Here is my take on the current state of the Carolina Panthers....

NEEDS - OFFENSE

1. Offensive Coordinator - Done.  Honestly I think this held back our team more than anything this year on offense.

2.  TE - Enough of the tight end by committee nonsense.  We need to get back to the Wesley Walls era.  Look at theteams with great tight ends (Indy, SD, etc.), they all provide their QB with a safety valve that is much better than the RB flare/checkdown.  All we did was max protect with ours usually.  Go after Kyle Rudolph, who Clausen is already used to.

3. Slot WR - As much as some people want to draft AJ Green, it just doesn't make sense.  Last year we took LaFell, Gettis, and Edwards and still have Smith.  Only situation I see us taking Green would be if we traded Smith for an extra pick (2nd or 3rd maybe).  What we need more of is slot WR.  Maybe that can be Edwards, who knows, but we need to start using someone similar to Ricky Proehl.

4. OL Depth - Our offensive line was missing Otah all year.  And Duke Robinson for whatever thats worth.  Schwartz filled in nicely too at RG.  Recall after the preseason though we were scrambling to get offensive lineman, so depth would be nice.

5. QB Competition - Whether we resign Matt Moore or get Volek or draft a guy, we need to bring in someone.

NEEDS - DEFENSE

1. DT - Nick Fairley.  Easily fill a need that we have needed for the last few years.  Would instantly make our DEs and LBs better.

2. CB - With Richard Marshall leaving, we need more depth at corner.  Munnerlyn looks like the perfect nickelback and I'm not entirely convinced of everyone else (like Robert McLain).  This is a position we may be able to fill in the late rounds though.

DRAFT

All in all, this is how I think we should approach this draft.

Scenario 1 - Take Fairley at 1 overall.  Without a 2nd rounder, it could be very hard to land Rudolph at 65.  If he is unavailable, we should address the OL at this spot and take DJ Williams (Arkansas) in Round 4.  Those two could possibly switch.  Late round I'd look to Matt Szczur (WR - Villanova) to bring in to be a SL/WR/PR type of guy.

Scenario 2 - Trade down to 3rd or 4th and take BPA.  If this means AJ Green, then we could trade Steve Smith for picks and eventually try and acquire Marvin Austin.  I'd almost rather have an AJ Green / Austin combo over Fairley / Rudolph, but that is up for debate.  From there Szczur won't be needed most likely, but OL and CB depth would need to be addressed next.  If we took Patterson or Bowers, but managed to also pick up a quality player in Round 2, I wouldn't mind either.  And remember, we should be getting an extra pick in Round 3 for Peppers (about 100 overall or so) that cannot be traded, so this pick could be used for BPA, whoever it might be.

Thoughts?