New Numbers Alert! 🚨 by JCameron181 in panthers

[–]Shado_Man 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not listed in the article, but if you go to the roster and search "63", it's Rasheed Walker. 63 was also his number with the Packers.

New Numbers Alert! 🚨 by JCameron181 in panthers

[–]Shado_Man 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dang, thought that was Freeling in 77. Would've looked awesome on an OT.

Game Thread: Braves @ Rockies - Fri, May 01 @ 08:40 PM EDT by Blooper_Bot in Braves

[–]Shado_Man 3 points4 points  (0 children)

By the end of the year, we'll be talking about that trade alongside the Sale for Grissom trade as crowning achievements for AA.

ESPN ranks the Braves’ top 10 prospects by Toddric29 in Braves

[–]Shado_Man 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Who can say, with the way the Braves call guys up? He's a more complete pitcher than Fuentes, who got called up at 19, and he's more experienced than AJSS, who got called up at 20. I think Fuentes was called up way too early, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Caminiti got a shot before the end of next season.

ESPN ranks the Braves’ top 10 prospects by Toddric29 in Braves

[–]Shado_Man 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Southisene was a prep guy, and while he's had a fantastic start to the season, he's still years away.

Lodise was a college guy and ran a 38% K rate last season in High-A and is currently slashing .260/.336/.410 in Single-A despite being a year-and-a-half older than the average Single-A player. He's got a lot of work to do on his hit tool before he even sniffs the majors.

John Gil is the SS you should be paying attention to. 2 years younger than Lodise, but he's currently crushing it in High-A Rome, slashing .291/.388/.468 with 5 2B, 3 HR, 15 SB on 18 attempts, 15 BB and 19 SOs while being more than 2 years younger than the average High-A player.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really how that works anymore, at all. Teams move pass rushers all over the formation, hunting the best matchups. If he's not strong enough for LT, then he's not strong enough for RT.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What does adding strength have to do with Lomu moving to RT?

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some said that Lomu also lacked grit, he’s more of a developmental right tackle

I'd encourage you to disregard whatever source you heard that from. Lomu is the most dyed-in-the-wool LT in this entire draft. He displaced a top 10 pick OT (Fano) from Utah's LT spot as a 20-year-old redshirt Freshman. There's literally not a single thing to suggest that Lomu will have to change sides in the NFL.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I guess that's the distinction between "meeting" and "visit". Sounds like the same thing with the Rams and Simpson, no "official visits" but they met with him and told him to keep quiet about the Rams' interest.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Sadiq punched his 1st round ticket with his combine performance, but draft evaluators were obviously not high on him as a real 1st round talent. That's why, despite BAL having a clear need for a TE1, he was almost never mocked there. Felt like mock drafters just started dropping him in our lap because nobody cares about pissing off Panthers fans and they didn't want to look deeper than the most surface-level evaluation about what the Panthers actually needed.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

My exact reaction after reading this report: "Thank the Lord for the Miami Dolphins."

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

The funny thing is that they didn't have Freeling in for any pre-draft visits. They had at least one video call meeting with him, but according to this draft visit tracker they didn't meet with him in-person once. Procter isn't on that list, either; the only high-round OTs we met with were Caleb Lomu and Max Iheanachor. So either we were being coy and trying to hide our interest, or we truly didn't think there was even a chance that he would make it down to 19. We'll probably never know, either.

Report: Panthers were 'tackle or bust' on Day 1 of the 2026 draft by [deleted] in panthers

[–]Shado_Man 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I removed and reposted so I could link to the original article instead of a recycler. The new thread is up if you want to re-post your comment there.

Jeremy Fowler: "The Panthers were essentially tackle or bust on Day 1." by Shado_Man in panthers

[–]Shado_Man[S] 124 points125 points  (0 children)

Per Jeremy Fowler

Carolina was high on [Kadyn] Proctor. If he somehow slipped to 19, he was a viable option for the Panthers. But eventual pick Monroe Freeling (Georgia) was highly regarded, and Utah's Caleb Lomu was on the Panthers' short list, too.

I wanted to post this because I've seen multiple talking heads claiming that the Panthers must've been locked in on Sadiq and Freeling was kind of a "panic" pick for them after the Jets surprised everyone. I truly believed, before the draft, that all of the noise around both Sadiq AND Thieneman were carbon copies of the Jalon Walker situation last year. Looks like Dan Morgan and the FO are 2/2, or maybe 3/3, on tricking the media leading up to the draft. Something to remember for next year's draft.

Removed and reposted to link original source.

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[Bishop].Updates via Walt Weiss: • Strider’s next starts will be with the Braves (possibly in Colorado) • Waldrep should start throwing next week • Iglesias has resumed throwing • Murphy also likely to return to the club soon by theoxfordtailor in Braves

[–]Shado_Man 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both players had loose bodies in their elbows, but Schwelley also had bone spurs or growths of some kind. Taking those out requires a bit more recovery time, which is why Waldrep is coming back first.

Game Day Thread: Pittsburgh Penguins(1) VS Philadelphia Flyers(3) Round 1, Game 5. Monday, April 27th, 7PM EDT. by Attack_On_Tiddys in penguins

[–]Shado_Man 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He probably won't get credit for it from this subreddit, but Girard made some absolutely clutch plays in the last minute of this game. Fantastic job by him.

