NFL Draft: What did the Panthers do?

          Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first NFL action of the season. Ok, so most of you wouldn't quite call it action, but to football geeks like myself the NFL draft can be quite exciting. The Carolina Panthers had the 9th overall pick in the first round, along with many other picks throughout the draft. Now I won't sit here and pretend that I could foresee who we would pick, nor will I pretend to know everything about everyone we picked, but what I will try to do is give a little insight on who these people are and what kind of contribution they will make to our team next year.
          With the ninth overall pick the Carolina Panthers selected Luke Kuechly (rhymes with "weakly"), an inside linebacker from Boston College. Honestly this one confused me, we already have a solid linebacking corps, with John Beason and Thomas Davis returning from injury, playing alongside James Anderson. We also picked Dan Connor pretty high in a recent draft and he plays inside linebacker as well. So in my opinion we needed a defensive tackle more than we needed a linebacker. However this may be a case where a team picks the best player available regardless of need. Kuechly is certainly a tackling machine, he had 191 tackles in his last season at BC, bringing him to a whopping 532 for his three year career. He won the Bronko Nagurski trophy as the national defensive player of the year, the Butkus award as the nations best linebacker and many other national honors. He's a great football player without a doubt, I just wonder what our motives were when picking him. Here's a video filled with Kuechly chasing people down set to some pump up music.

     
          Amini Silatolu, (pronounced... well I'm not even sure) is a guard out of Midwestern State, and the Panthers selected him with the eighth pick in the second round. Almost 6'4", 311 pounds, he's a big boy. Stats for offensive lineman don't really exist, so I really am just taking a shot in the dark here with this one. There's always room for depth on the offensive line, especially with Jeff Otah being as fragile as a teacup and Jordan Gross constantly getting the most inopportune penalties possible. I've really got nothing more to say, considering offensive lineman aren't really the flashy guys who get all the glory.
          Now it gets interesting. The Panthers pick up two players back-to-back in the fourth round, Frank Alexander, a defensive end out of Oklahoma, and Joe Adams, a wide receiver out of Arkansas. Alexander was the Big 12 defensive player of the year as voted by the Associated Press, and led the Big 12 in tackles  for a loss in his senior season. He is a versatile lineman, not just a pass rusher or a run stuffer. He should be a great addition to our defensive line. Now, here is a pick that I am truly excited about. Joe Adams from Arkansas is a PLAYMAKER (yes these caps are warranted). Check out this video...

     
          ...Now tell me those caps weren't warranted. The kid is a highlight reel. While the Panthers have said that they are happy with Pilares at kick returner, Adams could certainly replace the anemic Armanti Edwards as a punt returner, especially since he was the SEC special teams player of the year after returning four punts for touchdowns. He will also be a nice addition to our receiving corps, which already boasts the explosive Steve Smith and the upstart Brandon Lafell, along with Greg Olsen at tight end. This offensive is certainly not short on talent anymore.
          Our last three picks are no doubt names that won't really ring a bell, so I'll run through these rather quickly. Fifth round pick Josh Norman is a cornerback from Coastal Carolina. He will  add depth to our secondary, and he had two interceptions last year. His sophomore year he had eight interceptions, which shows that he is capable of making plays on the ball. He also had 138 career tackles in four years, so he isn't just a cover corner. Brad Nortman was the Panthers pick in the sixth round. The punter out of Wisconsin was honorable mention on the all Big Ten team, and had a career average of 42.1 yards per punt (which is pretty good). He's a punter, that's about all there is to say. Finally we have D.J. Campbell, safety out of California. The Panthers seventh round pick, a fifth year senior, Campbell was a decent college player. Not really someone who made huge plays every game, but he racked up a career high 71 tackles in his senior season. Again, not much else to say other than he will add depth to our secondary, which is always good to have.
          Well that's about it, no huge moves for the Panthers. Just several solid players that should contribute in one way or another, whether it is on the field or on the practice squad. I hope all you Panthers fans are just as excited as I am to see these new players join the Panthers for what is sure to be an exciting 2012 season! This Cam Newton commercial should get you pumped