Cam Newton

-Dominated the toughest defenses in college football
-Great leader
-Great mechanics
-Great accuracy
-Hard worker
-We need a QB who isn't afraid to take chances

I think we should trade up to get him, but I clicked on Cam Newton instead of Trade Up.

 

For me, it is between Mark Ingram and Mike Pouncey. Mark Ingram is just a special back. He's got tremendous balance and vision, a tremendous burst, changes his speeds well, and is great after contact. Looking at the numbers according to football outsiders, our running back position was the biggest reason for our drop off in rushing last year.

However, I am an offensive line guy as well, and if there is a chance to add a good player that will lock up a position for the next ten years up front, I am all for it. I have yet to determine if Mike Pouncey is better suited for the right side or the left side, but I'm interested in him along with some of the tackles like Derek Sherrod, Anthony Castonzo, Gabe Carimi, and Nate Solder.

 

Trade back and get us Titus Young!

Could be our Desean Jackson.

 

Trade down and still get Pouncy, then take RB with our #2

 

Titus Young.

 

Trade down, draft Mike Leshoure and Randy Moffit, or Korey Smith.

Much hinges on whether we resign Nate Garner and whether or not he is the new Joe Toledo.

 

I want us to trade down and stockpile 2012 picks, that will give us ammo for Luck or whoever else emerges as a sure thing QB (draft or FA) that year. We need to resign ourselves to really building the future and making some sacrifices this year. Basically, its time we took a page out the Heat's team building playbook. We find an all world QB and with the defense we already have, we'll become the next dynasty.

 

I want Jernell Jernigan in the 3rd/4th round.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/news/story?id=6109802

I believe Newton has the determination to be something special in the NFL, and he has all the tools and the competiveness to reach that goal. He just dosent fold under any pressure, but rather gets stronger. If you take in to account all the hate and scrutiny he went through all season, and then watch the Arkansas game, the Kentucky game, and then the Alabama game just to name a few, you should easily see the winner in the guy. The media, and all the critics have set up the challenge that he wont amount to anything in the NFL. I feel he'll scorch that challenge, just as he did all this past season, and become a phenom in the NFL.

 

Trade down with Patriots for 28th and 33rd. Justin Houston OLB, it would make me groan but we still need more pass rushers. Torrey Smith WR, he'll be a work in progress but provides everything this offense and ST needs to go from game one.

 

I would love Ingram, and therefore voted that way. He should help our running game immensely IMO. Of course, so would more dominant OL.

That being said, personally, I see us trading down though.

 

Mark Ingram. What Brandon said ^

 

I'm salivating over Pouncey at LG with Incognito at C. If we took him at 15 I wouldn't complain but I'd love to trade down, grab a 2nd rounder & use it on a Ryan Williams, Michel Leshoure or Jerrel Jernigan. This is a defensive draft, especially at the top, so I'm hoping that some of the better offensive players slide down to us later on.

 

Ingram.

Fix the running game = fix the team IMO.

 

I say trade the 1st rounder to somebody for a 2012 1st rounder, ammo to trade up for Luck.

 

What we do in the first, all depends on whether or not Irish can recoup the pick..

If he can move a player or players to get it then I would go Ingram in the first and Ckap in the 2nd..

 

I voted for Ingram, but would rather get Ryan Mallet in a trade down scenario and go after U of A's Nic Grigsby in the 3rd. Either way I think this draft is gonna be a rather odd one

 

Not really.

Mississipi State: 21st in Points Against- 57.9%, 136 pass yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Clemson: 13th in Points Against- 50%, 203 pass yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
LSU: 11th in Points Against- 62.5%, 86 pass yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Alabama: 3rd in Points Against- 65%, 216 pass yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Every other team he faced had an awful defense. So, pretty much he "dominated" terrible defense and was very average against the "toughest defenses in college football". The only legitimate defense he torched was Alabama.

Yes, I am aware he put up some good rushing stats in some of these games, but I could care less about that if we are talking about him being an NFL QB. Learn to dominate a game with your arm, rather than your legs, because you will not be able to dominate an NFL game with your legs at the QB position no matter who you play.

