with the 2nd pick in the draft

I'm fine with that. We really need some damn DL though. Maybe some of those late adds from last year can contribute.

 

Rick Gosselin: I think DeCastro is the safest pick in the first round. I think this guy walks in as a starter and inside of two seasons, he's going to the Pro Bowl. His problem is he plays a non-premium position. He plays guard. The best guard in the draft generally goes somewhere in the 20s. It's a safe pick, it's a good pick, but it would be a bit of a reach for the Cowboys at 14 because historically the guards go later. Cornerback is the most pressing need, but I'm of the belief you can find a cornerback in any round. You can find a safety in any round, you can find a guard in any round, you can find a wide receiver in any round. You can't find defensive linemen after about the first two rounds. The elite guys go quick.

food for thought

 

You think whatever Collin thinks, now shut the fuck up.

I'm tired of you being an echo. If I could, I'd punch you in the face. But I can't, so I'll just post this.

 

You can't draft G at 9. It won't happen, so let's not bother with this kind of speculation.

There are good players left at 9. Seriously....

 

I didn't say Bradford would be elite.

You'd probably miss, and then you'd get laughed at. Being a dumb ex-con doesn't make you a tough guy. It just makes you a dumb ex-con.

 

If a guard is the best player available when the panthers pick they should take a guard, regardless of what "always happens in the past" or "should usually happen". This is the problem with draft sites and peoples opinions at draft time . .. every team should just pick the BPA. The only possible exception would be really loaded teams at a position like the G-men at DE for instance. They could avoid taking a DE at 9. It looks like either Couples or Ingram will be there at 9. I personally have seen them both play and I would rather have Ingram because he is NOT an underachiever and he does not give up on plays. Ingram IS going to be an impact player and although he is currently too light to play inside in the NFL i don't think he will always be. And it's not like we couldn't use a disruptive consistent game-changing DE. I really don't care anymore if people think he would be a reach at 9. If he is going to be a badass within a couple of seasons once he muscles up a little and acclimates (and he IS going to be a badass) i say pick a really good football player there. The reach would be to pick a DT or CB there when there will not be one available that will have the positive impact that Ingram (or DeCastro) is going to have.
I would also not be disappointed with DeCastro based on the fact that the biggest hole on our OL has consistently been at G. However, I just hope our FO bases their decision on who the best actual football players are when they pick each round.
For the record Cam Newton appears to have been the best football player available when they picked last year. )

 

ok so Mr. Knowitall, who you liking at 9? and, if you say Reiff i'm gonna wanna punch you in the face.

 

well said

although i think Coples and Ingram will both be gone before we pick

 

It's possible, and Ingram is the more likely of the two, but now that Brockers and Richardson are both falling I think they could go 7 & 8.

Ingram is already maxed out as far as his frame, so the notion of him adding muscle is really a bad one. Think Jason Peter. In any case, here's why I like Coples and do not like Ingram:

Coples has prototypical size and plays to that size. At DE, he doesn't get moved in run defense. But what I appreciate most of all about him as a prospect is that he's excellent at using his hands, something Peppers could never master. Against the run he keeps blockers at arms' length, which allows him to control and shed. Against the pass, he can either break the tackle's hold or get under the tackle's pads and drive him straight into the backfield. I'll grant that the motor is less than ideal, but I think a lot of that had to do with the bad atmosphere at Carolina. He was a future NFL DE who agreed to play a season at DT when the Tar Heels were shorthanded, which shows guts and a team-mentality to me.

Ingram, on the other hand, is a hustle player. That is understandably appealing to fans, but what worries me is that you don't become a successful pass rusher in the NFL just through hustle. He's not big or strong enough to bull rush tackles the way that Coples can, and when he did physically beat blockers in college it was usually a tight end. He is quicker and more explosive than Coples, which not only grants him the ability to play in space but also be more effective on stunting and slipping through gaps. That's how he'll have to be effective in the NFL, and I'm concerned that it will take a special scheme to achieve that, and even then it's no guarantee. Ingram probably has a better chance of being productive as a rush linebacker than as a defensive end.

 

Reiff. Just so you try to punch me in the face. (I don't know that I'd be against him though at all)

Mercilus, perhaps Coples? It won't be a guard, you nut. If we trade down, which is what I prefer? Then we're talking.

Or to be honest w you? I'd be really happy with Michael Floyd.

Yeah, I know, but I was also pimping for AJ Green last year, so you obviously know I'm ready for another elite receiver to compliment Smith and eventually handle the torch.