Panthers Draft Reaction

🏈Panthers Draft Reaction 𓃮

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for being so inconsistent recently. I was very sick for a while along with the pressure of finals for school happening. I was in deep mud but now I am back home and ready to write!

For this ‘edition,’ I am going to go through the Panthers’ picks from last week’s draft and give my opinion and reactions to each of them as well as what I hoped they’d do. Make sure to subscribe😉

Round 1 Pick 32

• Xavier Legette WR, South Carolina

As a semi-South Carolina fan, I like Legette. As a big Panther fan, I also really like Legette. He is a wide receiver which is a big position of need and he is very good too. The Panthers traded up into the first round to grab him off the board; he is a big-body receiver at 6’1 220 pounds with exceptional speed. He is a physical guy who can also stretch the field when needed. Some negatives he has are that he is not super quick. He is very fast but it takes some time for him to reach that speed. Also, he has trouble creating space at the line of scrimmage. Overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives and I love this pick for both Legette and Carolina. Plulus…he has the best voice in the class.

Round 2 Pick 46

• Johnathan Brooks RB, Texas

This is such a weird pick to me. He is arguably the best back in the class and is a great player, but we have Chubba and Miles Sanders already. Also, he is coming off of an ACL tear which is always scary. I am intrigued to see what they use him for and am excited but still a little worried. He’s a larger back at 6 foot 215 and moves well. One thing to look at is his open-field speed, but, he struggles to break first-contact tackles which can hinder those open-field opportunities. He also can catch passes which will help if Bryce Young needs a safety valve option on busted plays.

Round 3 Pick 72

• Trevin Wallace LB, Kentucky

After losing Frankie Luvu in free agency, the Panthers needed to address the linebacking core, and that is what they did. Wallace is an exceptional athlete but can lack some mental cues that come to the game. He can struggle with scary play recognition, but I hope that veteran Shaq Thompson will take him under his wing and teach him some tips. I hope he pans out because the defense took some big hits this offseason.

Round 4 Pick 101

• Ja'Tavion Sanders TE, Texas

Texas and the Panther’s front office must have some ties because 2 skill positions from the same school are crazy. I love this pick though. he is the 2nd best tight-end prospect behind Brock Bowers and should be the best on the roster pretty quickly. Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas aren’t cutting it at all and Bryce needs a big guy to sit in the middle and catch 10-yard passes. 6’4 245 should be big enough to get Bryce Young’s attention in the pocket if he needs help. Also, he’ll provide some extra help on the O-Line which is needed. He moves well and often beats linebackers on seam routes and that can create great opportunities for the offense.

Those are all the picks I am going to go through for now, I do like some of the other picks such as CB Chau Smith-Wade from WSU. He should be helpful in the slot as he is pretty small but very sticky to receivers. Overall, I would give the Panthers a B grade. I wish they got a better DB higher in the draft, someone like Kool-Aid McKinstry in the second if they could’ve. Also, I wish they addressed the edge and o-line. I know they signed Robert Hunt and moved some people to try and revamp the line but if this season is like last, Bryce is in for a long ride again. The edge is looking rough with no more Brian Burns but I hope they can find some gems in the depth chart who will be able to fill that role. Let me know what you think about the Panthers draft and what you would’ve done differently.