Claiborne And Brockers Declare: What Does This Mean For The Panthers?

if only because his potential is apparently atmospheric (whereas guys like Fua and McClain are more “good but not great” potential); we do need a DT in the worst way, not just more role players on the interior lol

I can still see us going DreK…either way, I’ll be happy

Unless there is a Suh or a Sapp, I still want Dre K. We will have Edwards back, Neblett showed a lot of promise, Fua and McClain will be back and a possible Pat Simms type signing. CB is our biggest defensive need and Dre K could contribute immediately and that’s what we need if we want to make a playoff run next season.

Not that I use Twitter for anything but following writers and those that play but it was kind of cool seeing something I wrote on ESPN.

I was very much opposed to taking a DT with our first pick, Still never really struck me all that much. But Brockers looks like an absolute beast, lots of upside, and room to grow. I’m definitely open to this.

that reach and height makes it harder to throw over them or run any where near them. If we had him i owuld like from him to get up to 310 to play the 3 or 320+ to play NT.
I’m actually one of the few that likes our DTs (kinda). Ron Edwards is fine at NT plus Shirley really impressed me and McClain and Neblett look to have potential at DT. But if this kid is the real deal than i would be fine with taking him

but can imagine Brockers and Poe together? The thought of that gives me a stiff willy

I notice a lot of you on here are really high on Brockers.. Is he really that good? Have you guys seen him play a lot, I honestly haven’t even heard of him until a few days ago.. Is he better than D Still? And if so, why?

I hated the idea of taking peterson last year because I thought Munerlyn could handle the no.2 spot well we were near the bottom of the league in defense of teams no.2 wrs so I was wrong there but of course we did allright with our top pick . I dont think a dt with a top 10 pick is a good idea I wonder how often that pans out for teams

Has us taking Brockers….
http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2013_1.php

If are d line can become elite, then it will make our DB’s better just because the qb will not have 8 sec’s to throw the ball

Like he did with J-Stew and then Otah. We might see us give up a first next year to get to studs on defense in the first this year. Just a thought.

If we’re going to win the division, which means beating Brees and Co, we need an elite pass rush. If Brockers shakes out (after combine and pro days) as a solid pick at #8 or #9, then he’d definitely be my choice.

I’d rather upgrade the D Line to make the job of the CBs easier as opposed to relying on the CBs to buy time for the D Line. Not to say that we can’t still upgrade the secondary through either the 2nd round or free agency.

I was a Marcel Dareus guy last draft (I know) so I’ve been wanting to get a dominant DT on the line. I’m very intrigued by the prospect of Brockers, and hope he grades out to be what we hope he can be.

i like brockers alot and i was pretty suprised that he declared but if kirkpatrick is still available id be too tempted to pass him up.brockers is a high risk with potential for very high reward but i feel that kirkpatrick is more likely to have an impact early. whichever one we decide to draft, they need to bulk up. kirkpatrick just looks like he would get trucked by NFL wide recievers to me

in one of the last 3-5 pressers that they were good at DT and had other concerns.

I still can’t believe that he declared…

round 1 options: kirkpatrick, brockers, still, possibly claiborne or blackmon

round 2 options: possibly burfict? thompson, worthy, ta’amu, barron, or else best available o-lineman or CB(draft is deep at both positions)

i like the simple fact that we have options. plus burfict would not necessarily fit our greatest needs, but would be an outstanding talent if we can handle the anger the man plays with

but unless the rams trade down past us, you can scratch blackmon off that list

seems like a great 3-4 DE

There are chances now that a good chunk of quality players could all fall to us that I am perfectly happy with. I think Brockers is probably our best bet at this point , although we would need to address the secondary in the 2nd round I bet. I am concerned about his height disadvantages. It is extremely difficult for such a large guy to get leverage over small lineman due to center of gravity. However, this will largely depend on his leg strength, which appears to be a strong point for him.

My biggest concern is that he’s only been a starter for one year. That always bothers me. Bothered me about Cam even. He is definitely a guy I’m going to follow closely. There is a strong chance that he may shoot up people’s boards and if the cards fall right it’s even possible that a guy like Claiborne falls to us at #8. Either one suits me just fine.

I will say this, id much rather draft Brockers than a o lineman. I do not understand why a few on here and a ton of mock drafts I see have us taking reiff. Otah is progressing well and will be back, Gross still has a couple years and we are getting Schwartz and williams back. I will be highly disappointed if we take a o lineman unless its Kalil. Not only is our o line solid as it is, but Cam has the speed and athleticism to be his own O lineman and run well.

At this point, I think our first round pick is going to be a toss-up between CB and DT. I expect DreK might be off the board by the time we’re on the clock. But a DT like Brockers may not be. It depends on how much his stock rises at the NFL Combine and whether any team in front of us decides they want to draft him for the future as a BPA scenario. If Brockers shows well and he’s still available when we pick, I’d be in favor of taking him with our #1. His upside (much like Cam’s last year) is just too great not to pull the trigger. We don’t even have to play him right away. Edwards, Neblett, and McClain can hold down the fort while Brockers adjusts to the speed of the game. And he can come in as part of the rotation to spell guys for a bit. We may even grab another free agent DT like Paul Soliai from Miami, but I get the sense the Panthers will steer away from that given their tendency to build through the draft. Another journeyman DT might not be out of the question, though. Just depends on what Hurney and Rivera have in mind…

In the meantime, this year’s draft is going to be fairly deep at CB. So, if we wait to use our 2nd rounder to address that need, I think that’s fine. They may even want to wait until the 4th round, if they believe Brandon Hogan will be ready to hold down the CB2 spot. Or, again, they could pursue a proven CB via free agency that’s at least better than Munnerlyn or Butler at that spot. That could then free them up to grab an OL for additional depth/protection with their #2. Or, they could even go with a WR or S at that spot, depending on the best player available.

I realy like our draft position this year. And I like how the depth at various positions of need are shaping up for us. If we use just a few of these picks to upgrade just our DL, OL, and CB/S positions, I’ll be happy. We’re pretty set at every other position with injured starters like David Gettis returning at WR and Jon Beason (and maybe Thomas Davis) returning at LB. I can appreciate the philosophy of making our strength stronger by drafting more weapons or protection for Cam, but a lot of headway needs to be made on the defensive side of the ball for the Panthers to set their offense up with better in-game situations. Just a small improvement defensively will vault us into playoff contention. And it wouldn’t hurt to find a few ways to get better on special teams, too.

Just my two cents,
—Neil

Our defensive scheme was very limited not just due to weak DT play. A DT will not guarantee a change to an aggressive approach at this point, for instance Detroit stats are pretty close to ours. If we trade back in late in the first, which Hurney likes to do then it’s a possibility we grab a DT. I bet my money on CB, LB, or WR (Kirkpatrick or Courtney Upshaw) although I do expect a DT later in the draft.

Here’s why ….. Indy (Luck) and Cleveland (RGIII) are both need of a QB. Also the Dolphins may stretch for a QB. That leaves at least 5 to 6 quality players that can help our team. As usual CB/DT is yet again our biggest need.

Yet, picking up Brockers would result in one less DT on our roster i.e. Edwards, Kearse, Shirley. Not to mention our secondary would remain destitute. Our Front Office needs to tread carefully.