Last night, it was all about patience as the Panthers waited at the 16th pick and pounced on Brian Burns when he was available.
In the second round, it was all about aggression as Marty Hurney and the Panthers traded two picks – the 47th and 77th – to Seattle to move up ten spots and select Ole Miss tackle Greg Little, who was named All-SEC First Team and Second Team All-American in 2018, with the 37th pick in the NFL draft.
For the entire offseason, Hurney has not been shy about his desire to invest in resources to protect Cam Newton and between bringing in veteran center Matt Paradis and re-signing Daryl Williams and now drafting Little, whom the team had a first round grade on and attempted to trade back into the first round last night to select, he’s doing his best to achieve that goal.
“We just thought we had a chance to get a left tackle who has a chance to come in here and really compete for playing time quickly,” said Hurney. “He’s got a lot of [good] traits; he’s big, he’s athletic, he’s got long arms, he can sit and anchor. He played in the SEC against some of the best competition; I’m not a huge stats or analytics guy but I think there’s one out there that says in the last 960+ snaps the last two years, he’s given up 26 pressures.”
“He does a very good job of pass blocking and keeping his guy from getting to the quarterback.”
Hurney was close – it was actually 993 snaps.
Hurney and the Panthers felt as if they needed to trade up to get the player they wanted because tackles were going off the board quickly in the beginning of the second round – teams were moving up to get the guys they wanted, including Jacksonville trading up to the 35th pick for Florida tackle Jawaan Taylor.
In fact, one pick after the Panthers went up for Little, the Bills traded up for Cody Ford.
“The reasoning to go out and get him was exactly what Marty said,” agreed Rivera. “When you’ve got tackles flying off the board, they’re going to go fast and to get a quality one, you’ve got to be willing to do what we did and I really appreciate the decision that was made and Marty pulling the trigger the way that he did.”
“It gives us an opportunity to add another piece to the puzzle.”
When you know who you want, it’s an easier decision to make your move – especially since Hurney didn’t think there was “any chance” Little would last to the 47th pick; Hurney and the Panthers believed in the Ole Miss tackle from the very beginning.
“They traded up to come get me, so I’m ready to come in and give it all I’ve got,” said Little shortly after he was drafted. “Me and [Hurney] talked a couple of times and he was true to his word – he said you’re a left tackle, man and we’ll see how this thing goes, but we like you a lot. I’m a big fan of yours and I think you’re ready to come in and help us right now.”
While the Panthers are excited to see what Little can do at left tackle – even though Ron Rivera wasn’t ready to nail down a rotation, this allows either Daryl Williams or Taylor Moton to excel at their natural right tackle position while also competing at left guard – they acknowledge that Little still has some work to do in terms of run blocking, which they’ll do a lot more in Carolina than they did in Ole Miss, where the Rebels had the fewest rushing attempts in the SEC.
Even if they didn’t rush the ball very often, Little started every game his final two seasons at left tackle.
“I think I’m a true franchise left tackle and I can do it for a long time,” said Little, who certainly is not lacking in confidence – the trait former captain Ryan Kalil said was the most important for a lineman to possess.
A combination of – wherever they land – Little, Moton, Paradis, Trai Turner and Williams will be the most talented line that Cam Newton has had in front of him in his career. And Little knows where his bread is buttered.
“I take pride in pass [protection], in keeping people safe” said the 6-6, 325 pound 21-year old who blocked for Kyler Murray in high school. “I’m going to keep him safe, that’s my job – and open up holes, that’s my job, man. It kind of irks me even losing a rep in pass pro, because that’s what I do, that’s my best trait.”
“I feel like Cam will be very happy, I think Cam is going to be safe and he’s going to have time to do what he needs to do, which is get the ball out and produce.”
