My final mock draft

What do you guys think of Addai? From the little that I saw of him, he looked pretty polished. I've heard he's got nice hands out of the backfield, and he looks explosive. I don't know if he's the ticket at #27, but he's a guy that I wouldn't mind having.

 

Reminds me a lot of the way Foster runs now. Maybe a little less agile but slightly quicker feet. Some see him as a "power back lite" but I don't get that. He's more finese like Foster

 

Addai is someone we (meaning TBR) liked a lot back before the combine when he started shooting up everyone's draft charts. When we thought we might be able to get him at #58, he was golden, but the injury issues are a concern. He's a tougher inside runner than Foster, but I don't think he has the vision of someone like Williams.

 

TE.

Delhomme would be better for it. I don't have any visions of Davis in a Panther uni, but I do think that Pope and/or Lewis would give us an immediate upgrade, in terms of receiving. And I love Mangum for his work ethic and toughness, but he has never struck me as a dominant force in terms of his blocking. Seidman is just not very skilled, and Gaines doesn't strike me as a guy you can rely on. I don't see Henning suddenly making that a priority, but it sure would be nice to have that extra presence, particularly in the red zone. Hopefully, Key will take care of that.

 

When it comes to the TE postion the talent is not the problem. I would love for Jake to have that outlet but Dan Hennig just doesn't use the TE in the passing game very much.

With Key here now we have a pretty good 3-receiver set and I could see us using the TE even less and using the pass to set up the run. That's a little against our MO but we have to use the talent we have.

 

The lack of tight ends with blocking skills is somewhat disconcerting. At this point you almost have to think of taking an undersized tackle and moving him out. I'd certainly be in favor of that with one of our sixth rounders, just because I believe we can benefit from having a legitimate in-line blocker in short yardage situations.

 

It would seem that a team that values blocking TE's as much as Carolina would do a better job in that area. For what we give up in terms of athleticism at the position, I don't feel that we get an adequate return in terms of inline blocking. It doesn't help that Gaines has the intelligence/awareness of a boulder.

I suppose my point is if you're going to settle for average blockers, at least settle for an average blocker that can make plays. But sure, amending a late round OT into a TE has crossed my mind too. If inline blocking is a priority, then make it a priority.

 

The philosophy seems to promote guys who are average and have enough mobility in the running game, so I don't see the upside to taking a guy so high. He wouldn't make much of a difference. Gaines has shown that he can do enough, in our offense, to replace Mangum.

We do have a guy who fits that description in Sean Mulcahy, from UConn. But he's certainly no more than a project. If I had to lay money on it, I'd say that we start the season with the same three guys that we've had.