Carolina Panthers' 2009 Draft- A retrospective
by James The Aussie on Jan 25, 2010 8:47 AM EST
39 comments
The Carolina Panthers’ 2009 draft was supposed to be a fairly quiet affair, with the team making a splash in 2008 trading their 1st round pick in 2009 to
Many of
Today we're going to look at how the 2009 draft panned out, and how I grade the players after their first season...
After the jump...
|
Rd |
# |
Name |
Pos |
|
2 |
43 |
Everette Brown |
DE |
|
2 |
59 |
S |
|
|
3 |
93 |
DL |
|
|
4 |
111 |
RB |
|
|
4 |
128 |
FB |
|
|
5 |
163 |
OT |
|
|
7 |
216 |
CB |
Everette Brown – B+
Though Brown only had limited playing time in 2009 he made the most of the snaps he took. Brown finished 3rd in QB pressures among Panthers and led all rookies in forced fumbles. Brown has vicious speed off the edge and was a highly effective 3rd down pass rusher. He should be utilized a lot more in 2010 if Tyler Brayton and/or Julius Peppers do not return. Defensive coordinator Ron Meeks is hoping he can hone some of Brown’s skills to turn him into another ‘undersized’ pass rusher he has coached- Dwight Freeney.
- - - - -
Sherrod Martin – B
The Panthers tried an experiment with the safety from
- - - - -
Corvey Irvin – N/A
Irvin was a victim of circumstance. All accounts said he had a fairly good training camp but was forced to IR immediately following the Panthers’ first preseason game. With more depth at the position since his injury it will be harder for Irvin to fight his way onto the D-line in 2010.
- - - - -
Mike Goodson – C
Goodson was the toast of the Panthers during the 2009 preseason. An electric runner who dares people to catch him oftentimes Goodson lacks a solid move that allows him to hit the next level. Goodson is a project for the Panthers and the jury is still out. His hands aren’t sure enough to be an effective KR or PR and he cannot be an every down back. However, figure Goodson to be a threat in the passing game and the wildcat in 2010.
- - - - -
Tony Fiametta – C+
FB is one of the most underrated positions on the field and one of the most difficult to pick-up and play. Fiametta was a pick for the future as he will be required to step in and fill Brad Hoover’s large shoes when he retires. When
- - - - -
Duke Robinson – D
Robinson was thought to be a 5th round steal but saw no playtime in 2009. He’s still a work in progress.
- - - - -
Captain Munnerlyn – B
This was the steal of the Panthers’ draft. Once thought to be a long shot to make the team Captain Munnerlyn stepped in and was willing to do anything the Panthers needed of him. He returned punts, tried his hand at kickoff returns, and worked his way into being the Panthers’ nickel back. This culminated towards the end of the season with Munnerlyn working opposite opposing #2 receivers admirably. The future is bright for this young DB.
What are your thoughts? Was I too soft on some players? Too hard on others? Let me know!
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Overall I think it was a good draft for the Panthers
Giving up the 1st round pick to get Brown will continue to be questioned until Brown gets in the starting line-up. I think the trade will make more sense once Peppers exits Carolina and we see little drop off on our pass rush.
Munnerlyn was obviously the value pick of the draft, to get a CB in the 7th round that plays so many snaps. I thought he excelled in man coverage, typically draped all over his man. What did he rank in PR avg by the way? Around 15th in the league seems I remember. I bet that improves in 2010.
You are right about Irvin though. Look at the depth we have on that DL now…with Leonard, Tyler and Irvin coming back from injury on top of the four in the rotation at the end of the season.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Oh...I might have given Irvin an N/A
since he got hurt so early.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Fair point
I’ve changed it to n/a it is fairer.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Jan 25, 2010 10:33 AM EST up reply actions
I wish I could see the Panthers player ratings from that draft
When I look at how someone drafts I look at who they took and the performance of that player vs. who they passed on. I really like the Everette Brown pickup in the second round. Economically it was a great decision, and I agree that if they had a first round pick they would’ve taken him anyways. They save a lot of money this way and Everette strikes me as the kind of guy who will hold a grudge against all who passed on him due to him being “undersized”. How many times are teams going to pass on players due to them being undersized? But in this case it is our gain. Julius Peppers dominance down the stretch was coincided by Brown lining up opposite him…definitely gives the opposing teams a whole lot to think about.
