Carolina Panthers: Best Player Available #4
Our Carolina Panthers look at best available players turns to defensive end Kevin Dodd of Clemson.
As the Carolina Panthers get closer to the NFL Draft, the mock drafts can’t seem to make up their minds on who to pick. In fact I have seen a number of defensive backs dot the Panthers selection in some drafts. This has to do with the flexibility that the Panthers have to play with positionally.
With the Best Player Available Series, we have looked at players that the Panthers might take that fit certain profiles. We looked at Derrick Henry, Jason Spriggs, and Emmanuel Ogbah. Today we will look at one more defensive end whose draft value varies from mock to mock. He would be a local favorite for the Panthers to select. He would be Kevin Dodd of Clemson.
Pass rushing duos are nothing new in the NFL Draft. Sometimes it is hard to figure out which member of the duo is the most valuable. Sometimes it is the flashy looking guy, and sometimes it is the more hardworking counterpart. Sometimes Mario Williams is clearly better than Manny Lawson, while other times Michael Sam turns out to be less of a pro talent than Kony Ealy.
That is the story at Clemson where both Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd produced in the Tiger defense. Lawson is the talented behemoth and Dodd outworks you. Lawson is a consensus top 15 pick, Dodd is harder to pinpoint. Some draft boards have him going about as high as Lawson, others have him a handful of picks back.
Most of them have Dodd getting drafting earlier than the Panthers spot at thirty. Yet he represents a player with the kinds of intangibles that fit with the Panthers. Therefore it would be in their interest to look at him.
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Remember when we talked about Ogbah, we talked about a real talent that needed seasoning to become mentally prepared to perform his best in the league. Dodd won’t have that issue. He is a guy who works lineman, readjusts, and uses his football IQ to determine where plays are going.
If Kony Ealy had a great game in a losing cause in the Super Bowl, then Dodd almost as good of a game against Alabama in the National Championship. Against Saban recruited tackles, Dodd had three sacks and was active in the backfield.
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Dodd also has a pro sized figure at 6’5” 277 pounds. He could be ready on day one to contribute to the Panther defense. His downsides are just his inexperience in general. He has only two seasons under his belt at Clemson. His 4.86 forty time is fine for a lineman, but it is not 4.6 that Ogbah had.
The Panthers’ decision will be hampered by what teams do in front of them. Many of those teams also have some flexibility to their decision making. It could be that all or none of the four players we have talked about will be available at the Panthers pick. The logical thing to do then is mock out the first round and see how it might play out.
Next: Panthers Preseason Opponents Announced
The NFL Draft is at the end of the month on April 28 for the first round.