The Panthers had a great first pick, I guess. They sort of lucked into it, and I think Jimmy Clausen is an insufferable sack of douche, but hey, they got a highly rated quarterback with a 2nd round pick. Maybe the Matt Moore era won’t be so long lived, but I think everyone would be excited if it isn’t and Clausen is rocking a clipboard for many years. He was highly touted coming out of high school, but never excelled really in college. Mel Kiper talked him up as a prospect because he was coached by Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Well that’s good, because Charlie didn’t really coach anyone else. Will he succeed? Well, it’s certainly the right environment for him, there in Carolina, with a few good offensive players around him.
In Brandon Lafell, the Panthers also managed to nab another tool to go along with Steve Smith. If it weren’t for Clausen, Matt Moore would be pretty happy with this pick. Smith has been lacking a receiving partner for years, ever since Mushin Muhammed left for Chicago. Too bad the Panthers couldn’t get him back. LaFell was a good pick.
The Panthers also drafted Armanti Edwards and David Gettis as receivers, just in case Lafell doesn’t work out. Of course, Edwards is more a wildcat QB/WR which NOBODY ELSE WANTED in this draft, and they probably could have nabbed him in about the 7th round. Of course, that’s when they picked Tony Pike, another real QB, in case Clausen fails, I guess. They did a lot of double drafting, these Panthers, for not picking until the 2nd round.
On a different, but very similar note, they drafted three cornerbacks in the 7th round, Jordan Pugh, RJ Stanford and Robert McLain. They plan on running the half dollar defense against the Saints,I guess, with 8 DBs and three linemen.
Good thing, then, that the Panthers picked Eric Norwood and Greg Hardy, two good defensive end, pass rusher types. One of these guys will replace Julius Peppers, and I daresay they will do a good job. Norwood could well be a stand up rush guy with Hardy being more of a down linemen. These guys are going to be valuable, and were good picks by the Panthers.
Overall, I would say the Panthers did good to make a big splash with their first pick. They really had no choice. The rest of the draft on the other hand suggested to me that the Panthers don’t really have much of a true plan. Lafell, Norwood and Hardy are the most likely, I think, to make a good impact.
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