So - not to beat it all to death but moving down is usually the better bet if all is equal, and 33 has some value as the top pick in 2 (as 101 is in 4).   Have you been dreaming all night of a guy that's fallen? You're in luck!   Just trade up and take Carolina's spot, for the low low cost of all your remaining picks.   Or so it's worth dreaming, right?    Just this time last year, there was a lot of heat behind possible firsts falling - Joey Porter Jr, Will Levis, Sam LaPorta all went right after the round started and there was a lot of heat behin ..read more

 A hallmark of the Scott Fitterer era was being unable to get a deal done with Brian Burns.  Dan Morgan, with Brandt Tilis in tow, chose to not get there either.  But they did with DT Derrick Brown, a 4 year, $96 million blockbuster deal.   Brown, who was going to have a $11.66 million base this year, gets a big payday.   Brown, a leader, a high snap player, and a high tackle count guy, earns big on this deal, but details aren't out there as of yet.   Symbolically, it has a lot of value; Carolina's traded away most of its high profile talent in rece ..read more

 So having seen that Stefon Diggs trade, I can't say I wouldn't have wanted that.  That it went to Bryce Young's primary competitition from last year's draft, might hurt a little.   Now, Carolina of course is not in a position to give up multiple picks for anyone, either.   Houston believes it's a little closer to the finish line right or wrong, and that probably also has Diggs wanting to be there a bit more, a not insignificant part of it all.  So I wanted to try what I did yesterday on TE - value x RAS - and apply it to guys in the 33 to 65 range.  Aga ..read more

 I feel like Carolina's short a TE.  They've done a great job talking up what they have, which is nice.  I don't buy it. Now, we haven't heard tons of talk about competitiveness and I can't say if they want to pit Tommy Tremble against anyone.   Ian Thomas is not the guy to compete there.  But first, usage:  2023 Panthers finished having used a 2nd TE more than the 0% they started out with, in which they were fully in 3WR base and  2023 Bucs used no fullback and 130% of TE snaps, i.e., a 2nd TE 30% of the time. They used Cade Otton about as much as they ..read more

 Jadeveon Clowney coming in clicks off a big piece of the defense.   As the team either teases the pending Stephon Gilmore signing or at least explores it, is corner the next big issue?  Click to expand this thing to where it's readable Fillig a hole that was fully devoid of a starter helps. Now, in my opinion, that doesn't fully take edge off the board, but it does get you to where you don't have to have a DJ Johnson style reach.  Gilmore, apparently the highest rated remaining FA (Stephen Nelson, last with Houston, is the other starting level CB around) is in play ..read more

 PFF's pre-Free agency list of available players was tremendous.   Here's an outline of what and who we've received so far, from their perspective.   For what it's worth note that Brian Burns was also #5.  28) Robert Hunt, G They note Hunt as having an excellent pass blocking grade and having a high positive run block percentage.  Not surprising for a big player who moves this well.      At 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds, Hunt got his NFL start at tackle, lining up on either side in his rookie season and holding up admirably. He found a home for the p ..read more

 Happy Easter to those who celebrate, and since I've not addressed it, a blessed Ramadan for others. A big time of year for all Abrahamic religions.  I get frustrated with the war mongering and saber rattling of the world and also at home, the castle doctrines and "my stuff is worth more than your life" of it all.  Or the bad done in the name of religion, including my own.   Just got back from enemy territory myself with a trip to New Orleans for a little fresh perspective.  And for that, a little fresh perspective for this space.  It's worth remembering that ..read more

Carolina added back special teams ace Sam Franklin, added Jadeveon Clowney, and may be pursuing CB Stephen Gilmore again. Franklin has been with the team since 2020. Clowney is a former first overall pick by Houston, where he made three Pro Bowls. He did a year in Seattle, Tennessee, two in Cleveland, and one with Baltimore.  That last one included 9.5 sacks (though he replaced Justin Houston there, who had ... 9.5 sacks with Baltimore but couldn't do much here).  Houston is older but Clowney, 31, looks great for a lot of the same reasons Houston did.   The pursuit of Clown ..read more

 Carolina's doing what it's supposed to do, and the view from roughly April first being fully transposed onto what it will look like on September first is truly a fool's errand.  The team is going out of its way to mention currently-on-the-roster options, like edge Luiji Vilain as an outlier example, as a part of the puzzle.   That's a bit of an absurdist way of looking at it, but when mentioning the obvious void at edge, Darin Gantt points out Vilain along with Amare Barno, Eku Leota, DJ Johnson.  It's clear that nobody expects any of those guys to force themselves in ..read more

 We've hit a month until the draft, and free agency money is getting more peppered in than poured at this point.  They added S Nick Scott Friday night, another DB with ties to Ejiro Evero and Jonathan Cooley, who had spent last year in Cincy but the four prior by the Rams (drafted 7, 2019).  He started one year wiht the Rams, and started 10 of 17 games for Cincy but was available for all, and played 52% of snaps (he was, reportedly, benched).   First three years he played around 80% of special teams snaps each year.   Good depth.  Dan Morgan speaking Mo ..read more