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.

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

23-year old rookie QB Jimmy Clausen is running out of time to prove himself.  He has played in 9 games for the Panthers so far this year and he has completed 101 of 200 passes (50.5%) for 1,056 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 INTs (55.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 43 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this year.  With the Panthers at 1-11 on the season it’s quite possible that they could wind up with the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft next April.  If that happens, the Panthers very well could pick the best QB available.  To prevent that from happening Clausen needs to either lead the Panthers to some wins the rest of the way or he needs to play great himself regardless of the outcome of the games.

The Panthers have placed 24-year old rookie QB Tony Pike on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a shoulder injury.  Pike played in 1 game for the Panthers this season and he was 6 of 12 (50%) passing for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  The Panthers have signed 25-year old QB Keith Null off the practice squad and he will likely be the Panthers’ #2 QB this weekend in Seattle with Brian St. Pierre’s shoulder still bothering him.  Null played in 4 games as a rookie with the Rams last season and he completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3%) for 566 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (49.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 6 yards (1.2 ypc) last season.  The Panthers better hope that Jimmy Clausen stays healthy.

David Gettis and Brandon LaFell have been stepping up this season for the Panthers.  Gettis was a sixth round pick out of Baylor last April.  He has played in 10 games for the Panthers already this year and he caught 25 passes for 400 yards (16.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Gettis also returned 7 kickoffs for 117 yards (16.7 avg) so far this year.  Brandon LaFell was a 3rd round pick out of LSU last April.  LaFell has played in 9 games for the Panthers this year and he has caught 22 passes for 301 yards (13.7 avg) with a TD grab.  LaFell made a great catch against the Browns last week to set up John Kasay for a 42-yard field goal which he missed.  Gettis & LaFell have shown enough so far this year to think they might have bright futures with the Panthers.

The Panthers have picked CB Robert McClain with the 249th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a tad small at 5’9″, 193 pounds and he is not the fastest guy around running a 4.58 40.  But, he is aggressive in run support and he is a good punt returner which are qualities that likely caught the Panthers’ eye.  He had 56 tackles, 1 sack, he forced 1 fumble and he had 4 interceptions last season for U. Conn.  He also returned 26 punts for 265 yards (10.2 avg) with 1 TD return last season.  In his four years at U.Conn. McClain had 120 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and he intercepted 10 passes (2 returned for TDs).

The Panthers have picked CB R.J. Stanford with the 223rd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Stanford is on the small side at 5’11″, 184 pounds and he doesn’t have much playing experience.  He had 43 tackles and 1 interception last season at Utah which was the only year he got onto the field for them.  I would think that he would have to make the Panthers doing most of his work on special teams.

Even though the Panthers already had picked Jimmy Clausen in the 2nd round they just couldn’t pass up the value in picking Tony Pike.  The Panthers used the 204th overall pick (6th round) in the NFL Draft on QB Tony Pike out of Cincinnati.  Pike steadily got better in college leading his team to the Sugar Bowl last season.  He played in 10 games (9 starts) for Cincinnati last season in which he completed 211 of 338 passes (62.4%) for 2,520 yards with 29 TD passes and 6 INTs.  He played in 27 games (19 starts) in his four years with the Bearcats and he completed 421 of 682 passes (61.7%) for 5,018 yards with 49 TD passes and 20 INTs.  Pike is a skinny guy at 6’5″, 212 pounds but he can make all of the throws.  Many experts had Pike going in the 2nd or 3rd round of the NFL Draft so the Panthers just couldn’t pass up the value they got in him.  Don’t be surprised if Pike pushes Jimmy Clausen and Matt Moore for the starting job at QB in the very near future.