The Panthers couldn’t resist trading up to draft offensive tackle Jeff Otah.  They have the mountain of a man penciled in to start at right tackle as a rookie and they will run behind him often.  Otah stands at 6′6″, 339 pounds and the man is super strong, especially in the running game when he knocks defenders down like they are little kids.  He doesn’t have much speed and often misses moving targets on the second level but the coaches might be able to make him better at that.  Otah played in 24 games (all starts) in two years at Pittsburgh.  He has only played football for 5 seasons so he has a large upside.  Another good pick for the Panthers.

The Panthers decided that running back Jonathan Stewart was just too good to pass up so they picked him in the first round.  The Panthers wanted a tough running back to either share time with DeAngelo Williams or to replace him as the starter and Stewart definately has the skills to do that as long as he is recovered from a toe injury that cut last season short.  Stewart is 5′10″, 230 pounds and he is a power runner that often moves the pile.  He is also very fast, running a 4.45 40 so he can go the distance if he gets past the front seven on defense.  Stewart played in 36 games (23 starts) at Oregon and he carried the ball 516 times for 2,891 yards (5.6 ypc) with 27 TD runs.  He also caught 49 passes for 334 yards (6.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Stewart also returned some kicks at Oregon and looked good doing it.  It was time for a change at running back and Stewart will be 10 times the back that DeShaun Foster ever was.  This was a great pick for the Panthers.

The Panthers have signed DT Darwin Walker.  Walker played in 11 games with the Bears last season and he compiled 17 tackles and had 1 sack.  Walker has now played in 98 games in his NFL career and he has compiled 189 tackles, defensed 14 passes, has 28.5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has intercepted 1 pass.  This was a solid depth signing for the Panthers.