9, Chris, the number is 9. That’s how many draft picks that the Carolina Panthers have in 2025. You know what else is 9? What else? The guy that we need to protect, Bryce Young. And we need to go into this offseason thinking all about him. And and fixing the defense too. That’s also about him. It’s true. That’s good with the ball. Put the ball in his hands a little bit more. Let’s get this sucker started. Get dialed in Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews, locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panthers Playbook. Here are your hosts, Dennis Cox and Chris Lee. Welcome back to another episode of Panther’s Playbook alongside Juvenile suburban cousin. That’s Chris Lee. Dennis Cox here with you. Hey, that’s Chris’s words, not mine. By the way, leave your thoughts. In the comments section, how long, how many years do you think it’s gonna take for this Panthers team to be a legit contender? So look at Chris, look at Chris. I, I went to the cash money concert, uh, in Charlotte the other day, so if anybody saw me, I was, I was lit. That’s what I look like, that’s what he’s talking about. So that’s exactly, again, Chris’s words not mine. But leave your thoughts in the comment section about how long do you think this is gonna take for this franchise to be a legit contender. I’m not talking, can they squeak into the playoffs? I’m talking about. When you look at this team and you say, Super Bowl contender, watch out, like we do with some other teams in the league. But Chris, a big part of that is going to be started in a couple of months at the NFL draft. But right now, Dan Morgan, Dave Canalas, Brandt Tillis, everyone at the Carolina Panthers, and the coaching staff, they’re all at the NFL combine watching players work out, doing interviews with these players. And we got a glimpse earlier this week from Dave Canalas and Dan Morgan about what they are prioritizing in the draft, Chris. Yeah, uh, I thought it was a good look into it. Uh, Dan Morgan essentially said #1 is interior defensive line, uh, number 2, outside linebacker, uh, so essentially edge rushers, um, 3, safety, and 4 being corner, and so I thought that was kind of that was very interesting, it’s all defense, right? We know that there are some things that they could stand to use on offense like a second running back. Another tight end, uh, even though they’re, I thought it was also interesting though that they’re gonna let, um, Tommy Trimble kind of, you know, look at the market and see what happens, and, but that also tells me that they think to me, they think they can sign him back at a cheaper price than maybe what he’s gonna potentially maybe go out there and look for. Um, but, uh, and then they also need a, you know, a center, and we’ll see what happens with Austin Corbett. So there’s a few things that’s kind of going out there that, uh, it’s very interesting to look at, but to see that their focus is on these four positions going into the draft, uh, I would love to kind of be a fly on the wall to see what those draft interviews are like, or those combine interviews, I’m sorry, are looking like with some of these guys. Um, I remember what Jordan Reid was telling us though. And, um, you know, just in general, it feels like safety is just a down position all over. I mean, high school, college, and and in the NFL. So it it makes me wonder. If, if it’s gonna be like that, maybe do you invest a little bit more in safety uh on the free agent market than what you would in other positions, especially if you’re looking at the NFL draft and the draft classes there, and you don’t necessarily see anybody that you really like. And so, um, you know, there’s a lot of different possibilities for the Carolina Panthers when it comes to that, but for sure we know there’s gonna be a lot of uh interior defensive linemen, a lot of uh edge rushers, and, uh, what’s my man name? Jaylen Walker, is that his name? My man is talking like he’s already a Carolina Panther right now, so that’s that’s really cool to see. It’s it’s interesting because that’s it seems like that’s a consensus overall, not like unanimous, but. The majority of people that do these mock drafts and things along those lines have Jaylen Walker going to Carolina. And I know some people who have the question of, well, is he actually an edge? Is he actually a linebacker like off the ball or is he a little bit of both? And I think the position versatility is actually a good thing because there’s no guarantee that Ijero Ero is gonna be back after this season. He’s on the last year of his contract and who knows what’s gonna happen after this year, but The one thing that Dave Canalis actually told Anee Shroff earlier this week on the interview, you go check it out on the Carolina Panthers YouTube page. He talked about skiing fit and like how much it matters. Because you wanna make sure that obviously you wanna have a talented player, but you wanna make sure that talented player fits what you are trying to accomplish and what you are trying to do, as opposed to just uh just a collection of just random