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Carolina Panthers Round 1, Pick 28: Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State Great rookie season. Emerged as a big time red zone target early on. Paired well with Cam Newton because his size allowed him to make up for some of Cam's high and erratic throws. Missed all of the 2015 Super Bowl season with an ACL injury. Came back in 2016 and did not look like a promising young receiver going into his third year, but some of that may be attributed to injuries on the OL and Cam clearly regressing with his throwing mechanics. B+ Round 2, Pick 60: Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri You don't find great pass-rushing ends in the late second round, so I like the production that we have gotten from Ealy at this spot. He is a rotational player who has contributed good minutes and come up with some big plays from time-to-time. He was our best player in the Super Bowl two years ago and would have been MVP if we had won. He is second round pick who does not consistently start though, so that limits his grade. B+ Round 3, Pick 92: Trai Turner, G, LSU One of the best mid-round picks of the draft. Turner has been fantastic from the start. He was a top rookie and has made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons. A+ Round 4, Pick 128: Tre Boston, S, North Carolina I like that we got a starter from a late fourth round pick, but Boston is a weak link in a weak secondary. Kurt Coleman showed a lot more playmaking ability at FS two years ago, even if he was also a liability in coverage. Boston is a prime candidate to lose his job going into next season, as Carolina will either be drafting or shopping for a safety. C- Round 5, Pick 148: Bene Benwikere, CB, San Jose State This is why you wait three years to grade a draft pick? Last year he looked like he was coming into his own as our third corner. Then he broke his leg in the playoffs. Then he went into the season as our #1 corner. Then we cut him halfway through the year. It's a shame because he looked like the real deal. That said, two solid seasons of back up play at an important position is decent from a late fifth rounder. B- Round 6, Pick 204: Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford Got hurt and never played. Drafted as training camp fodder. F Undrafted: Andrew Norwell, G, Ohio State Starting guard since his rookie season. Paired with Turner and Pro Bowl Center Ryan Kahlil, he has given Carolina one of the better run-blocking interior lines in the NFL. I would give him an A if he was a mid-round draft pick, but as an undrafted player he obviously gets: A++ Undrafted: Corey Brown, WR, Ohio State Deep threat that gets on the field a lot despite the fact that we have the same player in Ted Ginn Jr. Can't complain with the production from an undrafted player, although he will likely be squeezed out at some point since Benjamin, Funchess and Ginn are going to make the roster and we are going to keep looking for a true #1. B- Overall, fantastic depth. You can't complain from the sheer number of starts and minutes that Carolina has gotten from this group. However one complaint would be that despite picking late, the star power isn't really there from our first two rounders. You could make a case that Benjamin-Ealy was a mistake, but overall I think Carolina got players who rate well for the slot they were drafted in.
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Feb 18, 2017 16:30
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If Garoppolo didn't get hurt I would venture to say that the Patriots would have gotten a top 10 pick for him. But because he only played two games, it will probably be whatever the equivalent of a late first / early second is. Which isn't bad, to be fair. A lot of that is sheer luck though, because this looks like one of the worst QB drafts in recent memory, and it just so happens that a lot of teams need a QB, so those two things will drive up their asking price.
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Feb 18, 2017 19:12
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