Since the NFL combine ended yesterday, I thought it was a good time to do my 2.0 draft rumors for the Carolina Panthers. Before I get into that, the Panthers re-signed wide receiver Brenton Bersin to a one-year contract and allowing receiver Philly Brown to test out free agency. Panthers also re-signed safety Colin Jones to a two-year contract. While they re-sign defensive end Charles Johnson to a two-year deal and re-sign running back Fozzy Whitaker to a two-year deal. The final move the Panthers made today was placing a second-round tender on restricted free-agent guard Andrew Norwell to retain his rights for the 2017 season. Now since I got that out of the way, I looked at four websites to see what the insiders think the Panthers will do with the eighth pick in the draft this year. Bleacher Report has the Panthers drafting cornerback Quincy Wilson from Florida, CBS Sports had the Panthers drafting running back Leonard Fournette, LSU. SB Nation predicted the Panthers to draft defensive end Solomon Thomas from Stanford, while NFL.com had the Panthers drafting defensive end Derek Barnett from Tennessee. Now let’s talk about those player’s strengths and weaknesses!
The first player, I’m going to start with is Quincy Wilson from Florida University. He was 2nd-team All-SEC in 2016. He has a prototypical size for a cornerback, big and physical and is very competitive and likes to run his mouth. Willing to take on challenges of taking on team’s top receivers. Uses play strengths to overcome some athletic and speed deficiencies. Can maul receivers off the line of scrimmage and eliminate them from a route, can make quick reads on in-breaking routes and attacks in front of the route. Finished with 6 interceptions, good downhill tackler plays off perimeter blocks quickly. Wilson weaknesses are that his hips and feet can exceedingly sticky in his transitions. Has average footwork, when his feet fail him, he opts to use his hands. Could see illegal contact and holding penalties if asked to play corner early in his career. Allows too much separation against complex routes, below average reactive athleticism for the position and will struggle to carry long speed. Overall, plays like Panthers starting safety Tre’ Boston and more a likely will be move to safety in the NFL other than playing cornerback. The next player is running back Leonard Fournette from LSU. Coming out of high school Leonard Fournette was the number one recruit in the nation and decided to stay home and play for LSU. As a true freshman, he led SEC in all-purpose yards (137.4 per game; 1,034 rushing yards and 625 on kickoff returns). He followed that up his Sophomore year with nearly hitting the 2,000-yard mark (1,953) and scoring 22 touchdowns. But before his junior year, he suffered an ankle injury, which limited him to play seven games and skipping LSU bowl game. Fournette strengths are; he’s built like a linebacker with speed of a receiver. Long, powerful strides that hit second gear faster than most big backs. Has balance and power to plow through tackle attempts and with a punishing stiff arm. Has experience running from two-back, single-back and off-set looks. Hands are adequate in the passing game. Can create for himself with power and speed. Wins in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Leonard Fournette weaknesses are Aggressive, take on style could lead to shortened career. Struggled with a bad ankle for most of the season. Too quick to hit the accelerator and slam into defenders when there are still cuts and yards left on the play. Doesn't see cutback lanes developing as outside zone runner and prefers to keep runs play-side. Pass protection and routes need extensive work. The next player is defensive end Solomon Thomas from Stanford, who was an All-American and won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the year when with Stanford. He really impressed people in last year bowl game against UNC where he was everywhere on the field, 7 tackles, 2 for loss and a sack. He has a well-built frame, can line up at multiple positions. Able to get off blocks quickly and attack early skilled hands. Powerful for his size and outstanding athleticism. Solomon is an unpredictable pass rusher, can attack both the edges and crank up a ball rush; very good pursuit speed and range as a playmaker. His weaknesses are that he needs to get bigger and stronger through his lower body and needs to work on his snap-count guesser with seven offside penalties in 2016. The final player I’m going to talk about is defensive end Derek Barnett from Tennessee. He was first-team All-SEC and an All-American during his last season with Tennessee. Barnett has strong, fast efficient hands. Is a good rusher, attacks the edge very well; uses jab steps and lateral movement to get to the edge of the blocker. He’s a punishing hitter, delivers crushing tackles/sacks when given the opportunity. Has good field awareness, recognizing play-action, reverse and screens. And is fluid enough to drop into space and play some zone. Some weaknesses are that he admitted being a slow starter who has had issues with sluggishness to start a season. Will overthink plays at times rather just reacting, can be undisciplined with guessing with snap count and take penalties. Has change of direction issues, while a quarterback with pocket mobility can elude him.
Out of these four players, I would want the Panthers to draft Leonard Fournette with the eighth pick in the draft. The Panthers need a running back that can replace Jonathan Stewart in a few years and I believe that Fournette can take his place and be a star in this league. But, I don’t that’s what GM David Gettleman will do, I think Gettleman will take a defensive end in the first round and take a running back in the second round. It’s just Gettleman MO to take a defensive player in the first round of the draft. So, if the Panthers draft Derek Barnett I wouldn’t mind that, but I do not want the Panthers to draft Quincy Wilson, the Panthers don’t need another Tre’ Boston on the team and they especially don’t need to waste their first-round pick on a Tre’ Boston type player. But at the same time, the draft is over a month away and I’m sure things will change before then and these four players might not even be on the Panthers radar. Check tomorrow for a new post on Charlotte Hornets game against the Miami Heat!
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