The Carolina Panthers meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10, and there's good cause for a bit of jealousy from our camp. The Eagles are essentially what the Panthers should be: Creative on offense, filled with dynamic plays called by an offensive genius. Carolina's offensive line is absolutely terrible, but I believe Chip Kelly would find a way to maximize Cam Newton's impact.
This week we delve into Philadelphia's roster to see who the Panthers would poach, if they had the option.
Offense
The obvious answer, I suppose the lazy one too, would be to cherry pick the best offensive lineman from Philadelphia. Perhaps you think Lane Johnson can develop into a franchise left tackle, or you want to correct a past wrong and bring back Evan Mathis to bolster the run game. Try as I might neither of these really felt right. If I want to poach someone it's going it's going to be an impact player.
Jeremy Maclin
It's heartbreaking to make Maclin the player I'd most like to see on the Panthers, but here we are. It's because he was the one receiver I wanted to see the team make a play at in the offseason. Injury aside, Maclin was exactly what the team needed at wide receiver and the idea of complimenting Kelvin Benjamin with a true deep threat is a salivating prospect.
Alas, things don't always go to plan.
Some might critique the choice or say LeSean McCoy is the more obvious selection, but I'm not sold that McCoy could do anything behind the offensive line as it stands. Maclin on the other hand would stretch the field, prevent defenses from being overly aggressive and he's absolutely one of the best catchers in the league this year with 790 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Defense
This is where things get tricky. The Eagles defensive strengths are similar to the Panthers, and the players in their secondary I'd poach are either inexperienced or too old.
Ultimately it's hard to project a player to take because of Philadelphia's 3-4 defense. There aren't a lot of good picks at linebacker or on the DL, making this all about the secondary where it's a bunch of questionable calls. I'm sure this selection will be debated.
Malcolm Jenkins
He's far from a perfect free safety, but when you compare him to Roman Harper or Thomas DeCoud he's potpourri in a gas station rest room.
The Panthers don't need an elite safety, they just need a single competent one. I believe Bene Benwikere is the real deal, and Josh Norman has grown leaps and bounds this season, now it's about finding an improvement behind them.
It's not sexy, it doesn't get you all excited -- but hey, it works.
Click here to read who Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation would take. It seems Philly fans think a little more highly of Cam Newton than some Panthers fans have in recent days.