talent. Because, for example, if you want to be Uh, a team that plays a lot of zone defense. Hey, we’re gonna rush forward, play a lot of zone defense. Well, then the guy that excels at man to man coverage and not great at zone as a corner may not work out or vice versa. You want to be a man to man team, you can’t sign a bunch of guys that are great at playing zone. Normally good coordinators would adjust their systems to players. That was actually gonna be what I was about to say. keep cooking. That’s another conversation for another time. But something that he told Nishrof that really stuck out to me was that with these interviews, I think they get about like 15 minutes or so with these interviews during the combine with players is that Dave Canalas really is trying to. Peel back the layers of the player as much as he can about finding out their football journey about how they got to where they are. Is there a specific moment in time where they can say, yeah, when I was a sophomore in high school and I was a starter went down with an injury and I had to go into a game and I had to block an all-state defensive end who was a senior who was about to go to. Auburn or something like that. That’s when I knew I could do and I, and I, well, and then like I exactly that’s when I knew that like, hey, I can do this so you can point back to that moment because he feels like if you can point back to a moment in time that you have more foresight for the future as opposed to a player that comes in it’s like, yeah, I started playing in the 6th grade and you know I was the best player and you know I was did all these things and. Maybe they don’t have a true direction. So that’s just, again, not saying that’s like a cut and dry thing, but that’s Dave Canalla’s words. It’s something that stuck out to me. Uh, can they find that out? Can the Panthers front office and Dave Canalas, can they figure that out about the players that they are interviewing and they’re highly considering for the #8 pick because if you’re picking number 8, you should be able to get a some sort of game changer, some sort of game changer for your defense at number 8. Um, just to piggyback off of what you just said about Dave Canalis, and I thought this was interesting because as we’re recording this, of course, the NFL Players Association poll grades kind of came out and uh we know, we pretty much expected where David Tepper ended up being, um, you know, you’re you’re one better than Woody Johnson, congratulations to you. But David Tepper, as a first year head coach, ranked 17th and got an A minus grade already, and that spoke volumes because like, even though, like, you’re technically in the back half of the league in that, still, he’s close enough to the middle as a first-year head coach, which lets me know that his, his name has, has great cachet around the league when it comes down to the players. Players are talking, they’re hearing great things, or players who have already played for him, love the idea of playing uh for him or or or with him. And so that’s one of those things where uh when it comes down to what the Carolina Panthers can do in free agency, maybe getting a guy to, you know, take a hometown discount, maybe getting a guy to come over to the Carolina Panthers when they had a sexier team or something with better facilities, um, you know, uh, that could also sign them just because of what they’ve heard of Dave Cannell. So that’s gonna be interesting. But to get back to what you uh just ended with, um. You’re gonna have to draft a game changer at 8, and honestly, here’s what I say, 1st 2 days, 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round. Do not draft a guy that you just see potential in. Don’t look at projects in the first two days. These are guys that you have to draft that possibly can start for you this year, actually, your #8 pick in first round, that person has to be a starter, barring injury, day one, game one, he better be a starter. The other two better be at least pushing for starting roles, uh, no matter what positions they are. If you just, if you happen to like a a great left tackle, he’s gotta push Icky. You know, to, to where you have a a tough now, I think that’s a a bad use of your, your assets. But if you just have to do it because you just want to draft on, you know, best player available, but, um, you know, it’s, I, I think those guys have to be uh starters or at least pushing for starter roles in the first two days. Your, your last uh 6 picks on day 4, I’m sorry, 3, excuse me, um, I was thinking round 4 on day 3, those guys. Um, I think all need to be able to make the roster, maybe at least at least 5 of the 6 should make the roster, and, and that will tell me how successful this draft is for the immediate look at it, right? Like, yeah, we’ll really see how successful it is in 4 years, but, you know, the immediate look at it, if the if the 1st 2 day guys are uh are starters and 5 of the of the last 6 end up making the roster. Dan Morgan, you did a great job with that, and that’s what, that’s what I think you need. You don’t