I swear, every post you make I agree 100%. My dream is to trade down to mid 20s, pick up a 2nd and spend those two picks on Pouncey and Williams/Jernigan. I'm still interested to see Joe Berger play though at C. I don't think he was bad this year, but if Incognito can step up and compete for the job, I'm all for it.

 

I selected Blaine Gabbert. I believe he has all of the tools needed to be a top QB in the NFL.

 

Trade down and get a good O Line prospect, or just pick an interior O Lineman at the #15 pick

 

He wont be there when we pick, unless we trade up, and I don't like that idea

 

Cam Newton, If we can get 'em @ 15 or moderate trade up, I would not mortgage the farm for him though. Would've thought long and hard about giving up J Long to move up to A Luck but not for Cam.

I still do not get the infatuation with getting Ingram @ 15 given our needs vs picks ratio it does not make any sense, playoff running backs can be found anywhere in the draft, and we may already have 3 given a Good OL. So if you cant get Cam, trade back and get OL, TE, WR, and A Dalton and continue to look at FA QBs. If you have Henne, Dalton and Other in camp with a solid OL, more Pass options and a OC who is not henning we have a shot and worse case add the QB next year.

Get Cam @ 15 is my pick though!

 

Great minds think alike lol.

I like Berger, he did a decent job IMO. If we were a passing or west coast type team I'd prefer Berger b/c he's more mobile. I just think Incognito matches up a little better with the big NTs and DTs and I assume we'll continue to be a run first team, especially if Henne or a rookie is our QB.

I'm w/ you on Newton. He looked awesome against a bunch of undersized and overmatched college players, but all of that is over. I think he has a ton of upside, but needs to sit and learn for at least a year or two, and he needs a system & supporting cast suited specifically for his skill set. He won't be getting any of that here, so I hope for his sake (and ours) that he goes to a team where he has a better chance at maximizing his potential.

 

I chose Ingram but whomever it is we better be sure they are a keeper and not a disappointment with no 2nd round draft choice this year. I wouldn't mind trading back to recoup our 2nd round pick if thats a possibility.

Here is a video of Cam Newton's workout and some comments from NFL Total Access and Bucky Brooks.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d81e41684/Evaluating-Cam-Newton

 

I'm not for drafting Cam Newton at all because I highly doubt he will ever develop into a legitimate drop back passer. However, I disagree that Miami isn't a team that would utilize him to his best ability. Miami is the first team in the modern NFL to incorporate the single wing concept as a major part of their offense. With Cam Newton, I'm absolutely certain that they would use him as the point man in the single wing while they develop his quarterback skills. It didn't work out with Pat White, but Pat White wasn't big enough to be the inside runner you need to be to run the single wing stuff. Pat White was simply a misevaluation all the way around. They overrated his skills for the single wing stuff, and they overrated his skills as a quarterback. Newton can run the single wing stuff.

 

I'm favor of the trade down, unless I Gabbert is there (which he won't be). I love Ingram, but I think Ireland undervalues the RB position as a general rule.

If you can drop back 10-14 spots and get a 2nd and change, I think that's the way to go. Just pick the BPA. If that results in a defense heavy draft, so be it.

Ireland is pretty darn good at evaluating defensive players, not sure I trust him yet to go get quarterbacks and receivers.

 

I don't think we were uniquely able to use the single wing. I think we were uniquely desperate enough to go with it and it caught teams by surprise temporarily. I totally agree on Pat White, I can honestly say I hated that pick from the 2nd I saw it on a mock draft in February. I agree that Cam will struggle to be a traditional drop back passer, and I think it'd be a total waste for any team to try to turn him into one. I think he'd be average at best in that role, while he has the potential to be a devastating spread type Qb. IF A TEAM IS WILLING TO GO ALL IN. We'd basically have to design our whole offense around the spread the way McDaniels was trying to do in Denver. That means giving him all the reps, teaching the spread team wide, acquring a quicker/more agile O-line, quicker/faster WRs, receiving TE's etc. It also means abandoning Chad Henne, probably keeping Thigpen (V Young maybe?) and letting those two duel it out for the starting spot. I dont think we can have one offense for Newton & one offense for Chad, which is what we'd need for them to coexist.

