FanPost

The OLB option

Hi fellow panther fans,

First of all, thanks to all the CSR editors and the commenters for the high level information and insights you are posting on here. It's a pleasure for "lurkers" like me to read all of this great stuff.

I'm certainly no football expert like there are a lot of them here on CSR, that's why I wanted to hear your opinions on this:

Picking an OLB early in the draft.

In a comment from kissmyconverse about the gettleman presser, I read this:

Basically said he is going BPA no matter what be that a OT, WR, CB, DE or even LB…

Imagine the panthers select a DE or a LB with their first round pick. A lot of the people here would be dissapointed, just because they think OT, WR are our biggest needs. Gettleman said he wants the player that makes the biggest impact on the field. That's what he did last year by drafting two DT's and look where it brought us. A 12-4 season, we were almost invincible.

But still we have shortcomings. On offense we pretend to be smash-mouth/run first, but the current quality of our OL doesn't seem to back this up. It's not a secret we will draft some hog mollies to support our run game. Kouandjio, Richardson, etc

On the defensive side, WR's took the top of our defense multiple times, Tavon Austin, Mike Wallace to name a few. The speed in our secondary can be improved. But what I really wanted to say in this fanpost (Sorry that I waited this long) How will we cover the large tight ends? It's not a nice view to see Kuechly hugging gronk near the end zone. Kuechly is all we wanted from an MLB, but his coverage skills are not elite. Luckily there are some options in the draft.

Ryan Shazier

He's expected to go in the first round, but could certainly drop to our pick.

From walterfootball.com:

Shazier looks the most natural in pass coverage of the 2014 linebackers. He is very good in zone coverage and picks up receivers well. Shazier has some man-coverage ability as well on tight ends and running backs. His prowess in pass coverage should help place him in the top-32 picks.

Kyle van Noy

Van Noy was used more as a pass rusher at BYU, but when he dropped into coverage he did pretty well catching four interceptions in the last two years.

It's a shame a player like Van Noy goes under the radar just because of his average combine results. The Saints showed a lot of interest in him so he probably won't be there at 60.

Dion Bailey/Jimmy Ward

The panthers showed more interest in safeties than linebackers. If I'm not mistaken, both Bailey and Ward had an official visit with the panthers. They're not only able to cover tight ends, but have the speed and athleticism to cover the large wide receivers we have to face in the NFCS like Julio Jones, Vincent Jackson.

I'm not educated enough (footballwise) to go into detail on these prospects. But full draft profiles and highlight videos are only a few clicks away!

I would be very happy if the panthers drafted one of these four players, because I think it will impact our defense more than a speedy WR. Finding a left tackle must be a priority, Byron Bell is not the answer (you don't have to be an expert to see his shortcomings)

Please fill in the poll below and all feedback on my first fanpost is very welcome.

The content of these posts are those of the user/fan making the post only