need any more DJ Johnson’s, you know you’re supposed to draft and develop like you can’t have a project, you know. No, yeah, you can’t can’t have a project. You can’t have just project guys, uh, because, yes, I understand that that Dave Canalis comes from that mindset. The the concert was lit. The concert was lit when they did. I’m sure it was, but, but I know Dave Canalas is very much development focused, and that’s totally OK. You can still draft a player that can start for you instantly and still develop them to be a like a Pro Bowl player. You can still develop even high-end talent. Can still be developed. You might get, again, like a 5th round pick might be a project of like a tight end. You have 24th and 3 5th round picks. You know what this draft is loaded with? Defensive linemen, including interior and edge, running backs, tight ends. What are a couple of positions that you mentioned, Chris, that still need to be filled on offense, still need another running back that complements Cuba Hubbard in some way, shape, or form. You still need at least one more tight end. At least one more. You should be able to find that in rounds 4 and 5 easily. Guys that can help contribute to your team right away. I, I don’t know if you’ve listened to the show, but, uh, Todd McShay, who formerly of ESPN now with part of the Ringer has this show, the, the, the McShay Show. So he does this whole NFL draft prep and gives grades and all that. He actually said on his podcast, on his show that he has 30 guys, defensive linemen, whether interior edge, that he has grades for the 1st 3 rounds of the draft. 30, 30, 30. What does this team desperately need? That it’s like, it’s, yes, that’s not like you need a ton of defensive linemen. Yes, you got Derek Brown coming back, but OK, Ahaan Robinson, pretty good. You still need another guy that goes with him at least, and then maybe another depth piece. You need edge people other than DJ Waham. Like you need a couple of those guys. Go find those. And yes, this draft is loaded with deep, with depth with running back and tight end. All those things that you need. Like those are like this draft is loaded with it. Strike while the iron’s hot. Take advantage of the opportunity while you have it. 100% with you this draft. 100% with you. And I think when it comes down to tight ends, man, like you just need that guy with the tight end name, maybe like, you know, a white dude with long blonde hair that comes out of the back of it. Looks like a wrestler, you know what I’m saying, like his name was Brock or Ethan or something like that, he just has like a good tight end name, you know what I’m saying, like go out and get a guy like that, and you know, because like those are the guys that stick around and those are the guys that you’re gonna get some some mileage after, you know what I’m saying, like you already got, you already got Jataan. You can have, you know, chocolate and vanilla right there, like doing their thing together uh for for the tight end group. And um and you’ve brought up this guy on a couple of occasions, what’s my man’s name from SMU, the running back? Ohard Smith, and he’s what like projected as a 3rd or 4th round guy or something like that. You know, that that could be a good one-two punch with Cuba, as you’re waiting on Jonathan Brooks to get healthy, which I do not expect him at all for 2025. So, like there’s there’s a lot of sneaky good pieces, and that’s why I say that like, even if you bring them in uh from the 4th round through the seventh round, I need at least 5 of those six guys to make that roster and also to have some sort of impact. They need to play tight end Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame. Mitchell Evans, perfect tight end name. That’s a good tight end. That’s a good tight end name. Does he have blonde hair. That flows outside of his, uh, not long flowing hair, but like a light, light brown, dark blonde like however you describe it, dirty blonde. So again, not the long flowing locks, but we can make it happen. We can make it happen. But this draft class. Coupled with, obviously, the free agent moves that they made this year, the draft that they had last year, and the free agent moves and the signings that they have. How long is it realistic expectation for this team to actually be considered a true contender, not just a team that might make the playoffs, whether it’s like, hey, we can win the NFC South at 9 and 8 and edge our way into the playoffs, or maybe 10 and 7. I’m talking when you look at this team going in those, you know, you’re wet week 12 and you’re like. That team, watch out for him. Like, how, what year do we, should we expect that for this franchise? So I think some people are thinking maybe this year they could push for a playoff spot, and push like at least be 500 to push for a playoff spot, depending on how the NFC South breaks, might even push for the NFC South title, but I’m talking real legit contenders. I think it’s gonna take a few years to really get there. You, you know how like sometimes you have that team where they’re probably