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The Super Bowl is over, Seattle has won (easily) which means it's time for the offseason to begin. Mocking the Draft put out a brand new three round mock, with Dan Kadar skewing his selections for Carolina closer to need.
Dave Gettleman has talked about selecting BPA over need, but this group is a good cross section of the two.
28. Carolina Panthers - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
There are some flaws in Benjamin's play. His hands can be shaky and his route tree is somewhat limited right now. But it's impossible to not be intrigued by the size, athleticism and upside Benjamin possesses. Receivers who are 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds don't come around often. He could become the Panthers' No. 1 whenever Steve Smith retires.
The scouting report on Benjamin isn't dissimilar to the one on Alshon Jeffery when he game out (minus the purported weight issues). Carolina got burned by taking size in Dwayne Jarrett, but that was a unique case of unabashed laziness.
Defense wins championships, but offense gets you there. Let's please get Cam a new weapon.
60. Carolina Panthers - Lamarcus Joyner, CB/S, Florida State
The Panthers have numerous free agents in their secondary, including cornerbacks Drayton Florence and Captain Munnerlyn, along with safeties Mike Mitchell and Quintin Mikell. What better way to address that than adding a player capable of playing both cornerback and safety? Joyner often gets compared to Tyrann Mathieu because he's an undersized playmaker in the back half.
It's hard not to like Lamarcus Joyner, I'm just not sold the Panthers will be in quite as much love. There is size obsession in this team, and that makes it curious to pick a 5-foot-8 combo cornerback.
That said, he's a rare talent at making plays -- something the secondary really needs. We saw how effective Tyrann Mathieu was in the NFL, and there's a good chance he can make the same transition.
There's plenty to like here, it's just unclear if the Panthers would take the gamble.
92. Carolina Panthers - Billy Turner, OT, North Dakota State
The Panthers have several free agent offensive linemen, and Turner has the ability to play on either side.
Another small-school offensive line prospect? Head, meet hands.
Look, this is a pick that makes plenty of sense. Turner has great size for the position (which the Panthers crave), the plays with a lot of energy (which they love) and he dominated lesser competition (cough... Amini Silatolu and Edmund Kugbila... cough).
Kadar made a likely mock pick here, but I don't really like it.
