The Panthers entered the offseason with the thought of becoming a bigger, more physical team. They took this mindset into the Draft, hoping to instill some physical presence into their look when opponents watched them on film. Did they succeed with this attempt to get bigger in the Draft?
Yes. Yes times two.
Jonathan Stewart was the first selection of the Panthers in the 2008 NFL Draft. Stewart is a running back who compares himself to Jamal Lewis, with tremendous power, nice hands, and breakaway speed to boot. He has been viewed by some as the most complete back in the Draft, including myself. I was disappointed at first with this pick, (really, the RB value in the third round would’ve been awesome) but a couple spots later in the Draft, I was jumping for joy.
It was expensive, but the Panthers swung a deal with the Eagles to move back into the first round to select Pittsburgh offensive tackle Jeff Otah. Otah is a huge, mauling tackle who should come in immediately and start at right tackle, meaning a complete makeover of the o-line compared to last year is in order, but it should drastically solidify the line as well. Unfortunately, the Panthers had to give up their 2009 first-round pick, and their 2008 second- and fourth-round picks. If Otah pans out though, this could very well be a major factor in John Fox retaining his job after next season or not.
A Q&A session with Stewart can be found here.
The Panthers have begun the 2008 season with a bang. After a brilliant first round, in my opinion, we’ll see what happens on Day 2.
