2012 Panthers Draft prospect thread

probably not the first round pick, and Upshaw is more a making the best of the pick situation, but we'll need more at LB than we've ever really had. Having a guy with rush ability would be nice.

 

Davis has to come back since they don't have the cap room to cut him. Even if they get rid of the option bonus, that still means he's making a ton of money. I just don't see any scenario where they'll do that while pushing him to the bench in favor of Upshaw. Plus I think Upshaw is a much better fit in the 3-4 anyway. Believe me, I get why you like him as a prospect, but it's just not the right choice for the Panthers.

For that matter, I wonder if Anderson has rush ability. I can't recall the team really even trying him in that role. His strength at SLB is using his hands, so it's possible he might be effective. Seems like when they want that they just go to the 3-4 look and use Applewhite.

 

Anderson is OK, he's a decent blitzer, but you'll never confuse him for a guy who can line up and do it. He's a little slight for it.

 

josephperson Joe Person
Russell Wilson said he met with the Panthers this week. Panthers possibly looking for a backup QB that can run same offense as Cam Newton.

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some observations from the Senior Bowl, courtesy of the NY Times:

TE Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette: This group of tight ends hasn’t made a big impression this week, but Green is starting to turn heads. He shows an easy transition when changing direction and he gets open with good separation. Green has wide receiver-like ball skills.

WR Marquis Maze, Alabama: The most notable thing about Maze today was his skill after the catch. He has strong agility and he can set his feet and explode to change direction.

WR Marvin Jones, California: Jones once again looked like the best deep threat on the North roster. He easily got deep in drills against defensive backs. If one particular pass wasn’t overthrown, Jones has an easy touchdown up the left sideline. He also demonstrated good sideline awareness, regularly getting two feet down when running routes at the boundary. He is adept at tucking the ball away after the catch and he has strong hands. He doesn’t draw oohs from the crowd, but his play is making a loud statement to those with a discerning eye.

Quinton Coples, North Carolina
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Coples won 90 percent of his reps in practice Tuesday. He again made his opponents whiff at times on his go-to inside rip and swim move and flashed a rare, but effective edge rush move with good lean. He’s been strong enough to get away with a high pad level when defending the run. His play, albeit against what may be questionable competition, was again evoking nearly unanimous comparisons to Julius Peppers.


Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt
Most of the South corners flashed their skills at one point or another, but Hayward drew the most praise from vocal Washington DB coach Raheem Morris. Showing very good change of direction and the ability to use his hands effectively in press coverage, Hayward frequently broke up passes with a quick burst back to the ball. Juron Criner was able to get separation with his big frame at times, but Hayward was usually right in his pocket.


Brandon Thompson, Clemson
Coples will get all the headlines from practice Tuesday, but Thompson dominated as frequently as Coples. Thompson consistently got under the pads of his blocker and either drove him back or stood his ground and shed easily. He was in the backfield extremely quickly on a number of 7-on-7 snaps and disrupted a handful of rushing plays in team drills.


Zach Brown, North Carolina
Brown, who may have been holding back a bit on the soggy field Monday, was arguably the best linebacker on the South roster Tuesday. He was much quicker through the footwork drills and rarely needed to look down to judge where he was between pads. He was the most consistent backer in coverage drills, never getting lost when needing stop quickly and change direction on a route. He was also very sudden shooting gaps from the backside and would have made multiple tackles for loss if the 7-on-7 session was a live tackling drill. He and Lavonte David have been the class of the Will linebacker prospects this week.

Coples’s efforts were nearly matched by Melvin Ingram, who played with better leverage Tuesday, collapsed the pocket well and even tossed a running back to the ground like a rag doll to end one play. Courtney Upshaw also had a good practice. His pass rush catalog is limited without a true edge rushing capability, but his pad level was consistently better than his opponent’s all day. Sean Spence seemed to be guessing during coverage drills, often getting lost by the running back coming out of his break. He was nearly as effective in pursuit as Brown in team drills, however, and again regularly helped Nigel Bradham get the team lined up out of the huddle.

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/day-2-of-senior-bowl-defensive-notes/

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/day-2-of-senior-bowl-offensive-notes/

 

It sounds like Coples might end up just out of Carolina's reach. Never say never with Hurney, though.

 

according to various sources, the Panthers have talked to:

WR Devier Posey (OSU)
WR Brian Quick (ASU)
WR Dwight Jones (UNC)
TE/HB Deangelo Peterson (LSU)
OT James Brown (Troy)
OT Mitchell Schwartz (Cal)

DE Vinny Curry (Marshall)
DE Malik Jackson (TN)
DE Derek Wolfe (Cinn)
DE Jaye Howard (UF)
DT Akiem Hicks (U. of Regina - Canada (formerly of LSU))
DT Kheeston Randall (Texas)
LB James-Michael Johnson (Nevada)
LB Audie Cole (NCST)
CB Casey Hayward (Vanderbuilt)

 

If anyone is interested, Scott Wright has been stalking the senior bowl

There was mention of the panthers chatting with Deangelo Peterson TE

Wednesday South
http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/SeniorBowl/reports/Practices/South-125.php

Wednesday North

http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/SeniorBowl/reports/Practices/North-125.php

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/risersandfallers

 

Brandon Boykin, Ga CB/PR. (who I know they had interest in) broke his leg at Senior Bowl.