I realize this is way too early, and purely speculative, so please don’t butt hurt me about it in the comments, but here we go…

I was looking ahead to the 2012 draft class (which I would rarely do this early, but let’s face it, there’s a shortage of interesting NFL reading to go around these days) and one player caught my eye.

Matt Kalil.

I’ll explain more after the jump.

From everything I have read about him he’s the real deal. An athletic tackle that can anchor his side of the line, pass and run block. And if he’s anything like his brother he’s a smart guy.

From Mocking the Draft:

He uses his hands very well routinely velcroing to the defender with inside placement.  In pass protection, Kalil takes balanced steps which allows him to react to counter moves.  While Kalil is a very good player he still needs some improvement.  He needs to work on remaining low throughout the play in order to maintain proper leverage.  He also has a tendency to backpedal rather than shuffle and slide.  His use of angles were exploited from time to time by quicker pass rushers.  However, overall he is an excellent prospect that has his eyes set on the 1st round.

He’s projected as a left tackle, but I can see him playing right tackle until Jordan Gross loses a step or retires. Imagine a line of (from left to right) Jordan Gross, Travelle Wharton, Ryan Kalil, Jeff Otah, and Matt Kalil. On paper, that looks pretty stout. Also, when I think about the fact that Jeff Otah keeps somehow putting himself on the injury report in the midst of a lockout, the idea of picking up another franchise tackle suddenly becomes more appealing. If he’s available whenever the Panthers pick next year, as of today, I wouldn’t be opposed to picking him.

Like I said, it’s early, but there isn’t much else to talk about.

So without further hesitation…

GO PANTHERS!