Panthers Will Certainly Look at WR/KR Prospect Brandon Banks
by Jaxon on Feb 1, 2010 7:33 PM EST
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PrintHat tip to r3 for sharing this...
I'm thinking the chances the Panthers might use a mid-round pick on WR/KR Brandon Banks went up dramatically with the elevation of Jeff Rodgers to ST coach. Rodgers is only one year removed from Kansas St where Banks was a key to his #1 in the nation ST unit:
Rodgers was the special teams coordinator at Kansas State in 2008, when the Wildcats led the country in blocked kicks and scored six touchdowns on returns. Rodgers oversaw the development of KSU receiver/return ace Brandon Banks, who would go on to earn Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year honors as a senior.Banks, a decorated former high school sprinter, projects as a slot receiver with lots of return value in the pros and is eligible for April's draft. Fittingly, the Panthers need upgrades at both positions. Rodgers' hire may increase the chances they use a mid-round pick on the versatile home run threat.
Video of Banks after the jump...He reminds me of DeSean Jackson with his size and speed. Wishful thinking on my part I know.
I realize it's very little to go on but maybe Rodgers is just the guy we need. Remember when the Panthers used to block kicks. We would actually put starting DL in to try and block it, Peppers and Jenkins. I'm looking for a reawakening from the Panthers ST unit in 2010!
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Much smaller and less refined than DeSean Jackson. Great speed, but someone like Jacoby Ford is a similar player at a higher level.
Mocking the Draft: Your NFL Draft source.
That's what I'm talking about!
You just made my day.
"Once again the trousers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
KSU ALL THE WAY BABY!!!
Sorry, just in case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a big Wildcat fan. Banks is a guy I would love to get, K-State has a reputation for return men. Darren Sproles, Yamon Figurs, and Terence Newman are some of the more recent ones.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Feb 2, 2010 2:41 AM EST up reply actions
mocking dan
Are you going to be getting to the panthers soon?
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 1, 2010 11:04 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
He’s been going by division, so it’s a good bet that Carolina will be this week or next week. No guarantees though.
Mocking the Draft: Your NFL Draft source.
good stuff
MTD is awesome…I love your scouting reports over there they are put together very well.
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 2, 2010 9:32 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
btw dan
What do you think about Eric Norwood out of S.CAR?
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 1, 2010 11:17 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
He’s a good pass rusher and not a lot else. He looked pretty bad at the Senior Bowl dropping back into coverage. He’s fast and athletic, but lacking technical skills and strength.
Mocking the Draft: Your NFL Draft source.
thanks
I still want him though…just for the 4-3… and blitz him everytime. We can work on coverage later. But mid second would be high for a pure pass rushing olb no?
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 2, 2010 9:29 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
you have to give him props for the intangibles
he was the leader of their defense and usually was the guy making the big plays
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
He is also from Garner NC (right outside of Raleigh in case you didn't know).
He is interesting. I am worried about his size. When talked before about Dexter McCluster being small at 165lbs. Well, Banks is 5’7" 150lbs on the K St website roster. On the vid the announcer said he was 140lbs after lowering his shoulder on a DB as he was going out of bounds. I would rather go with a Jacoby Ford (5’9" 180lbs 4.3ish projected 40 yd dash) or Trindon Holliday (5’5" 168lbs with Olympic speed – 10.02 100 meters).
