Draft Grades: Panthers

Despite not having a 1st-round selection, the Panthers made the most of this year's draft.

Everette Brown fell down the draft boards throughout the offseason but he was an excellent value in the 2nd round. His stock fell because, although he's a tremendous athlete, he's a bit of a one-dimensional player. He's an elite pass rusher, but undersized and may lack the ability to be a three-down lineman.

I felt as though Sherrod Martin was a little overrated. The Panthers will likely move him to safety, but that's risky to spend a 2nd-round pick on a small-school player that needs to switch positions at the next level.

Corvey Irvin was a definite reach. He didn't even enter his senior year as a starter, but was pushed into duty when Jeff Owens went down with an injury. He impressed this year, but I wouldn't risk a 3rd round pick a college backup.

Mike Goodson is a decent developmental prospect. There isn't room for him in the Panthers backfield right now, but sooner or later they'll have to part ways with either DeAngelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart at which point he could step in.

Tony Fiammetta was the consensus top fullback in this year's draft class. Brad Hoover has held the job for nearly a decade now, but he's 32 years old. Fiammetta could take over the starting duties as soon as this year.

I said all along that Duke Robinson was overrated, and apparently NFL teams aggreed. He fell to the 5th round where he belonged. That said, he had good value where the Panthers took him and he could be an adequate backup with the potential to develop into a starter down the road.

I like Captain Munnerlyn a lot. He's undersized, but an excellent athlete. He won't make an instant impact, but I like his chance to stick around and potentially develop into an adequate contributor as a 3rd or 4th option at cornerback.

Overall the Panthers did an excellent job with the picks given to them. This won't be a draft that we look back on as a draft that retooled the franchise, but its was a solid draft to add some depth at positions of need. They did a nice job balancing against filling needs and taking good values.

Grade: B+