Well, we know the Big Cat — Jerry Richardson — liked that his boys swung for the fences with two first rounders who absolutely, positively must be impact starters. It is a mighty home-run swing Foxy and Hurney took — thing is we’ll only know if they whiff or make contact by August. And it’ll be October before we know if we got a pop-up or an upper-deck line drive on our hands.
Stewart was a no-brainer at 13 — the question that will not be answered for some time is if Otah was worth the steep, steep price the Panthers to get him. Losing a 2nd rounder alone could mean losing another starter for your team. Perhaps it is not fair, but Otah must deliver for this move to be worth it.
If what the Panthers were doing in the 1st round was obvious — building a power running game — the team’s moves in the 3rd round mystify. Either CB Charles Godfrey projects as a ball-hawking safety, or the Panthers passed on much-needed help on the DL for what was not a position of need. Then a few picks later the Cats came back for Penn State LB Dan Connor, a tough, highly rated player who nonetheless plays at a position fairly stacked for Carolina.
Yes, both guys could help Carolina’s weak special teams, but if they play on a ton of KO returns we’ll know that the defensive front was not given the proper attention in the off-season. As it is the Panthers do not pick again until #141 and the chances of that pick providing any kind of quality DT or DE help are slim and none.
It’ll have to do.
Update: Thankfully, the Cat braintrust is talking up Godfrey as a potential free safety starter. And DT Nick Hayden from Wisconsin surely has the opportunity of a lifetime for a 6th rounder.
And here’s a crazy thought — a Meck Deck specialty — with all the quality LBs and lack of DLs, do the Panthers look at playing some 3-4 this year?
Update II: Former Uptown scribe Pat Yasinskas wonders out loud about Carolina’s lack of attention to the DL. John Fox is on WFNZ right now saying that the team may add a veteran DT today. OK, Foxy.
