Analysis: Panthers have plenty of holes to fill on the roster. Where should they start?
Every NFL team has a lot to get done during the NFL Scouting Combine and during the weeks leading up to the draft. The offseason isn’t really “off,” especially during February and March.
For the majority of the Panthers coaching staff, this is the first time they’ll be in Indianapolis in this capacity. And they have a lot to get done while they’re here. Depending on how free agency goes down, they could have holes to fill across the board with running back among the few areas that seems solid for 2020.
Looking at mock drafts, there’s a lot of directions that analysts have the Panthers going. Everywhere from moving up from seventh overall to draft a quarterback in the first round to taking a defensive lineman or even moving back from the top 10 to continue to acquire more picks.
There are a couple reasons for that. First, the draft is still two months away. No one really knows what anyone is going to do for sure at this point, there’s still an entire week at the Combine to go, Pro Days, etc. Much still needs to be learned.
Every team has challenges and needs this time of year, but the Panthers are dealing with that to an extreme . They might need a quarterback, depending on what ends up happening with Cam Newton, or they may need to prioritize finding a starting defensive back, if they don’t pick up James Bradberry’s franchise tag.
What do the Panthers need to do this week then? How do you prioritize when there are so many options on the table?
First off, the one advantage Carolina has over many teams in the pre-draft process is that the coaching staff is actually familiar with a large percentage of players that are taking part. There are disadvantages to having a coaching staff that is largely experienced on the college level but getting to know prospects isn’t one of them. There are six players from Baylor alone at the Combine. The Panthers staff doesn’t need to interview them, they know them. And that’s not counting the players Rhule knows and recruited during his time at Temple and the advantage of knowing the 16 LSU players, like quarterback Joe Burrow and TE Thaddeus Moss, from Joe Brady’s year with the program.
Carolina will prioritize getting to know as many other players as possible off the field during the interviews.
But when rebuilding a team like the Panthers are, and as Rhule uses his “plan” as is often referenced, the first step that is logical is to select pieces to build around. Addressing the offensive and defensive lines seems like an area to start in after both struggled much of last year, the offense giving up 58 sacks (tied with the Dolphins for the most in the NFL) and the Panthers defense struggling to stop the run, allowing the most rushing touchdowns (31) and yards per attempt (5.2) in 2019.
On a conference call with reporters, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah expounded on the importance for the Rhule staff of finding guys who fit what they are trying to build.
“This is Matt Rhule’s draft to pick up some foundational pieces and how he’s going to build this program. So that’s what I would expect. I would expect it will be in his image, which is tough, physical and fast,” Jeremiah said. “When I went and visited with him at Baylor, he talked about track background, guys that can really, really run. They’re confident in their ability to teach. So there might be some guys especially once we get into the middle rounds, maybe guys who will go a little bit higher.
“But if they’re tough and fast and maybe they’re not great football players right now, they’re a little bit raw, developmental, I know they have a lot of confidence in their group as teachers to be able to get it out of them.”
Foundational pieces are finding players that can be the core of your team, like the lines or replacing Luke Kuechly at middle linebacker.
For a team with a lot of holes, like the Panthers, that is where they should start. Quarterback is obviously the most important position on the field, but you have to be able to protect whoever is selected for the job before Brady’s fancy new offense can be implemented.
The Panthers are a team with a lot of decisions to make. What will they do with Newton? Will they place the franchise tag on Bradberry? Those decisions are all to come in the next month. But first they should start in Indianapolis by looking at how they can build the foundation for the long haul in Rhule’s image.
