Carolina Panthers' Team Needs

By Mike Reynolds on December 27, 2012

It’s never too early to start talking about the NFL draft. With a little bit more than four months left until the first round begins and only about a month until the NCAA football season ends, now would be the perfect time to get some preliminary tal

ks out of the way. Just as a bit of a disclaimer, many things can change between now and NFL draft day. These articles will be weekly or biweekly, and will serve as a constant update for everything you need to know about the prospects, and what your favorite team is looking to do.

A big factor that goes into any team’s draft is what they need in terms of positions. A team’s draft strategy often revolves around taking the best player available for the position they need most.

My heart lies with the Carolina Panthers, so that’s where we’ll start, and we’ll move around the NFL from there.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers have been a force of inconsistency since they entered the league in 1995, but the past three seasons have only spelled disappointment. The expectations were high for the Panthers due to the sensational sophomore QB Cam Newton, but they went unfulfilled. A slew of injuries to many of the Panthers’ starting players didn’t help, but this season has made it clear that they’re still missing something. With that being said, The Panthers have come on strong as of late and look like they are only one or two pieces away from a playoff push next year.

Carolina’s main need lays on the defensive side of the ball, specifically: a defensive tackle. The Panthers work out of a 4-3 defense, and they just haven’t been able to contain the run since trading Kris Jenkins years ago. Dwan Edwards has been serviceable since being picked up to replace 2011 third round pick Terrell McClain, but Sione Fua has been a complete non-factor when he’s on the field. The Panthers need a big and athletic defensive tackle to come in and disrupt the QB’s rhythm. The rest of the defense’s job gets much easier if the opposing QB doesn’t have time to set and throw.

Moreover, the Panthers have been lacking a good cornerback for years. Adding a good defensive tackle would help alleviate a lot of the defensive backs’ workloads, though Captain Munnerlyn or Josh Norman still must improve in order for the team to truly be set defensively. Despite the Panthers’recent defensive improvements in the past few weeks, they’ve still allowed over 17 points per game in that span.

On the other hand, Carolina’s offense has been strong behind red hot Cam Newton, who has had ten TDs and zero interceptions in his last four games. He’s also tacked on three rushing TDs in that time, and the Panthers went 3-1 in that stretch. Despite this, the Panthers’ greatest offensive weapon, Steve Smith, is getting old. The Panthers were already lacking a serviceable wide receiver to put across from him, but at his age they have to start considering the possibility that he might be ready to hang up his cleats. Drafting a wide receiver would turn this offense from ‘really good’ to top five in the NFL in no time.

Carolina could conceivably pick up all three of these things at some point in the draft considering their record. Their first pick will likely fall in the top ten unless they win out, so expect them to take a long hard look at John Hankins (DT) out of Ohio State or (if he slips) Star Lotulelei (DT) out of Utah. In the second round they can easily pick up a stout wide receiver such as Cordarrelle Patterson out of Tennessee or Robert Woods out of USC to take some slack off of Smith. If they choose to work with a defensive back they might find themselves in a spot to take David Amerson, who was considered a top 5 pick in the entire draft before having a less than stellar junior season for NC State.

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