FanPost

Panthers 2018 Draft Preview

I know that the regular season, or even the preseason for that matter, hasn't even started yet. We have no idea how our new or old players will perform, who will get injured, or who will stay with the team. However, I feel like looking ahead to our 2018 Draft. Just so you know, this is all based on what I have read, along with my own (biased towards FLORIDA) opinion, so feel free to criticize what will most likely be a completely inaccurate mock draft. (Also, the value for these players are determined by Durst's Much Too Early 2018 Draft Value Board)

Round 1: Safety

I personally believe we will draft a safety here, since we have very little safety depth after we cut Tre Boston. Kurt Coleman is still fairly young, however Mike Adams may only have a few good years left. Some good safeties here would be Derwin James or Quinn Blanding. The only problem here is that with the 32nd pick of the 1st round (the price to pay for winning Super Bowl 52), the best safeties may have already been picked.

Round 2: Running Back

Ok, I know we just used a top 10 pick in the 1st round on a RB in the 2017 draft. Yes, I know, McCaffrey is a great player, and he will do great things for our offense. I still do not believe that he can be our pound the rock RB that we are accustomed to in Carolina, and since Stewart will be leaving after this season, I think it would be a good time to draft his replacement. Unless one of our other RBs establish themselves as a reliable replacement to Stewart, I think Bo Scarbrough would be a great pick here to replace Stewart as our "run people over" RB. I think this way Scarbrough and McCaffrey can be a dynamic duo just like Johnathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams were a few years ago.

(If we go WR here, Antonio Callaway from FLORIDA should definitely be the pick here).

Round 3: Defensive End

Most of our best DEs are aged or aging, and A LOT of mock drafts have us going DE just in the first round, so why not pick a player as either a suitable backup when one of our starters are injured, or their eventual replacement. And, why not pick CeCe Jefferson, from FLORIDA!!

Round 4: Tight End

I know we have the best TE in the league with Greg Olsen, and even though he continues to defy his age, he will eventually either retire or drop in production. When that happens we need someone to be our true #1 TE, and I think this would be a great time to draft Olsen's replacement. We should at least draft a good TE somewhere in the top 5 rounds in the 2018 draft so this player can learn from Olsen while he's still playing at his best. With this pick we should at least get a reliable #2 TE as a receiver to help Cam out in the passing game. One player I've been keeping my eye on is DeAndre Goolsby (from FLORIDA), and if he has a good senior season then I think he's worth this pick.

Round 5: Quarterback

I know it sounds crazy to be drafting a QB this early when have at least a top 7 starting QB and a decent backup, but there aren't any good QBs on Durst's board in rounds 6/7 (which is when I would prefer to draft a QB). Cam will always be great, but as we saw last year, we need him to win games. Derek Anderson is better than most, but he wasn't that good last season, and I'd like to see a QB be drafted either to compete with Anderson, or to take over his role as a reliable backup when Cam goes down. Probably the best value here would be Baker Mayfield.

Round 6: Linebacker

This will be an insurance policy in case any of our starting LBs (mainly Kuechly) is injured, and could be an eventual replacement for Davis.

Round 7: Wide Receiver, Offensive Line, or Cornerback

This is basically whichever position we still need more depth or help at. Maybe Austin Proehl or Larry Allen Jr?

So, what do you all think of my 2018 mock draft? Agree, disagree? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

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