Round | Prospect | Height | Weight | College |
1 | DT Malcom Brown | 6-foot-2 | 319 | Texas |
2 | OT Cedric Ogbuehi | 6-foot-5 | 306 | Texas A&M |
3 | WR Phillip Dorsett | 5-foot-10 | 185 | Miami |
4 | RB David Johnson | 6-foot-1 | 224 | Northern Iowa |
5 | C Andy Gallik | 6-foot-2 | 306 | Boston College |
6 | WR Chris Conley | 6-foot-2 | 213 | Georgia |
7 | CB Craig Mager | 5-foot-11 | 201 | Texas State |
1st Round: DT Malcom Brown
Defensive tackle may not be the most pressing need, but I wouldn't sleep on that position in the first round provided the right guy is still there. Brown could easily be that guy. He has the tools to make money in either a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme, which may decrease the odds of him being available at 25. But if he's there, I'm not sure Dave Gettleman would be able to resist.
2nd Round: OT Cedric Ogbuehi
Say hello to your left tackle of the future. You can count on the Panthers bringing in a veteran left tackle like Michael Oher, whom the they've already brought in for a visit. This would give Ogbuehi more time to both work on some of his fundamental flaws and recover fully from the torn knee ligament he suffered in Texas A&M's bowl game. The thinking here is that his late season injury and imperfections will be just enough for him to fall to the Panthers at 57.
3rd Round: WR Phillip Dorsett
In their season ending press conference, both Rivera and Gettleman mentioned the need for more speed. For obvious reasons, it's easy to focus on Dorsett's wheels, but he's flashed enough in other ways to believe he could really be special in the right offense.
4th Round: RB David Johnson
There's a school of thought that believes the plethora of quality running backs in this draft will naturally push them down draft boards. Seems logical enough to me. With that being said, Johnson would be a steal in the fourth round. He's a very high character prospect with plenty of talent and potential to be the best in this draft.
5th Round: C Andy Gallik
Surprise. It's easy to bypass the center position because of how good Ryan Kalil has been over the years. He'll turn the big 3-0 next month, which is still quite young, but those eleven and ten million cap hits in 2015 and 2016 are looming large. Something tells me that Gettleman might just pull the trigger on a center and Gallik is just the type of mauling run blocker that I could see him coveting.
6th Round: WR Chris Conley
Here's a case where a superb athlete underachieves in a run heavy offense and falls all the way to the sixth round. Again, speed is on the Panthers agenda this offseason and Conley has plenty to spare as evidenced by his 4.35 in the forty yard dash, which was good enough for third best out of all the receiver participants and fourth overall. By the way, the former Georgia Bulldog's 45-inch vertical outdid everyone at the combine and his 11-foot 7-inch broad jump was good for second overall.
7th Round: CB Craig Mager
The Panthers have shown an affinity toward physical defensive backs in recent years and Mager fits that mold well. Truth be told, the respectable 4.44 he put up at the combine might have raised his stock enough to be considered earlier. On a side note, Mager played college ball at Texas State, which I can basically see from my house. In other words, I'd love to see the Panthers snatch this talented, perhaps underrated 'local' prospect.
What do you think CSR? Now would be the perfect time to discuss my draft and/or share your own.