One of the most effective ways to build a full 53-man roster is by nailing picks in Rounds 4-6 where players are plentiful and are required to sign dirt cheap, four-year contracts. “Nailing picks” in that part of the draft essentially means finding guys who can fill key reserve roles and occasionally step in as spot starters.
Players selected in the Rounds 1-2 should be impact players while third round picks should become starters. Guys who get drafted in the seventh round rarely pan out. It’s the players drafted in that sweet spot between Rounds 4-6 (approximately Nos. 105-215) where good scouts and GMs can fill out their rosters in a way that maximizes the production-versus-cap-hit ratio. Let’s give some props to Marty Hurney because the Panthers 2020 roster is chock full of mid-round picks on rookie contracts who are making meaningful contributions.
Between 2017 and 2020 the Panthers drafted 11 players in Rounds 4-6 and incredibly 10 of them are still with the team (Jordan Scarlett was cut after his rookie season). Christian Miller elected to opt out of the 2020 season per the NFL’s policy during the pandemic. Of the nine remaining players on the Panthers active roster, eight of them are currently starting or have become integral rotational players. That’s impressive given how quickly many mid-round picks get waived, buried on the bench, or languish on practice squads.
Here’s the overview of how the Panthers recent mid-round picks have fared this year, including the number of offensive or defensive snaps they’ve played (special teams snaps are excluded) along with their cap hits:
Picks in Rounds 4-6 from 2017-2020
Year | Player | Pos | Round | Pick # | G | Snaps | Cap Hit | Stats |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Pos | Round | Pick # | G | Snaps | Cap Hit | Stats |
2020 | Troy Pride Jr | CB | 4 | 113 | 12 | 474 | $0.84 | 39 tackles, 2 PD |
2020 | Kenny Robinson Jr | S | 5 | 152 | 6 | 3 | $0.40 | 1 tackle |
2020 | Bravvion Roy | DT | 6 | 184 | 11 | 261 | $0.66 | 17 tackles, 1.0 sack, 5 QBH |
2019 | Christian Miller | LB | 4 | 115 | Out | Out | Out | Out |
2019 | Jordan Scarlett | RB | 5 | 154 | Cut | Cut | Cut | Cut |
2019 | Dennis Daley | OL | 6 | 212 | 5 | 135 | 0.707 | 64.7 PFF grade |
2018 | Ian Thomas | TE | 4 | 101 | 12 | 495 | 0.937 | 13 REC, 97 YD, 1 TD |
2018 | Marquis Haynes | DE | 4 | 136 | 12 | 314 | 0.863 | 14 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 FR |
2018 | Jermaine Carter Jr | LB | 5 | 161 | 12 | 145 | 0.818 | 25 tackles, 2 TFL |
2017 | Corn Elder | CB | 5 | 152 | 12 | 392 | 0.75 | 38 tackles, 3 PD, 1 FF |
2017 | Alex Armah | FB | 6 | 192 | 12 | 108 | 0.825 | Good lead blocker |
Of these nine active players, only Kenny Robinson Jr. hasn’t played much. Alex Armah has played 108 snaps at fullback, which is a starter’s workload for that position in today’s NFL. Dennis Daley has only played 135 snaps and has shown well, but he’s been limited to five games due to injury. Jermaine Carter has played 145 snaps after rarely seeing the field in the Panthers first eight games, but he’s now starting and playing some solid football. The remaining five players have each played at least 261 snaps with Troy Pride Jr. and Ian Thomas regularly starting.
Most notably, 2020 has been a breakout season for Corn Elder, Marquis Haynes, and Jermaine Carter.
Corn Elder had just three tackles through his first three seasons, but he has registered 38 tackles this year and earned a solid PFF grade of 69.0. Marquis Haynes, in his third season, has already set career highs with 14 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and five quarterback hits. Jermaine Carter may be the biggest breakout candidate though. After recording 13 tackles in his 2018 rookie season and 31 tackles last year, he has emerged over the last four games with 21 tackles and has been a better starting option at linebacker than veteran Tahir Whitehead.
So, eight of the 11 players the Panthers drafted in Rounds 4-6 over the last four years are making meaningful contributions this season. What makes this even sweeter from a roster construction standpoint is they are doing it for a total of $6.4 million, or about $800,000 each on average. With the NFL’s salary cap at $198 million this year, these eight players combined account for just 3.2% of the league’s established salary cap.
Now, a critic might say that most of these guys are only playing because the Panthers are actively rebuilding, and there’s probably some truth to that. But that’s ultimately irrelevant. The fact is the Panthers have had 11 opportunities to add players in the middle of the draft over the last four years, and they’ve largely nailed it. Every team, no matter how good or bad they are, needs capable depth to get through the injuries that come from the meat grinder that is an NFL season and the best way to find that depth is late in the draft.
Kudos to Marty Hurney for landing cheap, capable players in the middle and late rounds of the draft. Throw in the fact the Panthers will shed their current $52 million in dead cap space in 2021, and there’s definitely a core for the front office to build around. The future looks bright for a Panthers rebuild, and a good chunk of that future will be financed by nailing picks in Rounds 4-6.