Carolina Panthers Notebook: Louis Murphy, Draft Prospects/Mocks
The Carolina Panthers have been quiet in free agency recently, so our attention has now focused to the draft and thinking of ways the Panthers can retool their team.
1. Charles Edwards over at the Bleacher Report wonders if the Carolina Panthers will consider drafting LSU Tigers nickel corner Tyrann Mathieu in the 2013 NFL Draft due to their need at corner. I could see the Panthers picking up Mathieu, but it would be a reach to take him in the second round of the draft. Is he worth a third round pick? That depends on what a team does in the first two rounds of the draft, but the Panthers don’t have a third round pick anyway. He is worth a fourth-round choice, but Mathieu’s skill set is limited and is best off as a slot corner. He can be great in that role a la Cortland Finnegan, but he doesn’t project well to the outside.
2. The New York Giants signed disappointing No. 3 or 4 receiver Louis Murphy, who had a very uneven 2012 campaign with the Carolina Panthers. Murphy’s role with the Giants suits him, though, because all he is for the Giants is a depth signing.
3. I covered the news of the Panthers hosting Frank Omiyale yesterday, and James Dator offered up a great take on the Panthers potentially reuniting with the backup offensive lineman.
4. My brother in arms over at Cat Crave, Ken Dye, is both a Panthers and Miami Dolphins fan. As such, he wrote up a piece about just how different both of their approaches have been in NFL Free Agency this year.
5. On the Panthers official site, Bryan Strickland has an excellent piece on Sam Montgomery, but I highly doubt the Panthers draft him. He is an interesting prospect for sure, but the last thing the Panthers need is a pass rusher. They need to focus on defensive tackle, guard, cornerback, safety, or wide receiver instead.
6. Like several people, Rant Sports’s Jeff Everette has mocked Star Lotulelei to the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and he went further in depth by running through a full mock draft for the Panthers. He also had the team taking small-school, rising offensive tackle Terron Armstead, San Diego State cornerback Leon McFadden to help shore up the secondary, an LSU corner in the next round to further solidify the CB position (and no, it was Tharold Simon and not Tyrann Mathieu), and he used their final choice on a wide receiver in Virginia Tech’s solid target Corey Fuller.
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