As for Sherrod Martin in the second round, I disagree strongly with the pick and I would love to know why the Panthers passed on Sean Smith of Utah. The guy is fantastic athletically and has the attitude to be successful in this league. Watch his highlights from college, he is very deceptive with his coverage abilities. QB’s picked on Vontae Davis quite a bit this year because of Smith being on the opposite side of him. At the worst, I would look for Smith to have a career like Bobby Taylor of the Philadelphia Eagles. I thought for sure that when he was available the Panthers would grab him.
As for Sherrod, great sideline to sideline speed, very poor tackler. That is why Godfry was reinserted into the starting lineup. I believe that was Martin who failed to make a simple sideline tackle against the Dolphins as Ricky Williams ran in for the game winning touchdown.
Corvey Irvin…too early to say due to his injury. I was hoping for Brian Hartline at WR.
Mike Goodson…guys got some speed and moves. However, the Tyrell Sutton pickup pretty much nullifies this pick unless they convert him to slot receiver or an injury to another back.
Tony Fiametta…too early to say as well. I would’ve taken Nic Harris and converted him to OLB to eventually replace Nail Diggs.
Duke Robinson…I really liked this pick. Obviously didn’t show anything on Sunday’s this season. We’ll see what he’s got next year though. Look at Mackenzy Bernadeau and Geoff Schwartz this season. Maybe we can expect the same from Robinson next season.
Captain Munnerlyn…what a fantastic pick! This guy did what the Panthers needed from Martin. I’m hoping Captain will put in the time to get better this offseason and make other teams pay for passing on him.
If anyone has any idea why the Panthers passed on Sean Smith…I would love to hear the reasoning. I would also like to hear what Steve Smith has to say about his fellow Utah alum and if he was hoping the Panthers would select him.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing on Sean Smith, because I really don't know enough about the kid, but here is what nfldraftscout.com say about him:
01/14/10 – RCB Sean Smith failed to display the playmaking skills he did in Utah, finishing with no picks. He also hit the rookie wall far too soon.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Jan 25, 2010 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
Experts are experts because they aren't good enough to get jobs at the GM level.
Interceptions doesn’t equal coverage skills. A QB throws your way because your receiver is open, unless it’s a bad QB. Smith isn’t targeted very much, watch his preseason highlights on youtube. His receivers appeared to be open, yet he made the interceptions/pass breakups because of his deceptive speed and his arm reach.
Dolphins only had three receivers get 100 yards or more against them. All were pro bowlers this season. Don’t forget also that our beloved Panthers couldn’t throw very well against two rookie CB’s…which included Sean Smith.
Other teams took note of this kid and the lack of targets his direction are proof of that. It’s a lot like DeAngelo Williams not getting a whole lot of recognition, you have to watch him play to get the full picture of how good he is. Had the Panthers drafted Smith they would’ve had the best CB’s in the league going forward. But since they didn’t, they will probably take a CB with their 2nd or 3rd rounder this year, despite Captain being on board.
Hard to make a ton of plays when opponents were throwing away from him.
I have several friends who are Dolphins fans, and they said he was a very steady presence in their secondary (as opposed to Davis’ flashy, but risky style), particularly for a rook.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:29 PM EST up reply actions
Martin does need to work on tackling...
you are correct about missing the tackle on Williams
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Munnerlyn's PR rank:
30th overall, 17th among those with 10+ returns.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:22 PM EST up reply actions
I kind of think Munnerlyn Deserves higher than a B
maybe a B+ or A-. he was a better punt returner than we’ve had in years, a guys that despite his size could cover the big boys, and for a seventh rounder to play on so many snaps is great.
I agree with you Jaxon on Irvin. since he didnt get a chance to do anything he shouldnt be judged really. Any ideas what defensive tackles will be around next year?
Goodson might have been too soft. He was amazing in the preseason and mediocre in the reagular season. it wasn’t like he wasnt given the chance either, he just struggled. He was outplayed by Sutton for sure
Really?
Munnerlyn was inferior in every way to Mark Jones…from just last year! Hell, his numbers say he was almost the exact same player as Ryne Robinson, whom everybody threw a going-away party for upon his release.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:34 PM EST up reply actions
It didn't help that he consistently had two feet of space to make a move
He was getting killed by the opposing coverage, our blocking for punts REALLY needs to be improved. If he had a little space he made things happen. And he’s explosive, something Jones wasn’t.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 26, 2010 7:18 AM EST up reply actions
He also couldn't even consistently field the punt at all.
