Carolina Panthers: DE over RB in the 1st Round?

The Carolina Panthers may look at the defensive side of the football in round one of the upcoming NFL Draft.

The Carolina Panthers pick eighth in the upcoming NFL Draft. When the season ended it seemed that the Panthers may not be able to address their biggest concern, offensive line, at that position. That led to the supposition that the Panthers might take a running back instead. Some leaned toward Dalvin Cook and others (like myself) leaned toward Leonard Fournette.

However the Panthers model is not built around flashy pieces like a really good running back if there is something else available. The offensive line prospects do not offer much, but the defensive line prospects are littered in the top half of this year’s draft. The defensive line’s importance is a call back to Dave Gettleman’s times in a Giants organization that thrived on impact linemen in bulk.

There are two linemen that the Panthers will not get to consider. One is Myles Garrett. The Texas A&M defensive end is treated much like the Julius Peppers of this draft. He has the size, speed, and skills that one would want at the position. He is also an every down guy, something the Panthers have been lacking at the moment. He is considered to be the number one talent in the draft and only teams with quarterback needs would prevent him from going number one.

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There are not seven teams with quarterback needs in front of the Panthers. At best he could fall down to pick number four to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That would require teams to heavily overvalue all three of Mitch Trubisky, DeShaun Watson, and DeShone Kizer to get to that point. If the Panthers wanted to move up, the price would most likely be prohibitive.

Malik McDowell is the other lineman the Panthers will probably not look at. He is an interior guy from Michigan State. The Panthers have the defensive tackle position figured out, assuming Kawann Short comes back either on the franchise tag or a new deal. McDowell is also not rated so high, the Panthers could trade down to get him. Of course were the Panthers to do that, it would mean they had given up on bringing back Short.

Behind Garrett is Alabama defensive end Jonathan Allen. Allen is another example of a lineman who could play every down. At 6’3” and 280, Allen has the flexibility to move inside on passing downs to add to the pass rush. This also means he has the bulk to play the end in running situations. The only problem with Allen is that mockers believe that he too will be gone by the eighth pick.

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The next guy up would be Solomon Thomas. The Stanford defensive end showed the ability to disrupt offenses no matter what the down was. He could get a key sack or break through a block to get to a running back. His stock is rising, and he might be a reach at the Panthers pick. However Thomas fits very much with what the Panthers want to do. He makes more sense to the team formula than a running back does, particularly if the Panthers aren’t sure who would block for a new running back.

The Panthers review articles will be back tomorrow with a look at the defensive backfield.