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NFL Draft preview:
Q&A with John Fox, Marty Hurney and Jack Tony Softli
April 19, 2004
Panthers.com
Head coach John Fox, general manager Marty Hurney and director of college scouting Tony Softli discuss the upcoming NFL Draft.
John Fox on choosing at the end of the first round instead of at the beginning: It is all hard. I think there is more pressure the closer you are to the top. We experienced that the first year when we had the second pick. The key is that you get a good football player no matter where you pick. That is the hard part about it. There is nothing automatic about it no matter where you pick. Picking the right guy is the key.
Marty Hurney on picking 31st in the first round: You have to decide what group of players you think might be there and have contingencies. It is really no different. You are picking later rather than early.
Tony Softli on the depth of the draft: As long as you line the board up to take the best available player, it is fine. I think it is a little stronger in positions like receiver this year than in the past several years. Then it is real light as far as fullbacks and tight ends after a couple of top guys. Every year brings something a little different.
Tony Softli on the wide receiver position: You have seven or eight who could possibly go in the first round. It is probably one of the strongest classes in the past few years. You have got some big receivers who are playmakers. Some are little faster than others, but they are all productive.
Tony Softli on the cornerback position: It is a good year for corners. They are pretty solid up top for the first day. It is pretty thick. Again, productive guys, very good football players. There are going to be some good players up there when we get ready to choose. We are going to be happy with the players we get no matter what position and where we choose.
Tony Softli on the defensive line position: It is not too bad. You have got some key guys up top and it filters down. Defensive line is pretty strong at defensive end and tackle. It is a solid position.
John Fox on the Panthers draft goals: It is just too hard to predict. We have holes to fill just like all of the other teams. I think we have got them clumped at the position where we pick in each round. Again, that can change because there are so many people ahead of us. Like every other draft, you need to come out with some guys that have a legitimate chance to help you in the first day. We have been fortunate enough to be able to get that done the last couple of years. We won't approach it any different this year.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers draft goals: The biggest thing we stress is taking good football players. You try not to reach for a need and try to line the board up. Obviously, if there are two or three guys who are close and you have a need at a certain position, you will go with the guy that you have the biggest need for. But what you don't want to do is reach because you have a need. You try to line them up and take the best football player available if you can.
Marty Hurney on trading up: We don't close off any avenue. We will consider anything. But until you get there, you just don't know.
John Fox on if the Panthers would trade their first-round choice: There is always the option. It is no different than the last two years, either trading back or trading up. What the exact bargain price is as far as what they want and what they will give. You entertain it, make a decision and go with it.
John Fox on how free agent signings and departures will affect the Panthers draft strategy: It's just like any other offseason, you are trying to restock your football team. Those are your two avenues, the draft and free agency. I feel good about the activity that we've had at this point in the free agency market. If the right guys become available, there is still more room for improvement. It changes daily.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers draft preparedness: We could probably draft today if we needed to, but this week will probably be looking at more tape and more discussions and talking about more scenarios. What happens if this happens? What do we do if that happens? The scouts and coaches will continue to look at tape, and we'll have meetings and go over everything. The board is basically set and has been set. Tony and the scouts do a great job on that.
Marty Hurney on having five less weeks to prepare for the draft because of the Super Bowl: It set us back a lot, but we are ready to go. I think we all feel like we've been trying to catch up ever since because we did lose five weeks. But we're caught up as far as the draft goes.
Marty Hurney on the importance of picks in the later rounds of the draft: What we have stressed is no secret. We need to get core players out of the draft every year. So we have to draft well, and drafting well means not just on the first day but on the second day. Obviously, the best market value bargains come on the second day. You want to get players who can come in and contribute at least right away on special teams and then develop and fill a role. The second day is just as important as the first day.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers recent draft success: With everything, we kind of have a formula on how we do things. It's really just everybody having an opinion, being heard, and talking out any disagreements and putting whys to opinions. This is an extremely subjective business, as far as evaluating players. I think we communicate as much as we can so we can take as much subjectivity out of the decision-making process as possible. We try to make objective decisions. We have a framework right now that seems to work very well. Our scouts and coaches both have input, and we try to select players that both sides agree on. It seems to have worked so far, and we just hope it continues.
John Fox on the expectations for a late first-round pick compared to an early first-round pick: When you select a guy with the second pick and pay him like a future Hall of Famer without playing a down yet, that's a lot of pressure. As far as who you select in the first round, we have to do as well as our competitors do and we're picking 31st. Teams in our division pick higher than we do. The expectations will be that we're competitive with people in our division and in this League. People aren't going to remember where you picked down the road. There is pressure at every pick. We feel like we're going to select a very capable player with the 31st pick.
John Fox on if the Panthers have improved since the end of last season: That's really hard to say because we haven't lined up and played a snap yet. I feel good about our football team. The core of our football team is still intact. With the landscape what it is right now, you're not going to stay the same, whether you're a team just out of the playoffs or a team that just went to the Super Bowl. Your team is going to change. The way the League is now you can't have an entire team of Pro Bowlers. It's just not possible. You have to make tough decisions. Every coach in the League would prefer to stay the same, but that's just not the reality of what we are doing. I like our football team and I'll know more about them as we start practicing.
John Fox on what makes the core of the team: I think it is hard to put a number on it. I think there are players that you feel are integral parts to you being able to win. Just by position. Sometimes you cannot have as much of a demand at that position. And that changes from team to team. The kind of player we are going to draft might be different than what another team is doing. What's important for us is that we understand what kind of people we're looking for and evaluate them the best we can and go forward.
