Grade the Panthers 2009 Draft

I gave it a C- based on my gut feeling, but hopefully that will change.

For me, it really boils down to how Brown, Martin, and Irvin pan out. Especially Brown. If he's the next Dwight Freeney, fantastic. The C- turns into an A. If he's the next Stanley McGlover, this draft becomes a D. If Martin pans out, great. If he's Rashard Anderson, I'm gonna be pissed. If Irvin can contribute, great. If he's Antiyyah Ellison, again I'm gonna be pissed.

 

could be worse he could be Jason Peter

 

I am with you. I am not very excited about any player we drafted.

 

this is surprising.

 

Go back to the pedo forums.

 

I voted a C because while I like the Brown pick I don't like giving up the first. I don't care where he "should have" gone. The fact he's undersized is the reason he slid. IF he can play bigger fine, but if not then we wasted a first rounder on a pass rushing specialist.

I also did not like the fact we went with a hybrid player for CB--hybrid in the bassackward sense. If Sharrod were a slower corner making the switch to safety I would be okay with a second round gamble, but from safety to corner is a MUCH bigger adjustment and higher risk of failure.

We needed to upgrade DT waiting to the third and got Irvin with better talent on left the board. Most (I think all reports I read) stated that Irvin will be nothing more than a reserve in the pros. We needed somone to vie for a starting position whether they actually beat out Lewis/Kemo or not.

The only picks I had no quams about were the Goodson and Robinson picks. The rest were so-so selections. It wasn't a great draft, it wasn't a horrible draft so I gave it mediocre grade for a mediocre draft--C.

 

I don't think he's that small.
I also think that other than the Chargers, there wasn't that much of a need for the 3-4 OLB, and they reached for English (to our benefit). A lot of the 3-4 teams went for DL (Packers, Steelers, Pats); the Packers did grab an OLB but took a more traditional outside guy in Matthews (and I'm still interested to see how that'll work, but they have Kampmann so they apparently don't feel they need a rusher as badly, but I'd still take Brown in space as easily as Matthews).

At any rate it might've scared off a few 4-3 teams but certainly not all (the Bills drafted Maybin, who's 10 lbs smaller).

Going back and watching his highlights, it's not like he can't pursue. It's not that he doesn't take on blocks and shed (some of his highlights, he's beating guards, and while it's with speed, it's still an engage and shed thing, or making a move off engagement - there were some plays where it was just busted blocking, but he did have to work for some and generally got the extra blocker if there was more than just a contain guy, and he could beat that block as well).

He's not just a guy running around blocks because he's physically superior, he's aware of what the blocking schemes are doing and knows how to beat it. I've seen him being taken on by a guard and tackle, notices the tackle is trying to divert him inside instead of playing leverage outside, changes direction and beats the guard's inside shoulder before the guard can fully react. I've seen him spin out of a block only to be recontained, and have a hump move ready to shed if the tackle responds. You won't have that amount of time to rush in the pros, but it's still a good sign.

 

I gave an A-

I love the Brown pick. We need pass rush desperately. Even if he is situational, as long as he brings it on his situation, I'm good.

The Martin pick was off my radar and I do not know enough about him. I have seen conflicting reports: he hits hard, he doesn't hit hard. I'll reserve judgement until he gets on the field.

After the first few sure things, picking DTs is always a crapshoot. It's hard to predict which of those guys will be successful. I think HurFox went after a high character solid player rather than roll the dice on a boom or bust, which is those guys Mel and McShay were pimping.

I always thought this team was a few pieces shy of having a dominant running game. With Stewart last year and Robinson this year, we should be able to turn that corner. Now we go out and get a high end FB and a another versatile speedy RB/HB/WR and I'm feeling good about the shiny new rookies. Throw in the T from Penn and it looks pretty good on paper.

 

yeah, re: irvin, if it's him or Jean-Francois, who some others had us taking, I take Irvin. There's no doubt a drop between him and Gilbert, sure (and after the Brown pick, I probably still would've gone there). But that's how the draft goes, and Gilbert had some boom or bust to him, too. Irvin's got that same first step, still high speed, just needs to beef up a little to hit the run well. He isn't a top run stopper, and we need to get that still, so that's where we failed, but that's not what this guy's going to be. But he should be able to slip some blocks, and push the pocket. That's what we set out to do apparently, so we'll probably succeed at that more than last year.




This stuff isn't a science. I was ecstatic with the Fiammetta pick while others fumed that we hadn't taken Robinson (who was still there another round later). I've personally pined for more than enough players (remember Isaac Hilton? John Wendling?) that went by round after round that I would've been pleased to see, and they wouldn't have been good picks. If we'd picked a guy like Francois (who I never really saw get picked?) in the 3rd, it would've been completely acceptable.

 

Niners got Frenchy later on.