Will Parker
Here are some Senior Bowl notes on Ford (3rd round projection)
01/25/10 – Senior Bowl, Monday: Pike’s teammate, Mardy Gilyard, and Clemson’s Jacoby Ford took advantage of the lack of accuracy by their quarterbacks to show scouts their ability to snatch the ball away from their bodies. Ford in particular showed outstanding hands most of the day, only dropping a couple of balls in drills when allowing it too far into his chest. When matched up against a corner, however, he created separation with good foot quickness in his routes and caught wildly inaccurate throws from all three quarterbacks. He stands just 5-feet-9 and 180 pounds, but he’s a prototypical slot receiver with a lot of potential as a return man. – Chad Reuter, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com
01/27/10 – Senior Bowl, Wednesday: Clemson receiver Jacoby Ford looked outstanding early in the week, but over time it has been obvious his short arms and small hands prevent him from consistently keeping the ball away from his chest. His quickness is still tough for corners to deal with and nearly impossible for linebackers to check when in zone coverage, and he proved it by finding holes inside on multiple occasions. – Chad Reuter, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com
01/27/10 – Senior Bowl, Tuesday: Clemson’s Jacoby Ford is proving among the more secure handed receivers at the Senior Bowl this week – a bit of a surprise to some who had labeled as only a big play threat. Though short, the 5-09, 181 pound Ford has good strength to gain his release off press and has the speed to eat up the cushion. He has impressed scouts so far this week with his ability to adjust to poorly thrown passes and haul in tough catches. – Rob Rang and Chad Reuter, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com
Will Parker
by WillParker81 on Feb 1, 2010 10:35 PM EST up reply actions
Not so good news for Banks
12/13/09 – A man who just completed his career in a Wildcat football jersey was arrested early Sunday morning. The Riley County Police arrest report indicates 21-year-old Brandon Banks has been charged with battery and unlawful possession. His bond was set at $2,500 dollars. KMAN is awaiting word from RCPD on further details into the incident involving Banks. He was arrested at his residence at 410 North 17th Street in Manhattan around 4:00 a.m. Banks, a wide receiver and kick returner, completed his senior season for the Wildcats. The Big 12 selected him as its Special Teams Player of the Year, as he set a conference record with two kick-return touchdowns in one game. Banks was recently invited to be a participant in the postseason East-West Shrine Game in Orlando, Florida on January 23rd. – 1350KMAN/Kansas.com
Will Parker
Yeeesh
I don’t pretend to know the kid at all… but character seems to be pretty high on the Panthers’ list of priorities.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
150?!
You know I wanted to see larry beavers do well…but the first day of tc I saw him out there and the helmut looked friggin huge compared to his body and I was like oh wells that’s that. I wouldn’t want to use a pick on him. If jacoby ford is available it would be hard to pass him up. But I still think we should grab eric norwood with our first pick.
I’m a lil stuck on him though. I’m not sure how well he is going to do in coverage at the nfl level. And I’m a gamecock fan so I could be a little biased.
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 1, 2010 11:02 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Ok its obviously time for me to get some sleep…I can’t spell helmet correctly
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 1, 2010 11:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Hmm Banks nan seems like another Ryne Robinson to me.
Just doesn’t seem like Banks is a good fit for us. I could see us going after a J. Ford from Clemson however b/c I like the kids work ethic and saw a few clips from the Senior Bowl and he at least is willing to stick his nose in and block, and could be affective in the slot but who knows. Anytime you take a supposed return specialist it is rare that they work out as effective as they did at the college level.
What about Dexter Jackson, he is already signed for next season along with S. Justice who is going to be our backup center behind Kalil. I love Justice and he was great player at Wake Forest I just find it hard to believe that he ended up with the USFL.
I am all for drafting a WR/KR specialist however we need someone that can step in and do it effectively and not a project like we always seem to draft.
Go Panthers.
by Holty_Panthers_Fan on Feb 1, 2010 11:19 PM EST reply actions
Will he even be drafted?
I don’t mind drafting a WR/KR specialist, but he doesn’t look too impressive to me. He may be fast but I figure if you’re 140 pounds you should be. I saw a lot of pure speed yet there’s nothing in that clip that shows his elusiveness. If he were to lower his shoulder on a DB in NFL, he’d be done for the season.
As painful as it is for me to say this... (I hate the Patriots)
Over at Mocking the Draft, I seen mention of the Pats having 3 second round picks. The mock projects them to use their first on Brandon Graham.. I could see that… Though I’d take two (#12 and #15) of their seconds for Pep.. Our pick being #16, that’s a 3 picks in a 5 pick span.
If such happened, I doubt they’d go after a DE early, if at all.. So with that, if Graham happened to fall, should we grab him?
In a perfect world…
I’d absolutely make the trade and grab Brandon Graham, Taylor Price, and Eric Norwood.