And explosive, really? Munnerlyn’s longest return this year was 31 yards. Jones went for 55 last year, and also had five returns of 20+ compared to Munnerlyn’s four. And since we’ve all agreed that personnel on special teams doesn’t matter and the coaching on the ST units was the same, I’m not seeing that at all.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 27, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
The blocking was a heck of a lot better for Jones
Plus Munnerlynn has the speed to take it to the house, Jones didn’t, that’s what I meant. And while he couldn’t consistently catch it, he made good decisions, played it safe, and wasn’t responsible for a turnover this year I don’t think.
Kenny Moore on the other hand who had our longest return…….
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 29, 2010 7:03 AM EST up reply actions
The fact that he was lucky enough to get his fumbles recovered by teammates doesn't mean you should trust him.
Fumble recoveries on punt returns are just that, luck. If you put it on the ground, you’re eventually going to get burned.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 29, 2010 11:35 AM EST up reply actions
He rarely fumbled
Granted he was a little too safe in fair-catching it, but he muffed one punt all year I think. Compared to the guys Fox tried to replace him with who muffed at least two combined.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 29, 2010 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
I think your grades are accurate.
About Brown/Freeney: At 6’ 1", 256, Everette is right now (and I expect he’ll condition to put on more pounds) smack between what Freeney (6’ 1", 268) and Robert Mathis (6’ 2", 245) go at.
So, yes, sizewise, and speedwise, he fits the mold. And it looks like he has the desire. Now all he needs are the reps.
This is a tangent from this thread, so excuse it, but I noticed in yesterday’s game, an announcer made the point that an OL and a QB could compensate for an edge rush, but when a DL gets pressure up the middle, it’s really disruptive. Seems like on passing downs, we could use Charles Johnson at DT (did we do that last year??) with Pep and Brown on the edge, and it might be very effective. Or stunt 2 of them to add to the confusion.
And yeah, Munnerlyn was the pleasant surprise of the year, wasn’t he?
Yes, we did.
Johnson and Brayton both saw significant PT on the inside in nickel rush packagages.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:38 PM EST up reply actions
Munnerlyn
for a seventh rounder, it would be hard not to give him an ‘A’ for the season. But a ‘B’ is definitely fair.
I originally had him as an A- but ultimately felt like I didn’t want to judge the rooks based on where they were drafted, but more on the players they are.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Jan 25, 2010 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
Draft vs. Player
I agree with your grades if you’re grading the players. But if you’re grading the Panther’s draft ,the draft position is more important. With no open positions, no one could earn better than a B.
Fiammetta as a C+ is wildly out of step with his performance.
He was terrible. Just terrible. I don’t remember a single good play he made all season long, and I was watching. Not a single good block. But I definitely remember him getting our HBs blown up in the backfield with consistency. He was pulled in favor of using TEs in the backfield or running single-back sets during both of the games in which he started. Awful, awful, awful.
He had a couple good blocks...I don;t remember when
but I remember during a couple of my film reviews he made a key block. Not many, and I do remember some missed blocks as well.
The truth is FB is a more technical position than you might think. What a find Hoover was and I hope he’s got another season in him. Fiammetta will be a good one when he gets the details of the position down
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
I do.
He played very well in the Atlanta home game (springing Stewart for a long, game-clinching TD in addition to an overall solid play), as well as particularly good play in the Giants game when he had to lead-block for Hoover once Stewart went down. As for the rest of his starts, we averaged 148 YPG on the ground in all five, including 180+ in the last three. For the year, we only managed 156 on the ground, so I guess I just don’t see the massive dropoff. Combine that with the fact that it’s an incredibly difficult position to learn as a young player, the fact that he rarely got first-team reps, and, as noted, his and the team’s performance improved throughout the course of the season, and I don’t think C+ is remotely unfair.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
C+ is good
He made some rookie mistakes, but he made some good plays. What I look forward to in later seasons is our dumps to the flats, Hoover can make some of those, but he isn’t the most consistent. Fiametta had a reputation out of college for being a beast in the flats, we could have a legit option there now.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 26, 2010 7:20 AM EST up reply actions
Draft Grades
I think that this past draft was a GREAT draft.
