Looking at the bottom-feeders, and their search for offensive talents leaves Panthers in a good position.

I’ve been thinking about the draft, positions & players a lot lately as well but definitely agree that people should be more excited about winning games than the draft. Regardless of position we will have an opportunity to take a tremendous talent in the draft.

A few things I see happening differently are the Vikings taking a linemen (they could definitely use another big WR threat but I think their contempt with the guys they have, Shiancoe, Rudolph is developing well & of course AP). I also could see the Browns trying to make a move for a QB IF the Skins, Colts & Broncos all have earlier picks than them.

will be especially interesting because of all the scenarios the Panthers could find themselves in.

We have a heavy need for a dominant force at DT. The last time the Panthers got to the Super Bowl it was with a stacked D-Line with players such as Kris Jenkins, Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker, and that other guy anchoring the line. With our problems in the run game this year, we don’t need just a space eater, but a guy that is going to dominant his opponent and push into the backfield play in and play out.

Hopefully we come out of the draft with a big, physical DT, a fast OLB that flies to the ball every snap, a safety that can at least play better than damn Sherrod Martin, an OT, an OG, and maybe a big, physical, “Plaxico” receiver so to speak.

very good write up.. i totally agree with the fact where in position to get the best defensive player.. (cough,,KIRKPATRICK.)… The browns have 2 first round picks next year and since they have no WR’s they’ll be gunning for blackmon and still be able to grab a guy like griffin late in the first

I could see him going high in the draft next year if he does.

Course I’ve got my preferences. Matt Kalil and Zack Brown are at the top of my wishlist. Hell, depending on where we end up drafting and how things end up panning out, I’d advocate taking one of the WR’s, preferably Blackmon.

Is also a serviceable DT, he’s not even close to being a pro bowl talent, but he’s much better than who we have on the field now.
 In no way is he the complete answer to Carolinas run D, but with Edwards and Beason both back, I think the run D could be decent, not exceptional, but decent.

The thing is, I don’t think we need our run D to be amazing, I think with an average run D, we’re in the playoffs. We don’t need pro bowl caliber players at every position, we just need people who can make a stop every once in a while.

I would like to get a good DT, but after watching this entire season, I’m not sure that safety isn’t a bigger concern for us. I don’t know how many big runs I’ve seen where Martin should have tackled the runner after 5 yards, but he went 10-15 instead.

My plan during the offseason would be to address our areas of need in the following ways:

DT - Put McClain and Fua back at second string. Get Ron Edwards healthy and back on the field as a starter. Pursue Paul Soliai in free agency. Look to draft another young DT in the draft, but probably as a 4th rounder.

LB - Get Jon Beason back on the field. Rehabilitate Thomas Davis, if possible, but don’t count on him coming back. Retain James Anderson but slide him back over. Keep Dan Connor in the rotation. Draft the best LB available in the 3rd round who can reasonably cover TEs on 3rd and long situations…and add him to the special teams coverage units.

CB - Put Captain Munnerlyn back at the nickel and use him on special teams as a gunner again. Slot Brandon Hogan opposite Chris Gamble. Draft another CB in one of the later rounds that you can hopefully groom as a reasonable replacement for Gamble down the road…or an additional rotational player for dime packages, special teams contributions, and a future nickel back if we ever release Munnerlyn.

S - I’m not really happy with the lack of effort or production or whatever we’ve seen out of Charles Godfrey and Sherrod Martin. I’d like to see Rivera and Hurney light a fire under these guys by drafting a S somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round, depending on what kind of moves they make in trading down and adding more picks. Failing that, troll the free agency market and find a veteran guy who hopefully mentor Godfrey and Martin a bit more…while also adding some much needed veteran leadership in the secondary.

OL - We need depth here and a potential new starter at RG and RT. Either use our 1st round draft pick on an OL or look for someone serviceable in free agency who can provide insurance against another injury to Otah. Keep Hangartner as quality veteran depth. Obviously, retain Kalil, Wharton, and Gross.

WR - Get David Gettis back on the field and have him compete with LaFell for the #2 receiver spot. Release Legedu Naanee. Elevate Kealoha Pilares into the rotation and get him plenty of reps in the offense during training camp and preseason to see what he can contribute. Possibly pursue a free agent WR to give us another veteran in the lockerroom to help mentor the younger guys. If we can’t get a great OL with our 1st round pick, target a quality WR like Justin Blackmon instead.

TE - We’ve already retained Greg Olsen. Do the same for Jeremy Shockey. Together, they bring a whole different dynamic at a position that’s gone under-utilized for far too many years. They’re also good safety valves for Cam. It’ll be important to have both on the roster if we want to make a playoff run, and Shockey already has experience with that.

RB - No tremendous needs here. Coaching staff needs to figure out a way to develop Mike Goodson. That kind of speed could really help the offense in some formations. He just needs to hang onto the ball and read his gaps and better utilize his blockers. Deangelo and Stewart will always be the mainstays as long as they’re both on the roster. Vaughan is a useful insurance policy.

QB - We have our franchise QB, but we could still explore our depth at this position. Do we retain Clausen? Maybe. The guy at least knows the playbook and the new offensive schemes. Does Derek Anderson hang around? As long as willing to keep carrying the clipboard, mabye so. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to bring in another late round QB prospect in the draft if we want to take a chance on a guy and either stash him on the practice squad or replace Clausen on the active roster.

KR/PR - I think we’re set with Pilares as our return man on kickoffs. The debate is whether Armanti Edwards deserves to stick around as the PR. Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer this experiment continues. Can Pilares field punts, too? If so, you might just free up a roster spot for better WR like Justin Blackmon or someone else taken in the draft. Once Gettis comes back, they’ll have to make room for him as well. So, who knows what Rivera decides to do on this one. Armanti was never his guy. So he has no investment in keeping him. In my opinion, the team has far more glaring issues with the rest of the return team. Unless they find capable blockers who can execute on special teams, it won’t really matter who’s back there fielding the punts.

K - Is Olindo Mare the answer? I honestly don’t know. He came to us with a highly touted kicking percentage, but he’s had more blocks this year than I’ve seen a Panthers kicking team give up before. Is that all on the linemen in the kicking formation? Or is because of a low trajectory on Olindo’s kicks? Regardless, I’m not so sure we need an improved kicker as improved play from the guys up front. We made a big choice to release Kasay and go with Mare. Personally, in hindsight, I wish we’d kept Kasay. His shorter kickoff distances wouldn’t be as big of a problem this year for us since they get to kickoff a little closer now with the rule change. He’s been as accurate as ever in his FG kicking…so I don’t see a whole lot of noticeable difference between Mare and Kasay. He could have stayed and retired as a Panther. We wouldn’t have had to carry a kickoff specialist anymore. And he would have continued to be a great lockerroom presence for us. Regardless, I imagine that ship has sailed. We’ll keep Mare and see where he takes us.

My two cents,
—Neil