Marty Hurney – 2003 Draft

This is another in a multi-part series where I’m trying to make the case that Marty Hurney should remain as the Panthers GM. And, it’s also a post where I’m trying to figure out in my own head “Should Marty Hurney stay as the Panthers’ GM??” I think he should, but I don’t know what I know until I write about it (and then read everyone’s comments).
In any case, I’m continuing with the drafts. 2003 is up now…

2003 Panthers NFL Draft
Pick One – OT Jordan Gross, Utah… It’s a weird but true fact that the Minnesota Vikings let the clock run out on their #7 choice for the draft. Why? I think they were trying to pull a trade, and although they ended up with DT Kevin Williams, both Jacksonville and then the Panthers ran ahead of them to the podium and respectively selected QB Byron Leftwich and OT Jordan Gross (look it up, it’s true)… I think we’ll all agree that Jordan is an All-Pro at right tackle, and at left tackle he’s still pretty darn good… Bad news for us and Jordan that he broke his right ankle this season… He has been a stud up until now… I want to share a quote I found from Jake Delhomme, following the Jordan Gross injury:
    “We visited (Monday) for a while. In typical Jordan fashion, he apologized for getting (injured)”
    The fact is, so many teams whiff on their top ten picks, and it kills their franchises for years to come. Marty Hurney has been outstanding in his round one choices. Jordan Gross was a smart, smart pick. He suits up, shows up, and plays hard and makes plays.

Pick Two (traded down) – OC Bruce Nelson, Iowa… What I remember about Bruce Nelson is that he looked very promising, and then got injured. And then he looked very promising again, and then got injured. And then, well, repeat again.
    That’s no fault of either Nelson’s or Hurney’s. We needed another offensive lineman, and Nelson was good value. That said, we missed out on WR Anquan Boldin, DE Osi Umenyiora, and LB Lance Briggs. Hindsight is 20/20, and honestly I wouldn’t have chosen any of those guys. I would’ve chosen, at the time of the draft I thought this, TE Jason Witten.
    It’s another reminder that, if you’re building a team, you have to take the best player available, regardless of (relatively) positional needs.
    Hurney did his best to buffer our OL. Nelson was a solid choice, and the injuries can’t be foreseen. That said: Choose the best player on the board!!

Remaining Draft Picks:
TE Mike Seidman, CB Ricky Manning, S Colin Branch, DE Kindal Moorehead, WR Walter Young, FB Casey Moore.
    Do you remember that Ricky Manning pick vs. Philadelphia that got us to the Super Bowl? Well, if you don’t, I’ll relate that Manning made an unbelievably athletic play that picked off a pass, and got us to the Super Bowl. That alone was worth the third round pick we took on him. Later, Hurney would trade him, for, I think, another third round pick… S Colin Branch at times looked good, but he was another player that succumbed to injuries… And, TE Mike Seidman was a “make-up” for not picking Jason Witten in round two (Witten would’ve been our TE for 10 years). Seidman fell to injuries too… DE Kindal Moorehead was serviceable for a few years, and Young and Moore were smart picks in the 7th, even though they didn’t pan out. (You do the best that you can in the 7th round).

2003 Marty Hurney Draft Grade: C+

    Two years in a row, Hurney chose wisely in the 1st round. (Peppers, then Jordan Gross)… That said, Hurney didn’t provide the team with additional depth in the following rounds… Injuries were our undoing, and that’s no fault of Hurney’s… Still, I would have liked to have seen Jason Witten or another quality player in round two.

Other players who we might have had: LB Bradie James, DT Aubrayo Franklin, C Dan Koppen, OT Tony Pashos, WR Arnaz Battle, S Yeremiah Bell, and about 200 other guys who, unlike those listed, didn’t pan out.
    I thought at the time that LB Bradie James and C Dan Koppen were no-brainers, and I wish our draft would’ve gone: 1. OT Jordan Gross, 2. TE Jason Witten, 3. LB Bradie James, 4. C Dan Koppen… That’s what I would’ve done at the time. And I mean that: At the time, those were my choices.
    But then we wouldn’t have had Ricky Manning. And we might not have made the Super Bowl. It’s really easy to sit here at my desk and re-order the world (and that’s what I’ll continue to do). Fact is: Marty Hurney in 2003 was 2-0 for first round picks, and he later got killed by injuries in this draft, and he also found Ricky Manning.
‘Nuff said.