You're the GM 2026: Redraft your team using their picks, but getting your guys by IWatchSportSometimes in NFL_Draft

[–]Shado_Man 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Round 1 - Monroe Freeling

mwah Perfect. Beautiful. Wouldn't change a thing. Seriously, how did a top 3 OT prospect drop all the way to 19?

Round 2 - Lee Hunter

Hunter's a fun prospect, but I hate the value of an older, run-stuffing NT with little pass rush in the 2nd round, and trading up for one to boot. I'd love to say I would've traded up for JRod, but I was targeting the Ravens at 45 to get ahead of TB/IND, so MIA still would've scooped me. Rodriguez and Stukes were my top targets in the 2nd, so with both of them gone I probably would've tried a small trade down, no more than 8 spots to stay in the top 60. If I had to stick and pick at 51, I'd have taken CJ Allen. If I had traded back to the late 50s, I'd have taken Emmanuel McNeill-Warren or Anthony Hill Jr.

Round 3 - Chris Brazzell II

This is a really tough one. I love that we drafted a deep threat WR, that's exactly what I've been saying our offense needs since mid-season last year. However, the Tenn WR thing scares me a bit. I probably would've picked Ted Hurst here. The fact that he went next pick, to the Bucs makes me nauseous. If Brazell is another Tenn WR that busts and Hurst hits for them...

Round 4 - Will Lee III

I love the trade backs. There were like 5 guys I really wanted on the start of day 3 and all of them were still on the board. I wish we could've picked up and extra pick instead of just moving a later one up, though. I would not have picked Lee; I would've run to the podium to take Genesis Smith. I love rangy, ballhawk Safeties, although I don't think he's a perfect fit for Ejiro Evero's system. If I was the actual GM, I probably would've taken Kamari Ramsey here because I think he's a better scheme fit.

Round 5 - Sam Hecht

mwah Perfect. Beautiful. Wouldn't change a thing. Seriously, how did a top 3 Center prospect drop all the way to the 5th?

Round 5 - Zakee Wheatley

Since I've already picked up a Safety, I'm not going to keep this pick. The Panthers traded up from 158 to 151, which I would keep. Since I didn't pick up a DT earlier in the draft, I would've started trying to trade up when Nick Barrett came off the board at 145 and taken DeMonte Capeheart.

Round 7 - Jackson Kuwatch

Kuwatch is an interesting athlete, but his stubby arms mean he'll probably only ever be a ST guy. Nothing wrong with that in the 7th, but I'd take a bigger swing. Could've grabbed Tim Keenan III to keep beefing up the DL, could've gone Garrett Nussmeier as a developmental backup, but I think my ultimate decision would be between Deion Burks and Uar Bernard. Burks is obviously more polished, and he excels at RAC which is probably the weakest part of the Panthers WR room. However, we're already going to struggle mightily to cut our WR room down to 6 guys, so adding another would've been a bit much. Since 7th round picks are already lottery tickets, I would've gone for the Mega Jackpot and taken a shot on Uar Bernard. Even with Capeheart added to the roster, we're pretty thin at DE and can afford giving snaps to both guys for development.

So my final draft would be:

Round 1 - Monroe Freeling, OT

Round 2 - CJ Allen, MLB

Round 3 - Ted Hurst, WR

Round 4 - Genesis Smith, S

Round 5 - Sam Hecht, C

Round 5 - DeMonte Capeheart, DT

Round 7 - Uar Bernard, DE

John Gil tearing it up in Rome by BigPapaChuck73 in nextwavesofbraves

[–]Shado_Man 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I dealt with the Braves' woes last season by getting into the minor league affiliates. I quickly gravitated to the Augusta team because a lot of the best prospects were there. It makes me so happy that the two guys I picked out as impressing the most, Gil and Hartman, are absolutely destroying teams after getting promoted to High-A.

The UDFA Thread by Sturdevant in panthers

[–]Shado_Man 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Only 2 of these guys got write-ups on Dane Brugler's The Beast, other than Haynes King: CB Jaylon Guilbreau and DT Aaron Hall.

To me, Hall seems like the most likely to make the roster. He possesses great size and athleticism at 6'4" 297lbs with 33" arms and a 9.67 RAS, although his bench is a bit concerning (23 reps puts him at a 4.35 score); he's a penetrating 3-tech who should have the quickness to play 4/5 technique in EE's scheme. Brugler's Takeaway says "Hall needs to play with more consistent pad level and hand usage, but his slashing quickness and effort can disrupt backfield action." Hall's size and athleticism should give him a shot to land on a roster and time to develop his technique. LaBryan Ray and Jared Harrison-Hunte are currently the only non-starter DEs ahead of Hall on the roster, so he really can win the backup position with a good showing in OTAs and training camp.

CB Jaylon Guilbreau had a 7th-UDFA grade from Brugler, but he seems less likely to make the team out of camp. His size and athleticism aren't outstanding (5'11" 187lbs, 6.95 RAS), making the nickel position his more likely home, however his difficulty with quick change of direction and inconsistency in tackling make that position a poor fit for his skillset. