Jake Delhomme has never had to look over his shoulder with guys like Chris Weinke behind him on the depth chart.  But now he will with an established starting QB (David Carr) sitting behind him.  That should motivate Delhomme to have his best season ever for the Panthers as the competition should drive him to be his best.  Delhomme played most of last season with a bad thumb and he still did o.k.  Delhomme started 13 games last season for the Panthers and he completed 263 of 431 passes (61%) for 2,805 yards with 17 TD passes and 11 interceptions (82.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 18 times for 12 yards (0.7 ypc).  Delhomme was saved by the Panthers a few years ago as a free agent and he’s done a good job for them over the years.  He has played in 67 games (62 starts) in his NFL career and he’s completed 1,151 of 1,934 passes (59.5%) for 13,965 yards with 92 TD passes and only 63 interceptions (84.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 124 times for 223 yards (1.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

David Carr will be the backup for the Panthers and he gives the Panthers their best backup QB in a long, long time.  If something were to happen to Delhomme the offense would likely not miss a beat as Carr has never played with teammates as talented as he will in Carolina.  Carr has a strong arm and he’s a pretty good runner when he breaks the pocket.  Hopefully he’s not shellshocked from the 249 career times that he’s been sacked!  Carr started all 16 games for the Texans last season and he completed 302 of 442 (68.3%) of his passes for 2,767 yards with 11 TD passes and 12 interceptions (82.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 53 times for 195 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Carr is probably glad to get out of Houston as he often was the scapegoat for the team’s poor performance and that was often unjust.  He played in 76 games (75 starts) for the Texans and he completed 1,243 of 2,070 passes (60.0%) for 13,391 yards with 59 TD passes and 65 interceptions (75.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 268 times for 1,235 yards (4.6 ypc) with 8 TD runs.

Brett Basanez will be the Panthers’ #3 QB.  Basanez made the Panthers last season as an undrafted free agent from Northwestern and he played well enough to hold a clipboard for them this season.  Basanez appeared in 1 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last season and he completed 6 of 11 (54.5%) passes for 56 yards with 1 interception (30.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards.

C.J. Wilson has played primarily safety in college but he probably could also handle CB.  He has a nice size/speed combo as he is 6′1″, 195 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  In 46 games (25 starts) at Baylor, Wilson made 139 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles, broke up 14 passes and intercepted 9 passes (1 of which he returned for a TD).  Wilson also looks like a player that will help out the Panthers on special teams much like most of their Day #2 Draft choices.

The Panthers couldn’t pass up Tim Shaw when they saw him still on the board in the 5th round.  He has decent size at 6′1″, 235 pounds and he’s very fast as he can run a 4.5 40.  Shaw projects as a backup linebacker/special teams player but he could surprise.  He plays all-out all of the time and he could be a starter at some point in the future for the Panthers.  At Penn State, Shaw played in 46 games (32 starts) and he made 176 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, had 12 sacks, broke up 14 passes and had 1 interception.  Shaw was an outstanding pick by the Panthers at this point in the Draft.

The Panthers haven’t used their TE in the passing game in a long, long time but that could be changing with the selection of Rosario.  Rosario has nice size at 6′2″, 242 and he’s just fast enough to be a threat (4.7 40) over the middle.  He has nice hands and is a good receiver.  But, he’s not much help in the running game as he’s not a good blocker.  In 49 games (26 starts) at Oregon, Rosario caught 94 passes for 1,003 yards (10.7 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Rosario is also a really good special teams player who could wind up playing a big role on those units for the Panthers.

The Panthers were looking for playmakers in this draft and they got one in Robinson.  Robinson is a decent receiver and an excellent punt returner.  He’s a little small at 5′8″, 178 pounds but he’s very fast as he runs a 4.47 40.  In 50 games (29 starts) at Miami (OH), Robinson made 258 receptions for 3,697 yards (14.3 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  He also has run the ball 25 times for 122 yards (4.9 ypc).  But he’s been an outstanding return man.  He returned 121 punts in college for 1,677 yards (13.9 avg) with 7 TD returns.  He also has returned 8 kickoffs for 135 yards (16.9 avg).  Robinson was a good pick for the Panthers as he will make their special teams better from Day #1.