Day 2 saw quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends meet with the media to answer questions while the running backs and offensive linemen did their on-field drills; while large crowds were drawn by the two Joshes, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson, the Panthers are not in the market for a high-end quarterback, with their eyes perhaps set on a backup in the later rounds to learn and grow behind Cam Newton. What they will almost certainly be in the market for is a wide receiver, and perhaps a tight end to inherit the throne from Greg Olsen, and there are certainly some talented versions of those in the 2018 draft class.
Kurt Benkert, UVA QB
Forgot to post this yesterday, Benkert, the only QB to do bench press, met with Carolina this week, ran a sub-5 40. We asked him about being a backup QB at the next level. pic.twitter.com/UN9HgWxGl4
— The Riot Report (@RRiotReport) March 3, 2018
“I’m definitely content to going in and learning from a veteran. I’m open to going to any team. I’d love to just play in the NFL to be honest. I think that’s kind of everybody here. Really, whatever situation I go to, I just hope it’s the best one for me to be able to grow and be the best player I can be. Depending on what situation I’m in, I’m going to bring something different. If I’m the No. 2 guy, I’m going to be the best backup I can be for that No. 1 quarterback and support him anyway that I can. It just depends on the situation, but I think I bring a lot of positivity and talent to a team.”
Deon Cain, WR, Clemson
“They prepared me well, just teaching us answers on and off the field. I love everything about Clemson, how they just try to keep goals in front of us, and set them up high. I really think he prepared us well for this next level. I mean, we’ve got every route in the route tree that the NFL runs. So we practice it all the time and run it in games. So I feel like I’m definitely efficient enough to run those routes too.”
James Daniels, OL, Iowa
“The first thing, the transition to the NFL. In college, we all go to class. In the NFL, football is a job. Now, D-linemen are going to be better, bigger, faster, stronger, so whatever NFL team chooses me, I just have to get better and focus on my fundamentals. Use those fundamentals I learned at Iowa. It depends, pass or run. You have to be cautious of your technique. If you have one elbow out, if your hands are late, anything like that, you’re going to get beat, quickly. You get beat in college by players if you have bad technique. In the NFL, they’re going to expose you like that (snaps fingers). You just have to be very careful, steps, hands and feet, all of that.”
Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
“When the ball’s in the air, I consider it mine. I don’t believe in the whole 50/50 ball. It’s more of a, from my perspective, 80/20, in that range. Growing up, I played a whole lot of basketball. In high school, I played volleyball. Jumping has always come pretty natural for me, and it’s only improved as time’s gone on. It’s something that I’ve been able to implement into my game on the field. It’s helped it a ton. Basketball and volleyball. In basketball, going up to get a rebound or going up to attack the rim or dunk on somebody. In volleyball, going up for a spike. Getting up to the highest point and hand-eye coordination – just everything that those games have to offer, I’ve been able to translate to that to my football and, overall, my athletic ability.”
Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State
“I want to be a three-down tight end in the league. So I’m going to have to be able to block. I didn’t do a ton of blocking at South Dakota State, but when I did, I put my head in there. I have to work on it a little bit, but I’ve been doing it already when I’ve been training. I plan on getting a lot better at it and being one of the best tight ends in the league. At South Dakota State, I blocked quite a bit. I was in on every play. So if we had a running play, I was blocking. Some of the things I’ve been doing, I’ve been working with Jackie Slater and John Allred, working on my first step hand placement, my base, and things like that. I want to come into the league and play right away. I want to have an impact on the team right when I get there. I think I have that capability. But should I go someplace that has a veteran tight end, I’d be honored to learn under somebody else that has the skillset to do everything.”
DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Penn State
“Coming into the NFL, you have to be confident in yourself. I have a ton of self-confidence, but I’m also a guy that thinks every situation through and you think positives and you think of the opposite side of things as well. I’m starting to learn that it’s going to have to turn into you thinking of nothing but the positives, especially when it comes to being successful with what you’re doing and successful in your career. That’s one thing and obviously, the blocking. I did a lot of blocking for Saquon back in college, so I can continue to improve as a wide receiver (blocking). That’s not our strongest point.
I think I can come in and help a team as fast as possible, wherever they need me, special teams-wise, as a wide receiver. I think I can help out in any way, shape or form. As soon as I get to whatever team I land on, wherever it may be, I’m just going to hit the ground running and go full steam ahead. I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can to earn the coaches’ trust and the whole team’s trust. Once I do that, then I’m never going to look back. I’m just going to keep that same routine, keep that same mentality, keep that same pace throughout the rest of my career.”
DJ Moore, WR, Maryland on being compared to Steve Smith
“That’s a great comparison. To have me being compared to him is going to stick with me because he brought passion to the game, physical-ness. He had the speed to do whatever. Just having that comparison makes me go 10 times harder.”
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
“I feel like I’m a great route runner. I take my time in my routes. I’m patient in my routes and identify coverages pretty good and I get in and out my breaks pretty good and I beat defenders pretty well. Great separation.”
Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
“I would say that I’m a dominant receiver. I’m somebody that when I’m on the field that I need everybody on defense to feel my presence, whether it’s d-line, linebackers, safeties, every corner, whether you’re guarding me or not, I need everybody to understand where I am and that when I’m on the field I’m going to make sure I’m trying to impose my will on everybody on the entire defense. I think that’s what makes me a great receiver right now. I definitely see that translating to the NFL. There are a lot of steps that have to be made and have to be taken, just learning how the NFL works, how NFL offenses work and how to be successful. I didn’t come into college already knowing how to be a really good receiver straight out of high school. There were steps that had to be taken, learning and growth steps. I think the same things is going to happen once I get into the NFL, growth steps, understanding how to be a full all around complete player.”
Mark Andrews, TE
“Playing in [the Oklahoma] offense was an incredible experience. That fast-tempo, spread offense. It did a lot of good things to prepare for this next level. The way the game is kind of changing, that West Coast offense, a lot of fast-paced things going on. I think that is a lot of the way the game is changing to try and get defenses off balance. There was a lot of things that we did in the Oklahoma offense that is going to translate really well in the next level. I have a ton of experience in running routes and receiving. I think it is one of my strong points in my game. I think that part of my game is going to be a strong point. The good thing about the NFL is you get so much time and you’re able to work on the blocking. You get so much more reps at it, which I am excited about. I am excited to learn and get better.”
