The Panthers have decided to go to a power running game and with that they let DeShaun Foster go and drafted Jonathan Stewart who will likely be the feature back in 2008.  Stewart had a severely injured toe late last season and it caused him to drop a little bit in the first round which made the Panthers’ front office smile.  Stewart is a strong running back at 5’10″, 230 pounds and he’s very fast running a 4.45 40.  Stewart was incredible last season for Oregon.  He played in 13 games (12 starts) with Oregon last year and he carried the ball 280 times for 1,722 yards (6.2 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 145 yards (6.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for him to have a really solid rookie season.

DeAngelo Williams will likely get a chance to beat out Stewart as the feature back on the Panthers.  Even if he loses out on that job the Panthers will use him a lot in 2008.  Williams played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 144 times for 717 yards (5.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 175 yards (7.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Williams should add to his solid career numbers in 2008.  Williams has now played in 29 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 265 times for 1,218 yards (4.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 56 passes for 488 yards (8.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

LaBrandon Toefield will be the #3 RB for the Panthers this season.  He played in 2 games (1 start) for the Jaguars last season and he carried the ball 13 times for 27 yards (2.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  Toefield has the talent to step up if something happens to Stewart or Williams as he was buried on the depth chart in Jacksonville.  Toefield has now played in 45 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 163 times for 572 yards (3.5 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 46 passes for 277 yards (6.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Alex Haynes didn’t get to play much as a rookie for the Panthers last season.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last season and he carried the ball 3 times for 3 yards (1.0 ypc).  Haynes also caught 3 passes for 14 yards (4.7 avg) last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Jake Delhomme was playing great last season before he injured his right elbow bad enough that he needed Tommy John Surgery to repair it.  He is the unquestioned leader of the offense and it showed when he was out and the Panthers ran out Vinny Testaverde, David Carr and Matt Moore to start games in his place.  It appears that the surgery has been a success as Steve Smith thinks Delhomme is throwing better than ever in practice.  Delhomme played in 3 games (all starts) last season for the Panthers and he completed 55 of 86 passes (64%) for 624 yards with 8 TD passes and 1 interception (111.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc).  Look for Delhomme to add to his already impressive career numbers as long as he can stay healthy.  Delhomme has now played in 70 games (65 starts) in his major league career and he has completed 1,206 of 2,020 passes (59.7%) for 14,589 yards with 100 TD passes and 64 interceptions (85.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 130 times for 249 yards (1.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

Matt Moore was an undrafted rookie last season and he showed enough to earn the job as the #2 QB of the Panthers as long as he can beat out Brett Basanez and Lester Ricard.  Moore was not bad last season but he did make some big mistakes during some games.  The Panthers hope that Moore has learned from those mistakes so that they won’t be hurting if something happens to Delhomme.  Moore played in 9 games (3 starts) last season for the Panthers and he completed 63 of 111 passes (56.8%) for 730 yards with 3 TD passes and 5 interceptions (67.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards (1.7 ypc).

Brett Basanez will battle Matt Moore for the #2 QB job but he will likely lose in this competition.  He didn’t play last season due to injury so it will be interesting to see how he responds to this challenge.  He has played in 1 game (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 6 of 11 passes (54.5%) for 56 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (30.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards (2.0 ypc).

Lester Ricard has never played in a NFL game but it’s not like the QBs behind Delhomme are light years ahead of him in talent.  It will be interesting to see how he plays in training camp and the pre season seeing how his future job will depend on it.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

The Panthers feel fortunate to be getting a player the caliber of MacKenzy Bernadeau in the 7th round when many had him projected to go as high as the 4th round.  He is 6’3″, 292 pounds and he runs a 5.37 40.  Despite the slow timed 40, Bernadeau is effective on pulling and hitting moving targets.  He played in 37 games (37 starts) in his 4 years at Bentley (Massachusetts).  It will be interesting to see how well he adjusts to dealing with NFL defenders as it is a gigantic jump up in competition for him.

Geoff Schwartz is a big guy at 6’6″, 332 pounds but he will likely have to shift to guard after playing tackle at Oregon due to his problems handling speed rushers.  He runs a 5.45 40 so he will likely need help inside with quick tackles off the ball.  He played in 41 games (36 starts) in his career at Oregon.  Schwartz might be on the practice squad as a rookie.

Hilee Taylor had an outstanding season as a senior for the North Carolina Tar Heels recording 59 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, had 10.5 sacks and forced 3 fumbles.  Those numbers were racked up as a defensive end….a position he’s too small for at the NFL level.  Taylor stands at 6’3″, 242 pounds and it might take him a while to adjust to his new position.  He will likely have to make it on special teams his rookie season for the Panthers.

Nick Hayden could be a good run stuffing defensive tackle if he can keep a low base coming out of his stance.  Sometimes that is hard to do as he stands 6’4″, 295 pounds.  Hayden is also pretty slow (5.13 40) so he likely won’t be anything more than a nose tackle type who takes on blockers.  Hayden played in 44 games (39 starts) for Wisconsin and he made 132 tackles, had 21.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, batted down 8 passes, forced 1 fumble and recovered 6 fumbles.

The Panthers will let Barnidge compete with Dante Rosario and Jeff King to see who will win the starting job at TE.  His best skill is as a receiver but he doesn’t have the speed to make big plays down the field.  He is a tall target at 6’5″, 240 pounds and he has really good hands.  Barnidge played in 48 games (31 starts) in his career at Louisville and he caught 108 passes for 1,491 yards (13.8 avg) with 17 TD grabs.

Dan Connor fell in the draft because he’s not a great physical specimen but anyone that has ever seen him play knows that he’s the real deal.  After all, Connor is the all-time leading tackler at Penn State (a.k.a. Linebacker U) with 419 stops.  Connor played in 46 games (35 starts) at Penn State and he finished with 419 tackles, 34 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, broke up 17 passes and intercepted 4 passes.  He runs a 4.75 40 so he sometimes has trouble chasing plays to the sideline.  But make no mistake, the 6’2″, 233 pound linebacker Dan Connor will make an impact soon for the Panthers’ Defense.  He will likely start on the outside but he can also handle the inside spot if needed.  This was an outstanding pick for the Panthers.

Charles Godfrey has a huge upside and he will likely be a starter in the future for the Panthers.  He is 5’11″, 207 pounds and he is lightning fast as he runs a 4.34 40.  He does need to get a little better in man to man coverage but maybe the improved coaching at the NFL level will teach him a few new tricks.  He is a good run defender and he’s a really good open field tackler.  Godfrey played in 49 games (28 starts) at Iowa and he finished with 193 tackles, broke up 14 passes, had 7 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  This was a good pick for the Panthers.