The drive with Tim Donnelly here on 999. The FA joining us on the Easter Automotive Group hotline following what I can only imagine was a very exciting and, uh, busy last few days. It’s the Panthers GM Dan Morgan, former Panthers Pro Bowler, University of Miami legend. Dan, uh, thank you for taking the time. Uh, first of all, I guess I have to give you a little bit of credit, like, you got me. We were you intentionally throwing smokescreens towards Jaylen Walker because every insider, every analyst had you guys pegged towards Jaylen Walker. We weren’t even on the right side of the, the field for your first overall or first round pick. Yeah, I don’t know, um, I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but, um, you know, T Mac was definitely a guy that, that we liked, uh, that, that we grew very fond of, um, you know, and I think in those types of situations, you don’t want word to get out and then, you know, You always, there’s always the potential that somebody could, you know, trade, trade up ahead of you and, and take your guy. So, we did want to keep it kind of quiet, um, but yeah, he was definitely, um, he was definitely a target for us. Now, now, uh, MacMillan did kind of hint that that maybe Bryce Young stood on the table for him. Did, uh, did that happen? And, and if so, how much does the, the quarterback’s input or or him loving a particular wide receiver help that, uh, that wide receiver’s chances? Yeah, you know, I, I communicate with Bryce, you know, amongst other players all the time, you know, just talking to Bryce and just, you know. I knew that I knew that he knew TAC, uh, they were from the same area out in Southern California. Um, they played against each other in high school, and then, um, you know, I just came to find out that Bryce was thrown with them, um, so, you know, that obviously. piqued my interest and you know, I stayed in contact with Bryce and, you know, picked his brain on, on what he thought of him and if he, you know, if T Mac was a guy that, you know, that he’d want to work with and, you know, obviously Bryce stood on the table for him and loved everything about him and, you know, that just made me feel even better about, you know, our evaluation here in the building. What what’s the difference between maybe just just liking a guy and standing on the table? Like how demonstrative was Bryce in lobbying for his guy? Uh, you know, you know, Bryce, you know, he’s, he really doesn’t have that like big like stand on the table type attitude, but, you know, he definitely made it known that like, hey, T Max to me the best receiver in this draft, like, I would love to work with him. Like I could tell that he was really excited about him. Um, you know, and in turn, I was excited too, and, you know, to hear Bryce being excited, it just made me even that much more excited, so. Uh yeah, it’s one of those things where I think, you know, the communication was really good and, you know, I think I’d be dumb not to listen to uh to our players. Dan Morgan Panthers GM connecting with us on the Easter Automotive Group hotline. Uh, Dan, you go, you go wide receiver, MacMillan, we just talked about it in the first, then back to back edge rushers with with Skorton and Uma Yellen. I, I hope I got that close. Uh, was that part of the trade-off? Was it all right, if we’re going, if we’re gonna pass on the edge rushers in the 1st, we have to double down in the, uh, 2nd and 3rd to make sure you fill that hole in the roster? Yeah, I think it was just not part of the tradeoff but more part of the strategy, you know, I think when you, when you look at the draft as a whole, you know, wide receiver wasn’t the strongest group in the draft, and then you look at outside linebacker, you know, it was pretty stacked with guys. Is pretty much all through the 1st 4 rounds. So we had a lot of guys over in that column and then less guys over in the wide receiver column. So strategically it just so happened that we really liked the top receiver, you know, felt like if we got him. You know, at 8, which we did, that there’s a really good chance that we’re gonna, we’re going to be able to potentially double dip an edge rusher. So, you know, for us it worked out perfectly. Um, you know, the plan was executed really well and, um, you know, we, we couldn’t, we couldn’t be happier. Scoring in the second, he’s a really interesting. Prospect, if only for, uh, he weighed in at the combine at 257, 257 pounds and reportedly played up near 285 this year. Uh, is he like a road grading, set the edge run guy or or is he a speed guy off the edge? What did it look like two different players? How do you evaluate that when there’s a 30 pound difference? Yeah, so he’s