Blurbs from Fox and Hurney

Panthers fill gaps on offensive line
Carolina takes 2 offensive linemen in first 2 rounds
JENNA FRYER
Associated Press


The Carolina Panthers continued the massive overhaul of their offense Saturday, patching up the offensive line by picking tackle Jordan Gross of Utah and center Bruce Nelson of Iowa in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Gross, a first-round selection, fills a gaping hole on the offensive line. Nelson, picked 50th overall in the second round, can be groomed to play either guard or center.

In the third round, Carolina picked tight end Mike Seidman of UCLA with the 76th pick. Then the Panthers traded picks 108, 220 and 227 to Denver to get the 82nd pick and used it on cornerback Ricky Manning Jr of UCLA.

The offensive picks followed an aggressive signing period for Carolina in its bid to upgrade an offense that ranked 31st in the league the past two years.

The Panthers signed five players this winter who are expected to drastically improve the offense: quarterback Jake Delhomme, running back Stephen Davis, receivers Ricky Proehl and Kevin Dyson and lineman Doug Brzezinski.

"We had to address our offense," Fox said. "It's really hard to do much of anything offensively unless you can block, whether it's run or pass.

"It's an area that hasn't been addressed on our team in recent history, and we felt like it's an area we needed to invest some talent in."

The Panthers, due to pick ninth overall, wasted no time taking Gross, the highest-rated blocker in the draft, after the Minnesota Vikings skipped their pick at seven.

That made it Jacksonville's turn, and the Panthers knew the Jaguars were taking quarterback Byron Leftwich. So Carolina turned in its card selecting Gross, marking two rapid picks in a usual deliberate process.

"When it became clear what Minnesota was doing, we said `Why take the chance?' and got in right behind Jacksonville," general manager Marty Hurney said. "He might not be the flashiest pick, but you just feel good about him being here for a long time and playing in the NFL at a high level."

Watching the draft from his home in Salt Lake City, Gross said he couldn't believe how quickly he became a Panther.

"With the picks getting mixed up and the Vikings getting bumped up, it was kind of a crazy five minutes there," said Gross. "It happened so fast. We were watching Minnesota's time go by and I thought 'That was strange.'

"Then Leftwich was picked, and suddenly I'm on the phone right after that and the Panthers are telling me they're going to pick me. It was a really unique experience and I'm glad it happened that way."

Nelson, meanwhile, was a little surprised to be taken by the Panthers because they had already picked Gross.

Nelson walked on at Iowa and then went on to start for four years, has played left tackle, left guard and center and isn't sure where Carolina plans to use him.

Fox said he'd try Nelson at guard.

Gross is expected to start at right tackle, which has been shaky since the Panthers released Chris Terry midway through last season for disciplinary reasons.

He's a natural left tackle, which coach John Fox said Gross would probably be groomed for. Todd Steussie starts at left tackle, but he's 32.

"He's definitely very capable of going over to the left side and that is one of the big reasons we felt he was warranted with that pick," Fox said.

With Seidman, Carolina gets a tight end who will help fill a void created when Wesley Walls was released.

Seidman, a first-team All-Pac 10 pick, was one of three finalists for the John Mackey award given to the nation's top tight end. He set a school record for tight ends with 631 receiving yards this season.

"He was very high on our tight end board and we think he's going to be good," Hurney said. "Things fell right for us."

Before Seidman had time to celebrate, the Panthers selected Manning, his teammate with the Bruins.

"That's pretty cool. We are really, real good friends," Seidman said. "Ricky is one of the guys I respect the most on my UCLA team because of how hard he plays and how hard he works."

Seidman expected to celebrate with Manning later Saturday night when they met at the Bruins' spring game.

 

http://www.panthers.com/news/newsroomNewsDetail.jsp?id=5809

I like the part about scouting Manning.

Also, Nelson will be a guard.

 

Fox's remarks about Seidman sound too good to be true. Doesn't sound like the same player PFW and others have rated at all. Fox makes him sound like a mauler of a blocker with downfield speed and soft hands. Even if the truth lies somewhere in between, I'll be much happier. Either way, unless Fox is blowing big-time sunshine or he's been out and out lied to by our scouts, I'm more hopeful about Seidman.

After all, he can't be any worse than Mangum, can he?

 

In this offence downhill speed and soft hands would just be extra as long he's a mauler of a blocker. I'll be OK with that if it works.

 

After reading that I wish to change my "How are we doing" vote to a B+. You have to admit that with SD in the backfield this will be a big help.

 

Good point.

Nelson has got a good frame, and he is a smart player. Hopefully he can get stronger in 2003 in time to replace Donnaley for 2004.

Still think Dallas got a steal with Witten.

 

That's gonna be fun to watch. I'm stoked to watch a bunch of the guys that fell - see if they prove everyone wrong or choke.

Taylor Jacobs. Simms.

 

I'm putting a fiver on choke for the last two.

A lot of guys who fell had medical problems that came up (Bailey - Witten), or charachter problems (Gardner).

Funny thing is some guys came back from injury and had good years. McGahee gets injured and somebody takes him because rehab is going well?

 

Yeah, I'm doubtful about that knee. I would never wish any bad on the guy but it just seems so unlikely that even if he comes back he won't stay back long in the very brutal NFL. McGahee just looks like one of those fragile thoroughbreds that has legs too delicate to support the power that's generated above them.
Just like with Foster, I hope like hell MaGahee comes back but I definitely would not count on it.

 

IMO, Dallas finally has the successor to Jay Novachek in Witten. He could very well find himself in the ring of honor someday.