It should be only one more year stuck with Deangelo Williams and now a couple more with Jonathan Stewart due to his recent contract restructure. While the new management looks to make the contracts of the past, a thing of the past, they can start by finding a running back of the future. There are very few running back prospects in this draft that offer more upside in the late-rounds than Storm Johnson.
If the Panthers lose Tedd Ginn to free agency, and it seems likely that they will, their special teams will take a major hit. In 2013, the special teams produced several plays that changed the shape of that particular game and the season as a whole. If the Panthers draft Dri Archer, the man who ran the fastest forty-yard-dash at the NFL Combine(4.26), their return game won’t skip a beat.
The Panthers need to start looking for new players to groom at offensive tackle now that Jordan Gross has retired. Reports claim that they are likely to bring back right tackle Byron Bell, and they may even move him to left tackle. While the late-rounds very rarely produce starting tackles right away, Seantrel Henderson presents a great size and speed combination prospect who the Panthers can look to groom. He has the physical ability to step right in as a swing tackle.
Antone Exum presents a size and speed combination that you rarely find available in the late-rounds of the draft at the cornerback position. Exum ran twin times of 4.50 and 4.51 before earning an official 4.59 forty-yard dash. Even 4.59 is plenty fast for a cornerback who goes 6-foot and 213 pounds. The Panthers may lose safety Mike Mitchell and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to free agency—Exum is one option to replace them.
Kevin Norwood is projected to go as late as the end of round-six according to some draft experts. Norwood presents the late-round best value of any prospect at any position, and he is a great fit for the Panthers because they need to find a second and third wide receiver. Norwood goes 6-foot-2, 198 pounds and ran a 4.48 forty-yard-dash. His college production improved each year. For my full scouting report, click here.
