White identifies the Panthers

He is going to get paid based on where he is drafted. There is no way he sabotages his own draft status just so he can drop to our pick.

 

fuck it. He's not an elite-looking back anymore, or right now, or however you want to place it.

I still like him here.

 

If he fell to us I would be happy to have him. I would not move up for him.

 

because if he repeats what you said and it leaks, it sounds better if it comes across as we we're advising him based on his welfare as opposed to us trying to cheat. fox and co. aren't complete dummies ... not that i completely believe him. he may be twisting words to give himself an excuse for being a lazy shit. course we may have played on his lazy nature in hopes he won't run. give the kid an excuse to be lazy and he runs (ehh, sits on his ass) with it.

based on our track record of offensive draft picks in the first around, if i was another GM i'd run like hell the other direction from any RB the Panthers showed a strong interest in.

 

Adam Schein / Special to FOXSports.com


Nine nuggets as draft day gets ever closer ...
1. I'll take a stance that's been very unpopular in NFL circles over the last few weeks and make the case for LenDale White.

The former USC running back has seen his stock fall faster than a rock in water since the college football season ended. White has yet to run the 40-yard dash, skipping the event at both the combines in February and at USC pro day the first Sunday in April.

A running back not getting timed in the 40 before the draft is unheard of, and perhaps, costing White millions of dollars.

And what's worse, there has been a perception that truly has become reality — that White is lazy, carefree, and overweight. He weighed in at 244 pounds on the April 2nd pro day for the Trojans, six pounds heavier than at the combine.

The red flags were raised and the questions were asked aloud, almost in unison by NFL executives, about how committed White was to the game and just how far the running back would plummet in the draft.

White joined us for 20 minutes on the air this past Tuesday. And it is worth noting he answered his phone when my producer said he would call and told us he would stay on the line as long as needed. Right away you could tell it wasn't the same attitude when he foolishly blew off Sports Illustrated writer Mike Silver earlier in the month and, according to reports, didn't treat interviews with NFL coaches and general managers as job interviews.

And White explained, in great detail, everything that has happened over the last few months.

The running back says he didn't run at the combines because of a bad hamstring. He fully planned on running at the USC pro day, but opted not to when the hammy got tight the morning of the workout. White further explained that he dined with John Fox, Jim Skipper, and other members of the Panthers organization the night before the event. They told him that if he felt any twinge or problem whatsoever, he shouldn't participate, stressing it wasn't worth running the 40 if he would miss mini-camp as a result. And White said he agreed with that assessment 100%, saying he would never want to get off to a bad start with the team that drafted him.

(Though it is pretty darn fascinating that it was Carolina that suggested White not run at the pro day when the team picks at 27 and the Panthers, in theory, desperately need someone with his skill sets. Could the Panthers coach literally and figuratively be as sly as a Fox? Just a thought.)

When pressed about his weight, White said he actually weighed more, 254 pounds to be exact, during his fantastic 2005 season, when he was barreling over the competition. White acknowledged he has always had a weight problem, but it has never affected his play on the field.

The running back was passionate when talking about his love for the game and how he hates that this hamstring injury is keeping him from working out. White is visiting a hamstring specialist in his hometown of Denver, and insisted he is going to run the 40, assuming he's healthy, before the draft. And he also insisted that the results of that workout will be public.

White was also adamant that he did treat meetings with coaches and general managers seriously. He specifically cited meetings with the Panthers, Steelers, Jets, and Raiders as very positive experiences, and mentioned his love for his hometown Broncos and coach Mike Shanahan and that it would be a dream to be a pro ball player in Denver.

And White got a bit loud when I asked him about that blurred line between perception and reality, that he was lackadaisical and rather rotund, and falling rapidly as an NFL prospect.


It doesn't matter what LenDale White's 40 time is, he will make a big impact in the NFL next season.

He spoke of his love for the game, how he takes the process seriously, how he is upset he has this bad hamstring, and how his play on the field should speak for itself.

This isn't the first time I've chatted with LenDale White. And he has always come across very intelligent and sincere.

And he is right about his performance on the field; it was nothing short of dominating at USC. His bruising style, combined with shockingly quick feet, will translate into stardom at the next level.

And the result of the negativity of the last eight weeks might just be a large running back with a large amount of talent coming into the league with a large chip on his shoulder.

On draft day, I would think long and hard before passing on LenDale White.

 

You're talking team history though. Fox and Hurney have not drafted a skill position in the first round (yet).

 

I can't say how far White will fall, but I bet he don't fall past #27.

As for the Panthers taking a skill position player...Tim Biakabutuka? Not a good move by the Panthers but who knew then?

 

Yeah, but that was Capers...not Fox and Hurney.

 

I remember thinking that John Fox would never put money into his secondary and that he felt he could coach crap while loading ridiculous money into his front seven.

Two years ago that was true.
By the start of last season, we'd traded up in the first for a corner and signed a $30 mil Pro Bowler. And drafted a then-safety in the first. Things change.