JPF
05-04-2007, 10:08 AM
What do you think will be our needs for 2008? Here's mine, in no particular order:
* Safety. Minter is gone after this year and it would appear that no one on the roster is going to get any of us excited. Kenny Phillips would look nice in a Panthers jersey.
* Offensive Tackle. Gross and Wharton are both FA's after this season (along with a crap load of other Panthers), Richardson has said he's committed to re-signing Gross & extending Pep and Smitty. That leaves concern that Wharton could be the odd man out, especially if Wharton doesn't show any improvement with how he handles speed rushers. While we have Butler, we've not seen him on the field to date in a meaningful game. Jake Long, Sam Baker, and Barry Richardson would all have to draw consideration at this point.
* Defensive Line. I know I know, we have a lot of talent on the line but Fox seems to love adding at least one D-linemen a year in the draft. If Jenkins is traded at some point whether it be now or next off-season, it's worthing mentioning that both Carstens & Lewis would be UFA's. There's also been some speculation that there was a player we had targeted at 14 who got taken, which prompted us to trade down. That player....Jamaal Anderson. Sedrick Ellis or Lawrence Jackson would be good fits IMHO.
* Quarterback. I'll go out on a limb with this one. If Carr doesn't show progress fixing some of his mechanical issues, I don't think it's far-fetched to think of us taking a Qb on day one. Baz is a nice little project for the coaches to mess around with, but I can't see him being a long term solution. I'm quite high on Andre Woodson right now, but I can't see us landing him unless we have just a terrible year. A couple second/third round guys like Sam Keller or Matt Ryan could be possible.
* Safety. Minter is gone after this year and it would appear that no one on the roster is going to get any of us excited. Kenny Phillips would look nice in a Panthers jersey.
* Offensive Tackle. Gross and Wharton are both FA's after this season (along with a crap load of other Panthers), Richardson has said he's committed to re-signing Gross & extending Pep and Smitty. That leaves concern that Wharton could be the odd man out, especially if Wharton doesn't show any improvement with how he handles speed rushers. While we have Butler, we've not seen him on the field to date in a meaningful game. Jake Long, Sam Baker, and Barry Richardson would all have to draw consideration at this point.
* Defensive Line. I know I know, we have a lot of talent on the line but Fox seems to love adding at least one D-linemen a year in the draft. If Jenkins is traded at some point whether it be now or next off-season, it's worthing mentioning that both Carstens & Lewis would be UFA's. There's also been some speculation that there was a player we had targeted at 14 who got taken, which prompted us to trade down. That player....Jamaal Anderson. Sedrick Ellis or Lawrence Jackson would be good fits IMHO.
* Quarterback. I'll go out on a limb with this one. If Carr doesn't show progress fixing some of his mechanical issues, I don't think it's far-fetched to think of us taking a Qb on day one. Baz is a nice little project for the coaches to mess around with, but I can't see him being a long term solution. I'm quite high on Andre Woodson right now, but I can't see us landing him unless we have just a terrible year. A couple second/third round guys like Sam Keller or Matt Ryan could be possible.