played, uh, you know, even at Purdue, he was playing in in right around 280, and then at his pro day he lost weight and looks great going around the bags and real nimble and fast and fluid, um, you know, but, you know, him on tape at 280, the way that he moves, he’s got a really nice spin move, he can beat you with power, um, you know, he can beat you with a variety of moves and he’s, and he has a hot motor, um, you know, which is what we look for as well, so. Uh, he’s a really intriguing prospect that, hey, like once he gets in the building, we’ll figure out, you know, what weight we want him at, where we think he may play best, and, and we’ll see where he feels like he plays, plays best as well from a weight perspective. So we’ll communicate with him and and we’ll figure that out, but we got a really good player. Is is there like a uh a secret phrase or or or passcode of some kind? I assume the offense, right, a lot of that evaluation leans on Dave Canalis, but with your background as a player, you know, the defense, is is there something you do in an interview to make sure these guys like would fit on on one of your defenses? Is is there there some kind of a uh a tell that they’re gonna fit in? Um, no, not really. I think, um, you know, I think on the offense and defensive side of the ball, like myself and Coach Canales, you know, and, and the staff as a whole, like we’re just looking for guys that love to compete, um, that are passionate about the game, that love the game, that love the process. Um, so, hey, like when we talk to them and we’re trying to identify those traits. You know, we have, we have the questions, you know, that we’ll ask and, and then, you know, but at the end of the day, I think that the film’s really going to tell you all you need about the guys and, and how much they love the game, because if you’re not out there and you’re not playing with passion, um, you know, it, it definitely shows on tape. So, um, I think you just always go back to the to the tape. That voice you hear is Dan Morgan, the GM for the Panthers following the draft finishing up, uh, over the weekend. Uh, Dan, looking at draft strategy, right, you brought up that you look at which position is deep and and which might be a little bit more shallow, and that informs some of your picks talking about the, the edge rushers and receivers earlier on. Uh, pretty much all reports say it was a deep running back draft, uh, and, and you grabbed one in the 4th and and Trevor Etien. Uh, what was it about Trevor that differentiated him from the 16 other backs that were drafted that were still on the board when you made the ETN pick? Yeah, you know, I think the thing that stood out first and foremost is just his run style, the burst that he runs with, how good his feet are, how good his vision and acceleration are, and then out of the backfield, his hands are really good. You can flex them out and throw it to them out there or you can run routes out of the backfield. And then on top of that, you know, which I don’t think a lot of people know is, you know, we see him as a dual returner, um, you know, on special teams for us. So I think that added value really put him over the top for us and, you know, you’re getting a really good runner and you’re getting a guy that can do a lot on special teams as well. So, uh, that was, that was our reason. Is that a battle between him and Jimmy Horne Junior? I assumed he was going to be getting some, some, uh, return looks being drafted right there at the end of the draft. Yeah, yeah, I think it’ll be a really good competition, um, you know, two really talented young rookies that, hey, they’re they’re both really competitive, so we’ll see how that turns out. Speaking of competitive, Lathan Ransom. Uh, obviously pro Ready Wright played in a ton of huge games at Ohio State. We’re talking about the, uh, the safety you drafted right there in the middle of the draft. Uh, but he seems to, at least from, from, you know, my very limited film watching, uh, seems to fit kind of in the same category as as Trayvon Merrick as a as a physical safety, you know, coming up, making tackles and that sort of thing. Are, are you still looking for a free safety to pair with them? Obviously, Damani Richardson showed some good things last year, but is that something still on the shopping list? Yeah, we’re definitely gonna explore some guys that are still out there, um, but you know, drafting a guy like Lathan, you know, I just think he brings that demeanor and that mentality that we’re looking for, that physical presence out there, that tone setter type mentality. Um, you know, and, and, you know, I think a lot of people think that Travon, you know, is just really a