG): WR Xavier Legette, South Carolina

Legette could be one of those receivers folks will project Carolina takes at 33, but I think he could make it to this spot. For the sake of our mock, we're saying that he does and it becomes a no-brainer for Dan Morgan. He's a big, physical receiver that can make tough contested catches and could contribute right away alongside Adam Thielen and Diontae Johnson.

RD 3, Pick 65: LB Payton Wilson, NC State

Wilson's draft range is hard to really predict because of the injury history, which is why I think he'll land somewhere in the third. Carolina needs to add more depth at linebacker with Shaq Thompson coming off a fractured fibula. Linebacker isn't a major need, but Wilson is such a Dan Morgan guy.


https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/lists/...-franklin/

Pick No. 33 (Second round): Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia

Adding Johnson was a fine start for the receiver room, but Young needs more separators.

Not many in this class are better at finding space than McConkey, who would fit right into the quick-strike vision Canales has for his offense. When measured against wideouts who have headed into the NFL over the past two years, he ranks in the 95th percentile in separation percentage and 11th in yards per route run.

He may project best as a slot receiver, where Adam Thielen currently gets the bulk of his work. And while Thielen still has two seasons left on his contract, the 33-year-old won’t be here for the finished product and could even be a post-June 1 trade candidate.


Pick No. 39 (Second round): Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

Now that we have two premier separators in Johnson and McConkey, let’s add something else this offense is missing-speed.

We double-dip at wideout with Franklin, one of the best burners of the draft. This past season, the long 6-foot-2, 176-pounder scored 14 touchdowns while averaging 17.1 yards per reception-the third-highest amongst all pass catchers with at least 80 grabs. (Only Washington’s Rome Odunze and Louisiana State’s Malik Nabers ranked higher.)

And like McConkey, Franklin is sitting pretty in that career yards per route run statistic. The elite speed merchant is ninth in the category amongst all receivers in the 2023 and 2024 classes.


Pick No. 65 (Third round): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, C, Georgia



https://catcrave.com/posts/carolina-pant...es-edition

Adonai Mitchell
Wide Receiver | Texas Longhorns
No. 33 overall

Zach Frazier
Center | West Virginia Mountaineers
No. 39 overall

Ja'Tavion Sanders
Tight End | Texas Longhorns
No. 65 overall

These are recent and all are different...but of course the WR theme is popular.  I know there are lots of others and things will change as free agency continues.

Dan seems zeroed in.  This is a good read about how Dan et al are preparing:

https://www.panthers.com/news/ahead-of-f...-on-basics

A couple of nuggets:

Morgan's been a part of previous scouting processes with multiple teams, but this is his first year truly in charge of the draft. So he's seen the way other GMs, whether in Seattle, Buffalo, or here operate. And he's taken parts of all those experiences and put into this one, knowing the first step is to make sure everyone is together.

"I think obviously having final say, it's about collecting everybody's opinions, filtering that, and then making the best decision for the Carolina Panthers," Morgan said. "I think from a process standpoint, coming up the ranks, you're always thinking to yourself, OK, how would I do this? And obviously I have my own methods. (<Good to hear)

"I think it's not about surrounding Bryce with great players; it's about building a great team, and then Bryce can just do his part of it," Canales said. "That's my goal. That's my heart for this whole thing. I want him to be able to feel like he can just come and just do his 1/11th. If he can just do his part, look at the great teams he was a part of in Alabama. He won a lot of games when they had a good offense and a good defense. He did his part, and he played big in big moments, and I would love to create that here so he can just do that part of it and not make it about him.

"The pass game will be specific to Bryce will become that, you know, it will become what he's confident with and what he can do. ... But I just kind of want to try to build the team the right way."

Sets up my mock for the upcoming draft.


(No. 33 overall) Xavier Legette WR
(No. 39 overall) Amaris Mims OT
(No. 65 overall) Jaylen Wright RB

(No. 101 overall) Ben Sinnott TE
(No. 141 overall) Luke Mccaffery WR
(No. 142 overall) Cedric Gray LB
(No. 240 overall) Sheridan Jones CB

2nd round is a bit too high for a C IMO. 

If one equates contracts to talent, as it usually is in the NFL, the average round for the top paid centers is around 3-4.  It can be done

WR/RB or LB in 2

(Also note LB average round is like 3 as well)

I think R2 is too high for a RB as well.  WR, CB, or DE seems right...depending on who is available.  Panthers are in a great spot to see how round 1 falls.  There will be be a couple of surprises available.  If the scouts are good.... a good RB can be had late.