not going to make the playoffs unless some fluke happens, but that’s not a team that you want to play. Yeah I kind of want the Carolina Panthers to be that this year, right? And, you know, Of course, you can’t look at um the way that they performed against the two teams that played in the Super Bowl, and just say that, hey, they’ve arrived, right? But they played the two teams that played in the Super Bowl very close, and had a real chance to beat both of them. So, um, when you look at that, I want them this year to If you’re gonna get blown out, only get blown out twice, right? Yeah, I’ll give you two. All everything else has to be close. Be that team like Denver, like the Denver Broncos were last year, not in 2024, 2023 when Sean Payton first got there, where they’re probably not gonna make the playoffs, but boy, you really don’t want to play them because they’ve got some solid players there and once they figure it out, they’re gonna be there. They’re they’re a piece or two away, right? I want them to be that, um, but to legitimately Like Contend for a playoff spot. I think it’s not unrealistic to expect 2026 or 2027. Um, you know, you’re, you’re talking about 2026, year four of Bryce Young, and if you still have most of this offensive line intact. You know, Jonathan Brooks, hopefully maybe coming back, maybe they drafted so well with that um tight end and and that running back that they’re part of that offense, uh, and then you have a lot of the same pieces back hopefully, and, you know, maybe by that, then you have your number one receiver, Adam Thielen, maybe he’s not there, but Jalen Coker and Xavier Liget are, you know, really good and and starting to really come along in year 3. You know, like, and and we’re just talking about offense at that point, cause we don’t know exactly what they’re gonna do on the defensive side of the ball to make it better, uh, this offseason yet, but I think it’s a realistic shot by 2026 to say they should be scaring everyone else in the NFC South and um and and possibly pushing to to win that thing. I think in 2026 in terms of actually like winning the division and pushing for it, I think that’s realistic expectation. I think that’s realistic. Now if they do it this coming year in 2025, great, awesome. I’ll, I ain’t gonna complain about it. I’ll take it. I’m talking like a realistic expectation because I think a lot of people will look at what Washington did overnight. And say, well, they, they went from a 2nd overall pick to playing in the NFC championship game. Now they, they also Washington struck gold with Jayden Daniels and also had the most salary cap space going into last offseason, so they were able to do a lot with their roster, new coach, everything, they were able to revamp their roster just like that. And they also kind of played maybe a little bit above their level, and Jayden Daniels also had the best rookie year we’ve ever seen from a quarterback. You know what, I think uh we have to talk about when it comes down to the Washington commanders. Um, one of the things that I think um I I keep wanting to call him Quinn Snyder Dan Dan Quinn, Dan Quinn, Quinn Snyder. basketball Future tight end. Yeah, you know what? a white tight end with Quinn, um, you know, I think what he What’s so underrated about a Ron Rivera team is he will get you a lot of pieces, and I think Ron Rivera knows how to spot talent, and has a good eye for talent and working with his, uh, whoever, you know, his GM is to get some of the right guys in the room. Matt Rhule messed it up. Yeah, he did. Dan Quinn and the new front office essentially was able to say, you know what, we have a good base. Let’s build upon it. Because, you know, you had uh decent pieces that were already there, and then you have guys, two guys from the Carolina Panthers that uh one, they didn’t use right, other that just didn’t have the room to sign, and he didn’t want to come back anyway, which I don’t blame him. And then you just go out there and get your quarterback and all of a sudden, voila, here you go, NFC championship game, right? Um, you know, in, in another, you know, universe, maybe that could have been the Carolina Panthers in 2020. With a better coach and some better drafting. Um, it could have been, you know, but um, I think that’s a huge part of it. The Carolina Panthers essentially had to start from scratch last offseason, and, you know, we talked about this before, there’s so many holes right now, depending on what they do to fill out these holes, they have a lot of spots to fill, um in this offseason, and if they do it, it helps out with our Talk of 2026, but if they really don’t do it, then we’re almost back to square one next year at this time. And so then it it pushes that further back, um, and but I don’t I don’t know if you can fully be compared to the the Washington commanders, because I just feel like they had, they had more pieces. Who I think we really should be compared to right now is what Detroit did. Yeah. Detroit didn’t make the playoffs until the 3rd year of Dan Campbell. So did not make the playoffs until