This is the fourth installment of a series where I feature each of the Panthers recent draft picks.

I have to admit I was questioning the Panthers shortly after making Dan Conner their 4^th selection, #74 in the 3^rd round. Since then I’ve come a full 180 degrees. If he truly is first round talent snatched in the 3^rd round then the Panthers just upgraded their LB corps to the point of being not only deep but one of the top corps in the league. Let’s take a closer look at Conner, his Penn State career and how he may impact the Panthers defense in the 2008 season.

 Here’s Dan Conner's scouting report : 

Blue collar. That's the word heard most often when describing Dan Conner. The Penn State Senior linebacker has been nothing short of a tackling machine since the first game of his freshman year. In fact, according to an article by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Conner has failed to register at least 5 tackles in only 2 of his 45 career games. Conner even set the record for career tackles at Penn State against Purdue. The best tackler ever at a place referred to as Linebacker U, that's quite a ringing endorsement. Conner led Penn State with 145 tackles this year, helping their team to its stingy 93.8 rushing yards against average per game.

 

Conner will wear #44 for the Panthers. Pretty damn impressive resume I must say, which pains me a little since I don't particularly like PSU because of the Kerry Collins debacle. He's a Panther now so WTF right?

Here's his draft preview, where everyone calls him a first round lock .

Penn State linebacker Dan Connor is 6'3 231 lbs. The Nittany Lions senior had 6.5 sacks last season. Connor won the Bednarik Award for outstanding defensive player for last season. Dan was named MVP of the North Team at the 2008 Senior Bowl. The awards helped established Dan Connor as a possible first round draft pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

 I saw one scout who thought he might slip into the second. When told he ended up in Carolina Conner was caught off guard given the already deep corps the Panthers boast.

"I didn't expect it," Connor told the Panthers' official web site when asked about falling out of the first two rounds. "But I'm still excited to be on the team right now and have mini-camp coming up. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world. I'm more excited about this being the start of a long NFL career.

You have to love a guy who plans to play along time. The best description of him is ‘tackling machine’. The best LB in PSU history, just amazing we got him in the 3^rd round.

You  can’t find a better video of his highlights than this:

 That's an impressive video. I particualrly like the way he takes on blockers and just moves them aside when its time to make the tackle.

I think Conner could end up starting the Chargers game either in the middle or on the weak side. I could see Conner in the middle and Beason at the Will and Thomas Davis at the Sam. The combinations at this point are many but rest assured the Panthers are going to start three damn good LB’s come September. I’m expecting the Panther run defense to be very formidable in 2008 and I think Dan Conner will be a big reason why.