Q&A with John Fox, Marty Hurney and Jack Tony Softli
April 19, 2004
Panthers.com
Head coach John Fox, general manager Marty Hurney and director of college scouting Tony Softli discuss the upcoming NFL Draft.
John Fox on choosing at the end of the first round instead of at the beginning: It is all hard. I think there is more pressure the closer you are to the top. We experienced that the first year when we had the second pick. The key is that you get a good football player no matter where you pick. That is the hard part about it. There is nothing automatic about it no matter where you pick. Picking the right guy is the key.
Marty Hurney on picking 31st in the first round: You have to decide what group of players you think might be there and have contingencies. It is really no different. You are picking later rather than early.
Tony Softli on the depth of the draft: As long as you line the board up to take the best available player, it is fine. I think it is a little stronger in positions like receiver this year than in the past several years. Then it is real light as far as fullbacks and tight ends after a couple of top guys. Every year brings something a little different.
Tony Softli on the wide receiver position: You have seven or eight who could possibly go in the first round. It is probably one of the strongest classes in the past few years. You have got some big receivers who are playmakers. Some are little faster than others, but they are all productive.
Tony Softli on the cornerback position: It is a good year for corners. They are pretty solid up top for the first day. It is pretty thick. Again, productive guys, very good football players. There are going to be some good players up there when we get ready to choose. We are going to be happy with the players we get no matter what position and where we choose.
Tony Softli on the defensive line position: It is not too bad. You have got some key guys up top and it filters down. Defensive line is pretty strong at defensive end and tackle. It is a solid position.
John Fox on the Panthers draft goals: It is just too hard to predict. We have holes to fill just like all of the other teams. I think we have got them clumped at the position where we pick in each round. Again, that can change because there are so many people ahead of us. Like every other draft, you need to come out with some guys that have a legitimate chance to help you in the first day. We have been fortunate enough to be able to get that done the last couple of years. We won't approach it any different this year.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers draft goals: The biggest thing we stress is taking good football players. You try not to reach for a need and try to line the board up. Obviously, if there are two or three guys who are close and you have a need at a certain position, you will go with the guy that you have the biggest need for. But what you don't want to do is reach because you have a need. You try to line them up and take the best football player available if you can.
Marty Hurney on trading up: We don't close off any avenue. We will consider anything. But until you get there, you just don't know.
John Fox on if the Panthers would trade their first-round choice: There is always the option. It is no different than the last two years, either trading back or trading up. What the exact bargain price is as far as what they want and what they will give. You entertain it, make a decision and go with it.
John Fox on how free agent signings and departures will affect the Panthers draft strategy: It's just like any other offseason, you are trying to restock your football team. Those are your two avenues, the draft and free agency. I feel good about the activity that we've had at this point in the free agency market. If the right guys become available, there is still more room for improvement. It changes daily.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers draft preparedness: We could probably draft today if we needed to, but this week will probably be looking at more tape and more discussions and talking about more scenarios. What happens if this happens? What do we do if that happens? The scouts and coaches will continue to look at tape, and we'll have meetings and go over everything. The board is basically set and has been set. Tony and the scouts do a great job on that.
Marty Hurney on having five less weeks to prepare for the draft because of the Super Bowl: It set us back a lot, but we are ready to go. I think we all feel like we've been trying to catch up ever since because we did lose five weeks. But we're caught up as far as the draft goes.
Marty Hurney on the importance of picks in the later rounds of the draft: What we have stressed is no secret. We need to get core players out of the draft every year. So we have to draft well, and drafting well means not just on the first day but on the second day. Obviously, the best market value bargains come on the second day. You want to get players who can come in and contribute at least right away on special teams and then develop and fill a role. The second day is just as important as the first day.
Marty Hurney on the Panthers recent draft success: With everything, we kind of have a formula on how we do things. It's really just everybody having an opinion, being heard, and talking out any disagreements and putting whys to opinions. This is an extremely subjective business, as far as evaluating players. I think we communicate as much as we can so we can take as much subjectivity out of the decision-making process as possible. We try to make objective decisions. We have a framework right now that seems to work very well. Our scouts and coaches both have input, and we try to select players that both sides agree on. It seems to have worked so far, and we just hope it continues.
John Fox on the expectations for a late first-round pick compared to an early first-round pick: When you select a guy with the second pick and pay him like a future Hall of Famer without playing a down yet, that's a lot of pressure. As far as who you select in the first round, we have to do as well as our competitors do and we're picking 31st. Teams in our division pick higher than we do. The expectations will be that we're competitive with people in our division and in this League. People aren't going to remember where you picked down the road. There is pressure at every pick. We feel like we're going to select a very capable player with the 31st pick.
John Fox on if the Panthers have improved since the end of last season: That's really hard to say because we haven't lined up and played a snap yet. I feel good about our football team. The core of our football team is still intact. With the landscape what it is right now, you're not going to stay the same, whether you're a team just out of the playoffs or a team that just went to the Super Bowl. Your team is going to change. The way the League is now you can't have an entire team of Pro Bowlers. It's just not possible. You have to make tough decisions. Every coach in the League would prefer to stay the same, but that's just not the reality of what we are doing. I like our football team and I'll know more about them as we start practicing.
John Fox on what makes the core of the team: I think it is hard to put a number on it. I think there are players that you feel are integral parts to you being able to win. Just by position. Sometimes you cannot have as much of a demand at that position. And that changes from team to team. The kind of player we are going to draft might be different than what another team is doing. What's important for us is that we understand what kind of people we're looking for and evaluate them the best we can and go forward.