the 3rd year of Dan Campbell. So that’s, and that would be 2026. So it’s, I think we’re really, I think that is probably the trajectory right there. I, I agree with you, and I think also as well is that. Again, Washington had a ton of cap space, whereas Carolina doesn’t. Carolina is still paying for the sins of bad drafts from previous regimes, bad free agent signings from previous regimes. Like they’re still paying for those sins. I mean look at last year. You had $44 million of dead cap tied up with Von Bell, Hayden Hurst, Dante. Jackson, even DJ Chark, Justin Houston all counted towards your salary cap. Bradley Bosman, get $44 million in dead cap for guys who weren’t even there. Like, so again, they weren’t able to make a lot of big time or not, I know they signed Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis, but outside of that, they weren’t able to do a ton of free agency. Their salary cap this coming offseason is. Kind of similar. You also look, you had, you had to resign JC Horn to a contract extension. You also got to think that maybe after this season, you have a contract extension for Bryce Young coming up as well. So again, they can sign some guys, but they’re not gonna be able to just to go spend like crazy. And get all this top-end free agent talent that some people are expecting to happen. I’m like, I don’t see it happening. Yeah, like I, I think, you know, a T. Higgins or, you know, somebody like that, Adibo Samuel, those guys are just not in the in the cards, I don’t think but, um. But then, um, Morgan did say that he doesn’t feel like they may have to, he doesn’t feel like they’ll have to restructure Taylor Moulton’s deal, that he feels like they can make it work, plus, and of course the cap is going up just a little bit, and based off of what they’ve already, the, the moves that they’re planning to make, moves that they’ve already made, and whatever, he feels like he he can make it work. That’s one of the things he said uh at the combine. So, uh, they don’t feel like they’re in a bad cap position, even though. Yeah, you’ve got some bad contracts, you’ve got some things that you could probably uh try to work around. As of right now, they’re not, they don’t feel like they’re in a position where they have to do that to get what they want. And that’s a good thing, and that lets me know they have a plan. If he’s already saying that, if he already knows that, hey, we’ll be fine, that lets me know they’ve already done their budgeting. What you were talking about earlier, they’ve got that plan, they’ve gone in, they’ve uh have, they have their budgeting for whatever is out there. And uh and they’ll be ready for, you know, whatever comes their way, uh, this offseason. And that’s the reason why they brought in Brent Tillis. Simple as that. Yes, that’s the reason why that man was hired away from the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes. Leave your thoughts in the comment section about the draft, but also again, what’s a realistic expectation for this team in terms of making the playoffs, being a true contender, true contender, Chris. Quick, I wanna ask your, your opinion on them letting Trimble. Eddie Pinero and um um somebody else our punter uh Johnny Hecker test the market to potentially uh see what’s out there and then possibly sign back. Uh, I’m OK with all of them. I, I really am OK with all of them. I, if there’s one I would like to bring back, I would probably say tremble because I never felt like we got to see him and Jatavius Sanders take. Together because Trimble was battling injuries in the early part of the year when he finally came back and Sanders had the neck injury and it’s just both guys were just kind of in and out of the lineup. We never actually got to see them two, those two work together and like in two tight end sets. I never, we never really got to see that. Um, so I, I would like to see Tre come back, but I don’t, if he leaves. OK. I’m the same way I’m not gonna cry over it. The same way, I like Tommy too. I really do. I really like Tommy. Uh, I, I would love to have him back, but again, if he’s gonna cost too much, all right, you know, you can go. Um, I like Johnny Hecker. I think he’s good for the locker room, good morale and all that good type of stuff. Um, he can’t be one of the highest paid punters anymore, like, you know, you know, that’s fine. And so if you have to go, you have to go. And then, uh, Eddie Pinero, um, you know, I know he was looking for a lot of money. If you’re coming back on a decent deal that’s team friendly, OK, I’ll take you back, you know, cause you’re, you’re OK as a kicker, and I trust you for the most part, within 40 yards, I trust you after 40 yards, I don’t really trust you. Yeah, kind of a problem. Uh, it’s kind of a problem, um, but, uh, all this talk about you being the most accurate, which, you know, that didn’t end up happening on the stretch, and wanting to get paid a lot more. No, no, not at the expense of getting a a a number one wide receiver, no. No, no. Bye Felicia. We’ll see you guys next week.

Source: wralsportsfan.com