In my opinion, those three 2nd rounders would be way more beneficial than any first rounder we could grab (assuming someone offered a 1st for Pep, or we traded up somehow).
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
-cough- Jacoby Ford -cough- Is awesome -cough-
"Once again the trousers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
In a perfect world revised..
We also grab Ford in the 4th.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
There we go! :D
"Once again the trousers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
Elsewhere in my perfect world...
Lets just replace Danario as the third round pick with Ford… So to recap, in my perfect world..
Pep traded to NE for their 2 highest 2nd round picks..
2nd – Graham, Price, Norwood
3rd – Ford
4th – Veldheer
6th – Oghobaase
7th – Holliday
I can’t seem to remember what other picks we have. I think it’s time to go to sleep for me.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
A little more before bed time...
One starts opposite Smith, another rotates in the slot with Jarrett (allowing us to choose between size or speed given the situation), and the final injects our return game.
If Moose stays, I guess we can rotate him in on run plays and a few passes to keep it fresh.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
Rather than take Price
who I think is a bust waiting to happen, why don’t we package those picks and move up for Tate, Benn, or even Damian Williams? One or two would be all it would take, and the return with Tate would allow us to focus on other positions later like DE.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Feb 2, 2010 2:45 AM EST up reply actions
That's a good idea.
Though I’d still rather have three 2nd rounders vs 1 first. Not only do we avoid having to pay first round money but we get some pretty talented players. I think their combined effect would be greater than any sole player we could draft in the first.
I wouldn’t scoff at the FO if either of those ideas came to fruition, though.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
hes fallen all the way to the 4th??
You got to be kidding. I hope you are right. I think he is going early second round at the latest
Richardson you better not screw this up for me!
by STEVEN 785 on Feb 2, 2010 9:11 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I assume you're referring to Ford?
Yes, NFLDraftScout.com currently has him projected as a 4th rounder. Of course, that’s just one sites opinion.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
That site..
Also predicts the Pats take a DE with their first second round pick, which furthers my belief that they’d be willing to trade that pick, as well as their 44th pick for Peppers. I definitely believe a 2nd round pick + a pick that was going towards an unproven DE anyways is fair for Peppers.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
Jacoby Ford? Fourth Rounder?
Madness! Madness I tell you!
"Once again the trousers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
He could bump his stock up.
He’ll definitely be on Al Davis’ radar in the third.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
by Flowing Willow on Feb 3, 2010 6:59 AM EST up reply actions
I think everyone is on Al's radar, way up there in the Death Star and all...
All of that Sith technology and he STILL can’t get a decent team. I hear next year he’s fielding all storm troopers.
Helpful reminder for James at seasons end: 2nd Rnd CSR Fan Draft Pick.
Dexter McCluster
If McCluster is available I really think we should snag him. He has spectacular speed and cutting ability and after seeing Harvin tear it up in the slot up in Minnesota this year he could be a great 2nd receiver. I’d Love to see Steve at 1, Jarrett at 2, and McCluster at 3. I think Jarrett actually has some talent he just hasn’t gotten enough chances to prove himself. Plus it appears that he and Matt Moore may have some pretty good chemistry, That has the potential to be a deadly threesome of receivers, plus McCluster would provide a MUCH NEEDED spark to our less than mediocre Special Teams. After the last 5 games of the season I am extremely opptomistic about next year with or without Julius Peppers (preferably with)!!!! Panthers 2010/2011 baby!!! Can’t wait!!! The future is bright for this team!
Good post, SouthernPainter, and welcome
You may not have noticed it, but there was a good deal of discussion last week on the very subject of drafting McCluster:
http://www.catscratchreader.com/2010/1/28/1274329/why-not-draft-dexter-mccluster
thanks
thanks man :). i just read that article. This was my first post, i’ve been a reader for a while but I just joined the other day so i could comment. Very excited about this!!!
by SouthernPanther on Feb 4, 2010 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
You'll find this is a good group to exchange your ideas and opinions with.
A lot of knowledgeable and fervent fans here.
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