2013 Panthers draft thread..

Round One:
A decision between S Vaccaro, DT Richardson, OG Cooper, or WRs Patterson/Austin. I go with DT Sheldon Richardson, although I totally get Collin's point about long legged DT's struggling to anchor. He's quick and would definately improve our pass rush. And it's more and more a passing league.

Round Two:
Decision between CB Jonathan Banks, OG Larry Warford, G/T project Kyle Long, OT Terron Armstead, S Matt Elam. I go with CB Jonathan Banks. He's big with long arms, not the fastest or most fluid but the size he has matches up well with WR's like Julio Jones, Colston, Mike Williams, etc...also if Banks can't make it as a CB he could be very good S....good tackler.

Round Four:
Start adding OL depth with OT Ricky Wagner from Wisconsin or Brennan Williams from UNC. However if Amerson drops this far I'd love to draft him as a S (credit to Collin for this).

 

Banks would be great, but he should be long gone by #44. No way Amerson falls to the fourth either, unfortunately.

 

I'll play...having just re-examined the draft order, I'm fairly encouraged that the opportunity to trade back just might present itself this year.

Consider that we pick just ahead of the Saints, who are switching to a 3-4 under new def. coordinator Rob Ryan. Their most pressing needs are, in no particular order, a playmaking 3-4 rush OLB, two new OT's, & a shit ton of secondary help - ideally, a #1 corner & 2 new safeties.

Now, look at who follows the Saints' 15th pick ...

16 - St Louis - clearly has the ammunition to move up if they so desire,
17 - Pittsburgh - also run the 3-4 and could target some of the same players as the Saints,
18 - Dallas - familiar with Rob Ryan's philosophy and preferences in personnel, & also has the tendency to be active in the trade market,
19 - NY Giants - familiar with Gettleman, obviously, & sitting right behind Dallas shouldn't hurt, either,
20 - Chicago - done plenty of deals with them in the past, though it may or may not carry over to the present, remains to be seen,
21 - Cincinnati - should also have some extra picks from the Palmer trade,
22 - St Louis - again, has the ammo to move up if they want.


If we're on the clock at 14 and someone unexpected has fallen - like Lane Johnson or Xavier Rhodes or Barkevious Mingo or Warmack - Gettleman just might find himself in the catbird seat. Tavon Austin might even draw some interest from teams looking to trade up. Maybe just maybe, we end up getting back in the 3rd round by some fortuitous sequence of events...

...otherwise, I'd be looking for something like:

(14) Jonathon Hankins - DT - OSU
(44) Sylvester Williams - DT - UNC
(108) Robert Lester - SS - Alabama
(148) Oday Abousi - OT - UVA
(182) Marquess Williams - WR - WSU

 

Apparently Jonathan Cyprien the safety from Florida International worked out for the Panthers on Tuesday. Per Yas's blog.

 

definitely looking like they're targeting strong safety...anybody know if Vicarro could play strong side? He's generally listed as a FS...

 

Think he looks more like a SS to me. Tackling is his strength. But he has some ball skills now to play FS. He'd be a nice player to have with Keek, but 14 seems a little rich, but id take him over Barron FWIW.

He ran a 4.6 something at the combine but apparently had cramp issues and still ran. Didnt run at pro day due to hip injury or some shit.

I heard someone like Mayock say he did a good job covering Austin so he looks like a 4.5 guy on the field.

 

He's not as good a safety prospect as Barron was, but Vaccaro is extremely versatile. He can tackle, he can ball-hawk, and he can handle man coverage (which he did a lot at Texas over the slot). It's probably a little bit of a reach but I'd be ok with it. He'll start for 5-10 years even though he'll probably never make a Pro Bowl.

 

WVU WR Stedman Bailey visiting the Panthers today...

 

When the Mountaineers needed a first down they went to Bailey, not Tavon Austin.

 

Maybe the 49ers will trade up with us and take Austin..they owe us for face raping us in the draft a couple years back...