What needs should Panthers fill in first 88 selections? A road map for Marty Hurney

The Carolina Panthers held a news conference Tuesday that they tried hard to make as non-newsy as possible.

Intent on not tipping their hand before the three-day NFL draft begins Thursday night, Panthers general manager Marty Hurney and coach Ron Rivera spoke in platitudes. Phrases like “Now you just let the board come to you” and “We could trade up; we could trade back” were spoken with straight faces.

But despite those two men’s best efforts to make like there’s nothing to see here — and the 31 other NFL teams doing exactly the same thing — there is about to be a lot to see here. With four of the first 88 picks in the 2018 draft, including the No. 24 overall choice as well as numbers 55, 85 and 88, Carolina is angling to grab several impact players early that could immediately help a Panthers team that has made the playoffs four times in the past five years.

Where should the Panthers go first?

I would like to see Carolina take a defensive back in the first round — preferably a safety, but I’m OK with a cornerback.

Where should they go with their second pick?

Give Cam Newton another high-profile target — I’d prefer a wide receiver but would be OK with a tight end.

Where should they go with their third and fourth choices?

A defensive end and a running back.

Rivera reckons the Panthers will pick Thursday at about 10:40 p.m., give or take a few minutes and assuming they don’t trade the pick.

That may not be a true assumption — Hurney likes to wheel and deal and did so in almost every draft from 2002-12 in his first stint as Carolina’s GM. Several times he did so to the detriment of the Panthers.

Mr. 'Future No. 1'

Hurney used to trade his top pick for the next season so often — in ill-advised deals that brought Jeff Otah, Everette Brown and Armanti Edwards to Charlotte — that other NFL teams would make a particular point of calling Carolina just hoping to be able to wrest a “future No. 1” out of Hurney. It was like that was his nickname: Marty "Future No. 1" Hurney.

The biggest laugh of Tuesday’s conference came when Hurney told reporters to please put on Twitter that he wasn’t trading future No. 1 picks anymore so he could cut down on the cold calls.

I do understand the logic in trading down for the Panthers — and there are always more teams that want to trade down in the first round as opposed to up.

But I would just as soon Carolina take a player at No. 24 and be done with it. That’s because Hurney has been incredibly good overall with his first-round selections (Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Julius Peppers and Jordan Gross among them).

Because of last season’s success, the Panthers will have a long wait before they pick Thursday.

“For us, it probably starts at 18 or 19,” Hurney said of the first round. “Then what happens between 18 and 23 is going to affect who's there for us.”

QB run will aid Carolina

The inevitable first-round run on the quarterbacks will help the Panthers — that’s one of the few positions you can rule out for Carolina in the first round. Beyond that, Carolina is flexible. I could even see Hurney adopting Dave Gettleman’s “hog molly” philosophy and deciding to update the offensive and defensive lines in those first four picks (the NFL’s second and third rounds are on Friday night).

As Hurney said of his draft-day philosophy: “Don’t get caught up in the moment. Just be patient. Let the board come to you.”

I asked Rivera on Tuesday whether he really thought the Panthers had enough weapons on offense for Newton and new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

“I think we do,” Rivera said.

I think they don’t, especially given the troublesome injury histories of Curtis Samuel and Damiere Byrd and the fact that tight end Greg Olsen is going to need a replacement at some point.

So the skill positions on offense must be addressed. But the reason I want the Panthers to pick a defensive back in the first round is really three reasons: Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston.

Those three opposing NFC South quarterbacks have all had their way with Carolina’s secondary numerous times over the past two seasons. The Panthers defense has too often looked like it is holding a broom and trying to sweep back the ocean.

Said Hurney: “Obviously we would love to be able to keep adding parts to the secondary. … We're not going to reach for somebody because he's a safety.”

Return from the sidelines

Hurney has been sidelined for each of the past five drafts, watching them mostly on TV at his house. He said it was a lot easier to be objective about other teams’ picks when you didn’t have a horse in the race, but he also badly missed the adrenaline rush that is about to enter his life.

“This is the fun part of the job,” Hurney said. “This is what gets your juices flowing. ... This is one of the most exciting times of the year.”

For an NFL fan, there’s no doubt it’s true. The Panthers have a fine opportunity in front of them. They better not blow it.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 7:16 AM with the headline "What needs should Panthers fill in first 88 selections? A road map for Marty Hurney."