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.

The Panthers have selected CB Jordan Pugh out of Texas A&M with the 202nd overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  He was not expected to be drafted so the Panthers must have saw something in him that no other team did.  He had 75 tackles, 3 interceptions and he returned 4 punts for 16 yards (4.0 avg) last season.  In his four years at Texas A&M, Pugh had 212 tackles, 1 sack and 4 interceptions.  He also returned 24 punts for 77 yards (3.2 avg) in college.  It will be interesting to see if Pugh makes the team or if the draft experts were right about him.

The Panthers have picked WR David Gettis with the 198th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Gettis is a big guy at 6’3″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Gettis despite his size does not like to go over the middle and he catches too many passes against his body.  He is adept at winning jump balls because of his size but he projects out to nothing more than a #4 or #5 WR in the NFL.  Gettis played in 12 games (all starts) at Baylor last season in which he caught 52 passes for 675 yards (13.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He played in 47 games (30 starts) in his four years in college and he caught 116 passes for 1,555 yards (13.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

The Panthers have selected DE Greg Hardy with the 175th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Hardy is 6’3″, 279 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40 as he shows freakish athletic ability.  He is a boom or bust pick but was definitely worth the risk in the sixth round for the Panthers.  He doesn’t bring his A-game all of the time so it will be up to the coaches to keep him motivated.  If they can then they have a steal in Hardy.  Hardy played in 9 games (0 starts) for Mississippi last season and he had 16 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, he batted down 3 passes and he recovered 1 fumble.  Hardy played in 40 games (13 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 122 tackles, 39.5 tackles for a loss, he had 26.5 sacks, batted down 10 passes, he forced 7 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble. 

The Panthers have selected OLB Eric Norwood out of South Carolina with the 124th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Norwood is 6’0″, 246 pounds and he can run a 4.7 40.  He is a relentless pass rusher which is by far his best skill on the field.  He is a so-so run defender and he can only drop back in zones as you don’t want him covering anyone man to man.  Norwood played in 13 games (all starts) last season at South Carolina in which he had 81 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, he broke up 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Norwood played in 51 games (38 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 255 tackles, 55 tackles for a loss, he had 29 sacks, broke up 8 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  This was a solid pick for the Panthers as many “experts” had him getting picked in the 2nd or 3rd round.  He could be a starter soon for the Panthers.

The Panthers have selected QB/WR Armanti Edwards out of Appalachian State with the 89th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  The Panthers plan to use Edwards mostly at WR as he runs a 4.4 40.  He is on the short side at 5’11″, 181 pounds so he will likely be used at the slot in the pros.  Edwards also could be the QB in a Panthers’ version of the Wildcat and he will likely also be the #3 QB in 2010.  Edwards played in 12 games (all starts) at Appalachian State last season and he completed 257 of 378 passes (68%) for 3,291 yards with 12 TD passes and 7 INTs.  In his four years at App. St. he played in 51 games (49 starts) in which he completed 768 of 1,180 passes (65.1%) for 10,392 yards with 74 TD passes and 33 interceptions.  He was the QB that led Appalachian State to their victory in Ann Arbor over the Wolverines three years ago proving that he can step up when challenged.  I like this pick for the Panthers.

The Panthers have selected WR Brandon LaFell with the 78th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  The Panthers got good value once again with the pick of LaFell who will probably have a good chance of starting for them in 2010.  LaFell is a big guy at 6’2″, 207 pounds and he is a tough, possession type receiver who is also a good run blocker so he should fit right in.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for LSU last season in which he caught 57 passes for 792 yards (13.9 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  LaFell played in 51 games (34 starts) in his four years at LSU and he caught 175 passes for 2,517 yards (14.4 avg) with 28 TD grabs.  LaFell didn’t play with the best QBs around in his time at LSU so look for his production to be much better with the Panthers.  He is a perfect complement to Steve Smith for the Panthers.

The Panthers have selected QB Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame with the 48th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  The Panthers had bigger needs heading into this draft but they couldn’t resist nabbing a QB who was projected to be a top 10 pick in this draft.  The Panthers will likely have Clausen back up Matt Moore this season but he will likely supplant him as the starting QB down the road.  Clausen certainly looks the part as he is a big guy at 6’2″, 220 pounds.  He has enough arm to make all of the throws but despite being on T.V. every week I never saw him getting a signature win against a quality opponent.  That being said he was very impressive as a junior with Notre Dame.  Clausen played in 12 games (all starts) for the Irish last season and he completed 289 of 425 passes (68%) for 3,722 yards with 28 TD passes and 4 INTs.  In his three year career at Notre Dame, Clausen played in 35 games (34 starts) in which he completed 695 of 1,110 passes (62.6%) for 8,148 yards with 60 TD passes and 27 INTs.  This was a great pick for the Panthers who were right not to resist the temptation to draft a potential franchise QB in the second round of the NFL Draft.