The Secondary
Another area that Hurney addressed during the press conference was the need to find players on the back end who can make plays on the ball. This is something they did last year by drafting Donte Jackson – with James Bradberry and Ross Cockrell both pending free agents, this is an area where the Panthers might look to add some long-term stability. There is some division of opinion about the top-end quality of this cornerback class, but if somebody who the Panthers think can be an elite outside starter is still in the board at 16, that can’t be completely dismissed. It’s not clear who might fall that far in this cornerback, but DeAndre Baker, Greedy Williams and Byron Murphy all top various cornerback boards around the NFL depending on scheme.
Photo Credit: Mark LaGrange
The other option, however, would be to find a long-term starter at safety alongside Eric Reid and while there isn’t a clear-cut elite #1 free safety in this class, there are certainly options. It still isn’t clear exactly what the 2019 Panthers’ defense is going to look like from a schematic point of view, especially given the move towards more of a 3-4 defense and this, in turn, makes it hard to know which of the free safeties they think will be most valuable in their scheme, but it would probably be fair to say that any of the safeties in this class would be something of a reach at 16, though well worth considering if they are able to trade back.
From a secondary point of view, therefore, the worst case scenario would probably be reaching for one of the free safeties better suited to going later in the first round. Nasir Adderley and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson are widely regarded as the top two free safeties in this class, and both will almost certainly still be there at 16.
So that’ option #2.
Edge Rushers
Clelin Ferrell. Photo Credit: Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports
The Panthers have also made no secret of wanting to upgrade their edge rush and given that most of the edge rushers they already have on the roster are pending free agents, it would be much more surprising to see them not address this in the draft than the alternative. However, while they would be sorely tempted by Brian Burns if he is still on the board, if he’s not, it would be hard to excuse reaching for an edge rusher in the first given the depth of this class.
The only exception to this might be if the Panthers have somebody much higher-rated than the NFL consensus, but if the Panthers are facing a board where four or more edge rushers have already been taken by the 16th pick, they would likely do better to wait for the likes of Christian Miller and others on the second day. If you’re somehow managing to reach for an edge rusher in this class, that’s probably the wrong decision – even so, players such as a Montez Sweat or Clelin Ferrell cannot be ruled out, especially if they don’t view Sweat’s heart issue as problematic.
Interior Defensive Line
As mentioned earlier, the Panthers have made it clear that they plan to run more 3-4 defense this season, and while they have already talked about how this will help the likes of Efe Obada, Marquise Haynes and Jermaine Carter, it also creates some issues in terms of their interior options. Dontari Poe and Vernon Butler are natural fits for the nose tackle role in this defense, and Rivera spoke during the press conference about how they also view Kyle Love as an option in this regard, but who do they have who can play as 3-4 defensive ends?
We’ve addressed this here – but the Panthers can easily address it in the draft.
Jerry Tillery. Photo Credit: Jon Durr/Getty Images
Kawann Short is obviously one option, but that only gives them half a starting pair, and while Bryan Cox might have a chance to play here at times, he has done little through his first two seasons to think that he can be a high level starter; the Panthers clearly recognize this and their pursuit of Allen Bailey in free agency suggests this is something they are looking to address. As with edge rusher, the inside pass rusher class is also quite deep, but as they haven’t addressed the position before the draft, this is an area they could consider in the first round.
While the likes of Quinnen Williams and Ed Oliver are likely to be gone by the 16th pick, there may well be first-round graded players such as Jerry Tillery or Christian Wilkins still available at 16, and while interior defensive line wasn’t a huge need when the Panthers were primarily running a 4-3 defense, having failed to add a single interior defensive lineman this offseason, the move to a 3-4 defense is currently not being replicated by the defensive personnel, especially on the defensive interior.
So that’s option #3.
The Conclusion
So there are likely the three best worst-case options – a developmental tackle, a free safety or an interior pass rusher. Of course, a lot will depend on how the Panthers have their board set in terms of the 10-20 prospect range, but this would likely be a choice between the likes of Greg Little, Greedy Williams, Nasir Adderley, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Jerry Tillery.
While I do like both CGJ and Adderley, it is hard to imagine that they wouldn’t both still be there ten picks later, and while the Panthers might not get a great value out of their trade back option at 16, it is hard to see them not being able to move back a few picks and being able to take one of these two, even if they don’t get a ton of draft capital back in return. The same appears to be the case with Little, whose stock appears to have dropped around the NFL in recent weeks; with that in mind, the worst case scenario for the Panthers if they stay at 16 is probably getting a player like Jerry Tillery – and that really isn’t too bad of a situation to find yourself in, even if it isn’t what many Panthers fans will be going into the draft hoping for.
