Fix the Franchise: Carolina Panthers edition
This is kind of a tough one to ferret out. I would have said their QB situation needs to be fixed, but they released Jake Delhomme and have handed over the offense to Matt Moore. That looks like solid move, but with an 8-8 record this team needs something. I would normally say, they could get that something in the NFL draft, but for the second year in a row they do not have a first round draft pick. They haven’t been active in Free Agency, so maybe the problem lies with management.
Of course this is a team one year removed from a 12-4 record, so there is plenty of talent in house. I would tweak the roster a bit. I do however question their recent draft strategy. Last year they dealt away, this year’s first round pick to move up in the second round and take and select DE Everett Brown. Brown is a talent but they paid a high price for him. Prior to the 2009 draft they have done a better than decent job of improving the team.
They hold the 48th overall pick and if I were running this team I would be using that pick on wide out. Steve Smith is a legitimate number one guy, but this offense needs some more weapons. At 48 there should be a slew of prospects that could fill this need for the team. Erick Decker of Minnesota and Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati should both be there. I would also be looking for a late round QB I could develop someone along the lines of a Jevan Snead of Mississippi or Dan Lefevour of Central Michigan.
In the end I think this team is a lot better than their 2009 8-8 record. I have faith in GM Marty Hurney, and I think he will make the right moves in this year’s draft. What I do not want to see is them moving up and trading away future draft picks. They are going to need those picks later.
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