box guy, but he actually is a really good deep player too, and a guy that we feel like can play, you know, center field, half field, and, and do a lot of things from the back end as well. So I think. You know, we have a lot of versatility back there, a lot of guys that are smart and can do a lot of things, and, but, uh, you know, that won’t exclude us from trying to add somebody else. Now we’ve already broken down the free agency class 100 different ways and and we’re gonna do the same with the draft. Uh, but the the biggest addition could be that the re-edition of, of Derrick Brown to your, your, uh, defensive front, right, a healthy Derrek Brown. Uh, is, is everything coming along as scheduled with, uh, with the big guy in the middle? Yeah, he’s, he’s doing great. Uh, you know, he’s been in the, in the building working his tail off, rehabbing. Uh, it’s been a long process. I know he’s sick of being in the training room, which I don’t blame him. Um, but now, he, he’s doing great. He looks great. Uh, we’re so excited to have him back. It’s almost like getting a, getting a new player back or like a, like we signed like a new free agent. So, uh, well, we definitely missed him last year and, and we’re looking forward to having him back. Dan Morgan, Panthers GM connecting with us here on the drive with Tim Donnelly. Uh, Dan, I, I have to know this, right? We, we follow the team as closely as anybody. Uh, does Dave Canalas ever get mad? Does he ever get frustrated? Does he ever slam a door or is he always that optimistic guy that we get to see? He’s always that optimistic guy. Um, and, you know, and that’s what you love about him. He’s, he’s consistent, you know, he has, he asks his players to be consistent, but he’s doing the same thing himself. So, um, that’s all you can ask from a head coach and from your leader of the team is that You’re just consistent, you’re the same guy every day, and I think the players appreciate that and I think the staff appreciates that as well as that you always know who you’re getting. So um I think it’s a great quality of this. Last question before we let you go and and thank you for the time. I I know it’s a busy time for you. Uh, I’ve always wondered this, in, in like the, the week after the draft or the couple weeks after the draft, is there chatter amongst GMs? Is there like, you know, I wanted that guy, you, you stole him from me or whoa, what a reach in the fifth. Like, is, is there, is there a group chat somewhere where you’re kind of roasting or ribbing each other? Um, I think like with, with the GMs that you’re closer to, um, you’ll definitely have conversations and just kind of like, hey, where’d you have this guy? Oh yeah, I liked your guy that you drafted, or, you know, it’s, it’s kind of fun seeing where other teams have them. So, you know, I think uh if you have a close enough relationship with the with another GM it’s definitely valuable, you know, just in your, in your process of things. Can you, can you maybe like obscure a team name and, and give us what was there a player that, that you got the text about where you drafted and somebody said like, oh, we wanted him 4 picks later. Like, can you give us a little something? No, I don’t really have any examples, but I, I think you could guess probably some of the GMs that I’m close with around the league. All right, Dan, we appreciate it. Good luck this offseason. We’ll be paying attention to every move and uh hopefully we can do this again soon. Sounds good thanks for having me. Once again, that’s Dan Morgan, Panthers GM, joining us on the Easter Automotive Group hotline breaking down the uh the draft and the decisions that went into it. Uh, I thought we learned some good stuff there. Uh, Bryce Young standing on the table for TMAC. Yeah, throwing with him already. That sounds like targets to me, uh, for sure. I mean, that sounds like trust, uh, the, the easiest way, if you, if you, if you are a gambler, not saying, you know, hey, only gamble what you can lose all those sorts of things, it is legal in the, uh, in, in the state of North Carolina. If you can get a prop on like over in receptions and somehow you know who the quarterback is spending time with, that’s a very good way to guess where the targets are gonna go. Hammer the over. As Cooper Kupp. Cooper Kupp used to just show up when the, the quarterbacks were the only ones watching film. Wouldn’t even really participate. He’d just sit in the room with them and watch film and be a part of the jokes. Sure enough, Triple Crown winner, most receptions, yards, and touchdowns in the entire league. So if if T Mac and uh Bryce Young are already hanging out, McMillan’s gonna get the ball.

Source: wralsportsfan.com