When Dave Gettleman took the job last year, there was a glaring positional hole on the Carolina Panthers' roster. Ok, maybe there were a couple.. and the sad part is that most of the fans seemed more aware of these roster deficiencies than the former GM, Marty (Bless his heart) Hurney. As little as we knew about Boston Dave, we did know that he came from the New York Giants, a franchise with two recent championships largely thanks to stellar line play.
When the Star fell fortuitously into the arms of our beloved Panthers in last year's draft, ushering in a new era of defensive 'relevance' as Rivera likes to say; I think we all pooped our collective pants a little. I know I did. But that was an easy pick- a serendipitous synthesis of BPA and need.. it wasn't until the selection of Kawaan Short in the 2nd round that we truly knew how committed Boston Dave is to his philosophy.
Win the line of scrimmage; win the day.
While we've all been clamoring for a dominant #1 WR, which we no doubt could use, esp after losing #89 (single tear).. the fact that we addressed the WR position with 3 signings in Free Agency, leads one to believe there is an approaching, undeniable truth about how our draft is likely to go in the early rounds.
We're going Offensive Tackle- early and often. Hogmollies. Road graders. Fatboys. Cavetrolls. Ok that one is a bit much.. but you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?
It's time to be the dominant, power running team that we should have been for the past 5 years. We have one of the best RB tandems in the league, the consensus-best and most versatile FB, and the son of Zeus at QB.
Pound the rock. Play great D. Just win, baby.
And just for fun, here's my 3-round mock..
1st) Cyrus Kouandjio - OT Alabama
2nd) Billy Turner - OT N Dakota St
3rd) Dri Archer - WR/RB/KR Kent St (somebody has to return kicks..)