2011 NFL Mock Draft: Carolina Panthers

We’ve been doing a team by team prediction for the 2011 NFL draft. Up next in our series is the team that chooses first, the Carolina Panthers.

I recently interviewed Bill Voth a Panthers expert to get a better feel for where I should take this mock draft, which you can check out here.

Before we get into the mock let’s take a look at the Panthers needs (which are numerous) made worse by the fact that the Panthers don’t have a second round pick this year. But that is lessened a bit by the three compensatory picks the Panthers were rewarded (the last pick in the third round 97th overall for losing Julius Peppers and two other later round picks).

Quarterback: Is Clausen a franchise QB or not? If he has that potential, and the Panthers still believe in him, they will shy away from a QB, if not that’s something that must be addressed immediately. 12 years from now the Panthers might be best known as the team that was bad one year too soon to have the great Andrew Luck (A little ahead of myself here?).

DL –Bill Summed it up best when he talked about the DT need for the Panthers. “If Derek Landri walked into Bank of America wearing a shirt that said “I’m Derek Landri”, I’m not sure the new coaching staff would have any idea who he is. There’s a chance last year’s coaching staff didn’t know who he was. But Landri ended up starting all 16 games last season at defensive tackle.” They also need a dynamic pass rusher. They hope Brown can be that player, but he hasn’t been yet.

Those are the two biggest needs, more positions I think they should consider after the jump.

RB-They have two very good running backs, but DeAngelo Williams is a free agent, and though he was tendered it seems likely he will leave once the C.B.A. is worked out. Mike Goodson played well last year, but they could use a number three back (assuming Williams does leave), but this is probably not a big priority.

LB-Being a fan of a Linebacker needy team I’m very in-tuned with the free agent class of linebackers. One of those linebackers, and a very underrated players, is James Anderson of the Panthers. If the Panthers loss Anderson they will have to replace 130 tackles and 3.5 sacks from the linebacker position. They also have to be concerned with Thomas Davis and his knee injuries. Not a dire need, again, but a position they could consider early in the draft.

Depth and Competition everywhere-They could use competition for starters all across the board. They have some young talented WR, but they could use more competition at DE, at the OL positions minus LT and C, they could use more Secondary competition and starters, they could upgrade at the Tight End position (check that, they did with Shockey). This is not a team that is overflowing with talent or one player away from being a Superbowl contender and should consider any and all available players.

1st Round pick 1st Overall Pick: Marcel Dareus, DT, Alabama

Lance Zierlein of the Zreport tweeted a few weeks ago source says Panthers don’t love the QB put Dareus at the top of the board and leave him there”. And while it’s possible that is a ploy or misinformation it also makes sense to go with a DL early if they don’t love any of the quarterbacks. All of the top players but Dareus have questions about their abilities: Peterson doesn’t provide positional value and neither him or A.J. Green could crack 11 in the wonderlic. Fairley is considered a one year wonder and there are whispers that teams are worried about what will happen when he gets that big paycheck. Cam Newton has all the character issues to go along with not being a prototypical passer. Blaine Gabbert is a Consolation prize and few people feel he is worth of the 1st overall pick. This could be a bad year to have the first overall pick.

Round 3: 65th overall Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina

I’ll assume that Carter falls to the top part of the 3rd round when the Panthers pick because he hasn’t been unable to participate in any of the off-season workouts yet. Carter is a monster with some of the most impressive measurables you’ll ever see…if only he could have shown that off during the pre-draft workout.

Martez Wilson broke a combine record running a 40 yard dash in the mid 4-4 range. Well, Bruce Carter has reportedly been timed running the 40 yard dash in 4.39 seconds, which is absolutely ridiculous for a linebacker. He was also productive enough and is excellent value here if still available.

3rd Round Compensatory pick: 97th Overall: Will Rackley OG, Leigh

Rackley is an intriguing high-upside prospect coming out of the Patriot league. Rackley has drawn a lot of interest around the league and has gone on numerous visits. Rackley is best suited for guard at the N.F.L. even though he was a tackle in college. Rackley is a good run blocker and a hard worker and is a good addition here.

4th Round 98th overall: Davon House, CB, New Mexico State

I like to use a different site to create an artificial site to create some sort of value for the players and not base it on my own opinion. So I was using draftinisder.net and National Football post for this mock and in both places they consider House a 4th round prospect, so if that does happen in the draft the Panthers should run up to the stage. House has good, height, size, speed, and fluid enough hips to be a very good player in the N.F.L. I like House’s game. And can’t imagine he’ll be available here in the 4th round.

5th Round 129th overall-DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson

This is something that might seem crazy at the moment, but it’s something that could be a well kept secret. From my interview with Scout Josh Buchanana of jbscouting.com “Two players come to mind in DeAndre McDaniel and Ahmad Black. Folk around the league tell me both are in for a rude awakening on draft day. I’m hearing no higher than the 5th round on both.”

Draftinisder.net predicts him as a 4th or 5th round pick. Wes Buntin grades McDaniel as a 6.4 in the 80’s with an arrow pointing down saying his stock is dropping.

Again this is a case of the Panthers taking a player who has better preceived value in hopes of striking some gold.

6th Round 161st overall Derrell Johnson Koulianos WR, Iowa

The most statistically productive WR in Iowa’s history. Koulianos has the dreaded character concerns label and could really plummet in the draft because of that. Koulianos is a nice low risk high reward player here in the 6th round. In the 6th round just take players you think can eventually play because most 6th and 7th rounders don’t make the roster or hold onto the roster spot for more than a year or two.

I considered Edmond Gates here because he’s rated as a 6th round prospect by both Draftinsider.net and NFP, but I don’t believe there’s a chance he’ll be here this late, while I’ve read and heard all over the place that the safeties could really fall in the draft. Gates size/speed is too tempting to last this long.

Compensatory Pick 207th overall Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia

Devine is a prospect that was very productive in college and a scat-back receiving option at the next level to pair with Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson. He’s not a powerful interior runner, but he offers a change of pace and can be a player that can take it the distance at anytime and catch the football out of the backfield. He’s also great value here because if he can overcome his lack of size in the N.F.L. he could be a good situational player.

Compensatory pick 243rd overall Colby Whitlock DT, Texas Tech

Whitlock is a hard working interior defensive linemen who was productive at Texas Tech. He’s not a monster run stopper, but he’s very explosive and could be a good pass rushing DT on third downs in the league. He’s also got a well established work-ethic and is the kind of player that will make it very difficult for any team to cut him. The fact that he plays DT will give him even a better chance to stick on an N.F.L. roster.

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