Obviously we need WR, CB, DE, LB. TE & C.  I have been yearning for a good TE on this team since Greg. I think talent at that position can make a big difference in the offense and it is one of my favorite positions.

Dan Morgan's reputation from his previous stops is that he has a great eye for talent.  I am excited for this draft.

Sets up my mock for the upcoming draft.


(No. 33 overall) Xavier Legette WR
(No. 39 overall) Amaris Mims OT
(No. 65 overall) Jaylen Wright RB

(No. 101 overall) Ben Sinnott TE
(No. 141 overall) Luke Mccaffery WR
(No. 142 overall) Cedric Gray LB
(No. 240 overall) Sheridan Jones CB

Sounds good to me.

---

Sets up my mock for the upcoming draft.


(No. 33 overall) Xavier Legette WR
(No. 39 overall) Amaris Mims OT
(No. 65 overall) Jaylen Wright RB

(No. 101 overall) Ben Sinnott TE
(No. 141 overall) Luke Mccaffery WR
(No. 142 overall) Cedric Gray LB
(No. 240 overall) Sheridan Jones CB

Sounds good to me.

Might be off, go compete.  We need a lot of that.  EVERYBODY!  Show what u got, n impress on the field.  Even the depth.  PLEASE COMPETE!  All we ask.  B/f the draft comment.  Add some dawgs!

Sets up my mock for the upcoming draft.


(No. 33 overall) Xavier Legette WR
(No. 39 overall) Amaris Mims OT
(No. 65 overall) Jaylen Wright RB

(No. 101 overall) Ben Sinnott TE
(No. 141 overall) Luke Mccaffery WR
(No. 142 overall) Cedric Gray LB
(No. 240 overall) Sheridan Jones CB

Sounds good to me.

---

Sets up my mock for the upcoming draft.


(No. 33 overall) Xavier Legette WR
(No. 39 overall) Amaris Mims OT
(No. 65 overall) Jaylen Wright RB

(No. 101 overall) Ben Sinnott TE
(No. 141 overall) Luke Mccaffery WR
(No. 142 overall) Cedric Gray LB
(No. 240 overall) Sheridan Jones CB

Sounds good to me.

Might be off, go compete.  We need a lot of that.  EVERYBODY!  Show what u got, n impress on the field.  Even the depth.  PLEASE COMPETE!  All we ask.  B/f the draft comment.  Add some dawgs!

Just a question here...don't we need to add another pass rusher?  Do we go 2 WR and TE or 1 WR and TE? My guess is the latter.

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Darin Gantt on mock drafts. Not SNL stuff but a couple good digs...lol:

It feels like I'm the only person in the world not filling out a mock draft this time of year, which creates a slight sense of FOMO. But there's an even greater sense of liberation because it means I'm not wasting a bunch of time on the most pointless exercises of any year, particularly this year with the Carolina Panthers.

This just in; your mock draft is wrong.

Which is fine, because that's not an EXCLUSIVE. Everyone's mock draft is wrong, but the problem creeps in when you end up judging actual events because of the made-up opinions of others.

Whenever the Panthers take whoever they take next week, fans will make judgements based on the perceived value of those players next to the mock drafts they saw (or participated in). But what that actually means is, ... checks notes, ... nothing.

Because the Panthers pick 33rd, that means there are 32 independent variables they have no control over. Even if Dan Morgan wanted to be revealing (he doesn't), it's impossible to know what he wants to do because he doesn't have a reliable fact pattern to build off of.

And the mock drafts you see on the internet are not a reliable fact pattern. Even the most studied analysis can be thrown off by one irrational actor, and there are plenty of irrational actors in this business. And not all of these things are graded accurately, or by people who have the foggiest clue what they're talking about. We could participate in the kind of reckless speculation that seems fashionable, but it would only make me tired, and wouldn't make you any smarter.

So sure, have fun, get online and "study" for yourself. I wasted a little time by rolling through ESPN's draft simulator, and in 10 versions, found myself with seven different players at 33. And you could make a case for any of them. I also wasted a little time with PFF.com's mock draft machine and saw even more possibilities. Then, I wasted a little time on Pro Football Network's mock draft generator, which allowed me to trade back a lot. Once, I ended up with a first-rounder, three second-rounders, and two thirds in next year's draft by moving back multiple times and started picking at 65.

You know what that means? I wasted a little time.

I get it; this is an entertainment product, and imagining the possibilities is fun. Just remember that it gets real next week. Also, the weather is nice. Go outside. Ride a bike. Pet a dog. Talk to a person. Listen to some music. We can hole ourselves up in windowless rooms next week.

https://www.panthers.com/news/ask-the-ol...dan-morgan