The Panthers decided that they couldn’t pass on a “franchise QB”, so they took Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.  The 22-year old Newton is a physical specimen at 6’6″, 250 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40 as he’s pretty darn fast for a QB.  Newton played in 14 games (all starts) last season for Auburn and he completed 185 of 280 passes (66.1%) for 2,854 yards with 30 TD passes and 7 INTs.  He is definitely a winner as he led his Auburn team to a National Title last year.  Newton played in 20 games (14 starts) in his three years at Florida & Auburn and he completed 191 of 292 passes (65.4%) for 2,908 yards with 30 TD passes and 7 INTs.  Newton played mostly in the spread from a shotgun in college, so he’s got a lot of work to do in getting used to playing under center.  He also comes off to me as a tad immature.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Panthers as they have put their future completely in Cam Newton’s hands.

New Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera is an old school defensive coach and he’s going to want to rebuild that side of the ball through the NFL Draft starting next weekend.  Here is who I saw the Panthers picking in my mock draft:

1st round (#1 overall) – Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama

3rd round (#65 overall) – Chimdi Chekwa, CB, Ohio State

3rd round (#97 overall) – Jerrell Powe, DE, Mississippi

3rd round (#98 overall) – Ricky Stanzi, QB, Iowa

5th round (#132 overall) – Doug Hogue, OLB, Syracuse

6th round (#166 overall) – Carl Johnson, OT, Florida

6th round (#203 overall) – Ray Dominguez, OG, Arkansas

7th round (#244 overall) – Mike Berry, OG, Auburn

This would be a good first draft for Ron Rivera and the Panthers as it could give them up to three impact defenders (Dareus, Chekwa and Powe) while also giving them a QB (Ricky Stanzi) that is capable of pushing Jimmy Clausen.

The Carolina Panthers had to throw a lot of their rookies right into the fire last season.  With that in mind, here is a look at how the kids did in their first taste of NFL action:

Jimmy Clausen – The Carolina Panthers took QB Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame with the 48th overall pick (2nd round).  Clausen was thrown right into the fire after Matt Moore was injured.  He played in 13 games (10 starts) for the Panthers last year and he completed 157 of 299 passes (52.5%) for 1,558 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (58.4 QB Rating).  Clausen also carried the ball 23 times for 57 yards (2.5 ypc) last year.  If the Panthers bring in more help at the skill positions and the O-Line, I think Clausen could develop into a decent QB down the road.

Brandon LaFell – The Panthers took WR Brandon LaFell in the 3rd round (#78 overall) out of LSU.  LaFell played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Panthers last year and he caught 38 passes for 468 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 60 yards last year.  I think LaFell played pretty well when you consider the QB situation the Panthers had last year.  I think he’s going to be a very solid WR down the road for the Panthers.

Armanti Edwards – The Panthers took WR Armanti Edwards in the 3rd round (#89 overall) out of Appalachian State.  Edwards struggled pretty badly trying to convert to WR from QB.  Edwards played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last year and he was 1 for 1 passing the ball but he didn’t have any yards passing.  He also had 1 carry for 7 yards,  he returned 2 punts for 0 yards and he returned 1 kickoff for 17 yards.  To put it simply, he was a complete bust last year.

Eric Norwood – OLB Eric Norwood came to the Panthers in the 4th round (#124 overall) out of South Carolina.  Norwood played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last year and he had 13 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.  The Panthers liked what they saw out of Norwood last year and they might expand his role as early as the 2011 season.

Greg Hardy – In the 6th round (#175 overall) the Panthers took DE Greg Hardy out of Mississippi.  Hardy played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Panthers last year and he had 30 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  Hardy was a nice surprise for the Panthers and he will likely continue to get a lot of P.T., especially in passing situations.

David Gettis – In the 6th round (#196 overall) the Panthers found WR David Gettis out of Baylor.  Gettis played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Panthers last year and he caught 37 passes for 508 yards (13.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He also returned 9 kickoffs for 159 yards (17.7 avg) and 3 punts for 2 yards (0.7 avg) last year.  Gettis will be teaming with Brandon LaFell to give the Panthers a nice couple of young WRs to build a passing game around in the very near future.

Jordan Pugh – The Panthers took CB/S Jordan Pugh in the 6th round (#202 overall) from Texas A&M.  Pugh played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Panthers last year and he had 13 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He also returned 9 kickoffs for 218 yards (24.2 avg) last year.  Pugh will likely see an increased role on both the defense and on special teams in the near future.

Tony Pike – The Panthers took QB Tony Pike in the 6th round (#204 overall) out of Cincinnati.  Pike played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Panthers last year and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).  The fact that Pike couldn’t beat out Brian St. Pierre last season says quite a bit about him.

R.J. Stanford – The Panthers picked CB R.J. Stanford in the 7th round (#223 overall) out Utah.  Stanford didn’t get into any games as a rookie as he spent most of the year on the practice squad.  On a positive note, the Panthers must have liked him somewhat to keep him around all year.

Robert McClain – The Panthers selected CB Robert McClain in the 7th round (#249 overall) out of Connecticut.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Panthers last year and he had 16 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  McClain will likely help out on both special teams and in the secondary again in 2011 and maybe beyond.

GRADE FOR THE 2010 SEASON:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B