Obviously that is a huge roll of the dice. The type that gets coaches and GMs fired if they don't work. I see a lot of people are Cam fans, CK & Boom included. I wonder though, if they realize the risk involved, not just in using #15 on him, but on scrapping most of our offensive roster and philosophy and rebuilding it around one guy. One guy, who has one year of Div 1 college football, and serious questions about influence and intangibles. I'm not totally against it, but I havent seen enough to make me think its a good idea for the Fins.

 

I'd trade for someone else's #1 next year (possibly more).
if not
I'd try and trade down to recoup a 2nd, take Titus Young and Noel Devine.
if not
I'd take BPA at #15, possibly Tyron Smith.

 

For me, this draft would be all about "offensive playmakers".
(Trade back & if draft is before FA)
1. RB- Mikel LeShoure
2. WR- Titus Young
3. TE- Lance Kendricks
4. WR- Greg Little
5. Hback- Charles Clay/ FB- Owen Marecic
6. WC QB/WR/PR- Tyrod Taylor

No trade back:
1. Mikel LeShoure
3. Jerrel Jernigan (or trade up for Titus Young)
4. Greg Little
5. Charles Clay
6. Tyrod Taylor

 

ingram after ponder and why not dalton

 

minimal: RB, C, LG that can start or the #1 QB available & the draft is a success

 

And much of those Clemson yards/TDs came off receivers running wide open IIRC.

 

I'm going with Mikel LeShoure for right now.

He's a big, franchise-caliber back who has good hands out of the backfield and can catch the ball downfield. If the goal is to open up the offense and go with more 3+ WR sets, then the versatile LeShoure would be a more dynamic back than Ingram b/c of the greater ability to move him around, and as such, would be a better fit here IMO.

You could pair him with Jamie Harper and we'd have two big 230lb RBs with great hands who can catch downfield. Just an idea.

 

An offseason of: LeShoure, Titus Young, Greg Little, Logan Mankins, and Mercedes Lewis (or Owen Daniels/Zach Miller) would add some serious pop to our offense. If we want to be more dynamic and unpredictable, then this group would greatly fit the bill.

 

Mankins is getting the franchise tag. We won't be getting him unless we trade for him.

 

Some guys I am interested in at the most important needs:

RB- Mark Ingram, Ryan Williams, DeMarco Murray, Kendall Hunter, Dion Lewis, Noel Devine, Quizz Rodgers, Derrick Locke
WR- Julio Jones, Leonard Hankerson, Titus Young, Jerrel Jernigan, Austin Pettis, Jock Sanders, Torrey Smith, Greg Little
TE- Lance Kendricks, DJ Williams, Luke Stocker
OG- Mike Pouncey, John Moffitt, Rodney Hudson

I think we have endless options between the 2nd-4th rounds. However, we only have 2 picks between those 3 rounds. Tbh, I wouldn't be entirely angry if we completely trade out of the first and pick up a 2nd, 3rd, and future picks or players. Sure, we wouldn't have a legitimate shot at Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, or Mike Pouncey, but we would still have a hell of a lot of options.

With the RBs I named, I see 4 guys that could start for us (not including Ingram)
With the WRs I named, I see 4 guys that could be our #2 (not including Julio Jones)
I could see all the TEs and OGs I named starting for us as well.

This doesn't include the guys I didn't name either (ie. LeShoure, Todman, Thomas, Baldwin, Rudolph, Ijalana, Cannon, etc...)

I think our biggest rounds are in the middle of the draft this year. Lots of offensive talent, whereas the first round is mainly loaded up with defensive talent. I'm definitely fine with sticking in the first or trading down in the first as long as it's a smart pick...but I think trading completely out of the first would be the best bet for us, even though it's less likely.