Hixon

for me, 'the next smitty' is two fold: (i) there's Smitty the #1 receiver, then there's (ii) Smitty the leader and voice of the franchise (Cam's big brother). The former shouldnt be that tough given a high enough pick or a good enough free agent. On the other hand, (ii) has to be thought out carefully, especially with the potential departure of Beason, which would leave a huge leadership void. The people who fill this void, should they not be already on the roster, need to be the right choices.

 

Keek is the natural successor for the D. Keep in mind Beason has essentially been off the field for 2 years. He obviously has the teams respect on and off the field but he needs to be on it more. Otherwise its all really ra ra fantalk. Davis is a pretty decent leader too.

I think CJ and Hardy will grow into bigger roles too.

I love me some Smitty but I wonder how much of a true leader he really is. Obviously he was the respect of teammates and has tenure but he has had two draft picks to take under his wing that have essentially flopped out. Now, im not blaming Smitty for their failures, they are their own men. But what the hell happened to Colbert, great rookie year then disappeared, made no sense. Why could he not help get Jarrett focused on being a professional. He sure called him out in the media.

 

i hear ya...i hesitated whether to even use the word 'leader' for those very reasons...but he certainly has a presence on the team... and he was the only one to call out the organization for playing Amini too early, so he is to some extent.

 

It's weird that you say this when the reasons have already been explained. Did you not read the thread? Unless you pick in the top 8 during a year when a truly great WR talent is available, you get better at WR by developing young players who learn your system. Since fourth and fifth WRs rarely see any passes anyway, that's a good spot for them to get experience. They're cheap, and ideally they will grow into someone who can play at least #2 or #3. By signing both Hixon and Ginn to one year deals, not only does that push another young and cheap WR off the roster, but it leaves more question marks for 2014.

edit:
Do you know how many WRs will be under contract with the Panthers in 2014? Steve Smith and whoever doesn't get cut between Adams and Pilares (although both might).

 

Three picks considering he had a mancrush on Drew Carter at one point. And if you don't want to bring up the leader thing we can all agree he probably isn't a very good teacher.

 

You mean did I read your opinion and ignore everyone elses?

You act like we paid Hixon 3 mill a year. Its another cheap 1 year deal, barely over 1 mill I imagine (havent seen the numbers). Smitty is the only WR getting paid.

I see Ginn more of an actual returner than a legitimate #3 WR. I see Hixon more of a #3 capable of pushing Lafell and make sure he's worth extending(also in the last year of his deal).

So what does our debth chart really look like

Smitty
LaFell
Hixon
Ginn
Pilares
Edwards
Adams
Gettis
Bryant (practice squad guy)

How long are we gonna wait on Edwards and Gettis. And Both Gettis and Adams appeared to be in Riveras doghouse.

You're also not considering possible injuries (Gettis and Pilares). I think you're stuck thinking Hurney is still the GM. The NFL is a what have you done lately league and half those guys havent done shit. Its time to make an impact or get to stepping.

 

Carter was like a 5th rounder skinnier than AE and an ACL waiting to happen. He was a long shot.

Think he had like 3 acl tears

I liked Carter out of OSU at the time, had high hopes.

 

It's like your brain is a hamster wheel, only the hamster is too old and fat to do more than sit in it and wheeze. Wide receiver is a slow developing position, with many taking three or four years before they're ready for starting roles. While I would say that neither Adams or Pilares are particularly likely to develop into potential starters, they could become slot receivers with more seasoning. But because one or both will be pushed off the roster and any who make it will be riding the bench, how exactly are they supposed to improve? Developing wide receivers isn't just drafting a guy and plugging him immediately, nor is it particularly wise to constantly churn over the roster with free agents who have no familiarity with your quarterback. Signing either Hixon or Ginn was a good move. Signing both was dumb.

 

I heard Smitty say that Pilares and Adams both need to put the video games down during the offseason and start getting into shape.

 

He really likes the public criticism route, which is good because it's been so successful to date