The offseason losses outweighed the gains for the Panthers, and Carolina’s draft picks must grow up fast for the team to repeat as division champs, writes Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler.
After losing Jordan Gross, Steve Smith, Captain Munnerlyn, Ted Ginn and Mike Mitchell, coach Ron Rivera and general manager Dave Gettleman hope first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin and a host of others can fill the large void.
“Status quo is not good enough,” Rivera said. “We’re not going to stand around and be just as good.
“We want to be better.”Â
More from the Panthers and the rest of the NFC South:
- With the picks of North Carolina safety Tre Boston and San Jose State cornerback Bene’ Benwikere in the fourth and fifth rounds Saturday, the Panthers added depth to the secondary rather than taking a chance on a developmental offensive tackle to replace Jordan Gross, writes Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer.
- The Observer put together an early two-deep depth chart for the Panthers, slotting in Byron Bell, Amini Silatolu, Ryan Kalil, Chris Scott and Nate Chandler as the team’s starting offensive line from left to right.
- A recap of Times-Picayune reporter Larry Holder’s pick-by-pick analysis of the Saints‘ draft, passed along by NOLA.com’s Christopher Dabe.
- Dabe aggregated a smattering of reviews of the Saints‘ draft, with most analysts giving general manager Micky Loomis a B or a C.
- Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith believes his team has done all it can to be the the team that makes a leap, writes Tampa Bay Times columnist Gary Shelton.