The Carolina Panthers picked 22-year old OT Lee Ziemba out of Auburn with the 244th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ziemba is 6’6″, 317 pounds.  Ziemba is a tough guy who tries to finish blocks by burying defenders into the dirt.  He plays tall too much and he has problems with speed rushers.  He was projected to get picked in the 2nd or 3rd round by a lot of draft experts, so the Panthers got good value with this pick.   Ziemba played in 14 games (all starts) with Auburn last year.  He played in 52 games (all starts) in his four years with the Tigers.  He could develop into a starter on the right side for the Panthers down the road.

The Carolina Panthers took G/C Zachary Williams out of Washington State with the 203rd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Williams is a big guy at 6’3″, 309 pounds and he plays a big man’s game.  He whiffs a lot on blocks on the second level but he wins most of his battles in line.  So, he’s a pretty good pass blocker or on power running plays.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at center last year for Washington State.  Williams played in 20 games (19 starts) in his two years with the Cougars.  Williams can handle any of the interior spots on the offensive line, so he could help the Panthers as early as the 2011 season.

The Carolina Panthers picked 23-year old OLB Lawrence Wilson out of Connecticut with the 166th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Wilson is 6’0″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.69 40.  Wilson was a four year starter for the Huskies and it was because he was tough for his size.  He can actually handle covering a TE or a RB out of the backfield.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Connecticut last year and he had 123 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, broke up 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  Wilson played in 52 games (all starts) for the Huskies and he had 449 tackles, 35.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, he broke up 10 passes and he had 5 interceptions.  This was a nice pick for the Panthers who are rebuilding on defense.

The Panthers have selected 23-year old WR Kealoha Pilares out of Hawaii with the 132nd overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Pilares is 5’10″, 213 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Pilares is a classic possession receiver as he has great hands and shows toughness both over the middle and in a crowd.  Pilares played in 13 games (12 starts) last year for Hawaii and he caught 88 passes for 1,306 yards (14.8 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He played in 47 games (30 starts) in his four years with Hawaii and he caught 209 passes for 2,491 yards (11.9 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  This was a good pick for the Panthers as Pilares could get a lot of P.T. as a rookie in 2011.

The Carolina Panthers selected 23-year old cornerback Brandon Hogan out of West Virginia with the 98th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Hogan is 5’10″, 192 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Hogan torn an ACL last December and he has had a lot of issues off the field, so the Panthers took a significant risk in taking Hogan despite his ability on the field.  Hogan is very aggressive so he sometimes gives up big plays but he also makes a lot of positive ones.  He’s a DB that can actually catch a football, which makes him very dangerous to opposing offenses.  Hogan played in 11 games (all starts) for West Virginia  last year and he had 37 tackles, broke up 6 passes, had 3 interceptions, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  Hogan played in 46 games (34 starts) in his four years with the Mountaineers and he had 171 tackles, broke up 24 passes, had 7 interceptions (156 return yards), forced 1 fumble and he recovered 4 fumbles.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Panthers as Hogan has the talent to be a really good player if he is focused and motivated.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Panthers have placed Brandon Hogan on the PUP list as he continues to recover from knee surgery.  He will miss at least the first six games of the 2011 season.

The Carolina Panthers took DT Sione Fua out of Stanford with the 97th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Fua is a big guy at 6’1″, 307 but he’s very slow.  He also gets taken out of plays rather easily against the double team.  He is strong and can make some plays against the running game when he gets only one guy trying to block him.  Fua played in 13 games for Stanford last year and he had 23 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.  He played in 50 games in his four years at Stanford and he had 80 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, batted down 2 balls and he forced 2 fumbles.  The Panthers needed a DT pretty badly but this was a terrible pick as most draft experts listed Fua to be a undrafted free agent.

The Panthers took 23-DT Terrell McClain out of South Florida with the 65th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  McClain is 6’1″, 300 pounds.  McClain has a strong lower body and if head coach Ron Rivera can convince him to keep his butt down, he might have a player here.  But, McClain also tends to take plays off, so, the coaches are going to have to be on his back all of the time.  McClain played in 13 games (all starts) for South Florida and he had 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks.  He played in 49 games (33 starts) in his four years with the Bulls and he had 89 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, batted down 1 ball, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  McClain has a lot of talent but the coaches are going to have their hands full with him.