First of all, any time all of the picks make the 53 man roster (excusing Irvin) you have a good draft. Second, when grading the draft, you can’t just look at starts and stats without also considering the draft slot that they were chosen at. Also, the Panthers were returning 21 starters and the 22nd postion was pretty well set, so there was not a real chance to come in and start.
So…
Brown was an A. He was regarded by many as a top 5 pick and the best DE in the draft. DE was a position the Panthers had to address because of the JP situation and I think that EB was the player they wanted and would have drafted in the 1st round if they had a pick. Although they spent a 1st round pick (next year’s) they could sign him for a 2nd round contract, which was vital due to JP and the cap. The fact that he could contribute at the level that he did , given our depth at his position after we retained JP, says loads. And he gave us protection in case JP refused to play or if a late trade was worked out.
Martin- A- he performed well and showed that he can be a ver good starter. Still think that he can play CB, but again, he’s caught up in the teams depth.
Irvin- n/a
Goodson- B showed promis and exceeded expectation for a 4th round pick. We knew that he wouldn’t play a lot because he was behind DWill and Stewie. Sutton also played very well and ate up playing time. He was slowed down by missing games due to a concussion.
Fiametta- A- 4th round pick drafted as Hoover’s eventual replacement. No reason to think that he won’t be able to do that. A steal for the 4th round.
Robinson- B+…wtf? …This grade is for the Panther"s pick, not the player. Did he ever make the active roster? Rememember his draft slot. He was regarded as physically the best OG in the draft, but with big questions about his motivation. As a 5th round pick, he didn’t get the big contract that could have motivated him to never really try to be an NFL player. It’s doubtful that he had any shot at starting last year and he could still develope into a good NFL player due to his athletic ability.
The Captain A+ What can I say? A 7th round pick is a long shot at best. If he makes PS he’s not a bust. When a 7th round pick makes the rotation and plays as well as Capt. did , it’s like a 1st rounder making the pro bowl.
Umm...
Everette Brown was not viewed as a top 5 pick by anybody. When “many” view any player as a top 5 pick, they don’t last through the entire first round. Further, there are no cap issues in signing rookies. There is a specific part of the cap that is segmented off for rookies, so Peppers’ money had nothing to do with the salary of Brown or any of our other rookies.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 25, 2010 9:57 PM EST up reply actions
How does that work?
Isn’t that like, the entire reason there is threat of a lockout in 2011? Rookie pay scale? You don’t just get unlimited salary cap space to sign rookies, I’ve never heard of anything like that.
I didn't say you did...
There is a specific part of the cap that is segmented off for rookies
This money may not be exceeded on pay to rookies, and may not be used on anything but rookies.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 27, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions
My bad
Sporting News had him ranked no. 6 overall and no. 1 for DE. I had thought that I had seen a ranking that had him in the top 5, but I can’ t find it now.
As to the rookie pool – the Panthers had a low amount allocated to rookie salaries (30th in the league). This was based the draft rounds and slots that they had. If they had had a 1st round pick, their rookie pool number would have been larger, and Pepper’s franchise tag contract would have exceeded the cap.
I don’t see a significant difference between top 5 and 6.
I saw brown ranked as top fifteen
and was very surprised when New England didn’t take him in the first.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 26, 2010 7:22 AM EST up reply actions
Most mocks by the Pro's had him going to GB at 6 to 8
where ever they picked…honestly I never considered him a possibility for the Panthers because he was ranked so high
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
I figured GB would take either Raji or Jackson
Brown never crossed my mind.
Maybe I should post a mock draft here right before the draft so we get a good idea of risers and fallers.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 27, 2010 2:09 AM EST up reply actions
If we hadn't drafted Goodson last year
I’d jump all over Dexter McCluster form Ole Miss. If you saw them play, specifically in their bowl game, you know what I’m sayin. MArk it down…he is going to be special. Not an every-down guy in the big boy league, but he will be a 100-125 total yardage per game type of guy.
Darren Sproles type?
Leon Washington? All hail the mighty mite! :)
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 29, 2010 7:04 AM EST up reply actions
Another totally different animal.
5’8", 201 coming out of college.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
by MichaelProcton on Jan 29, 2010 11:38 AM EST up reply actions
Don't doubt a small guy
Especially one who has made it this far. He’s probably got a raging competitive fire in him, and he survived four years in the SEC. I think he’ll be fine.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Jan 29, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
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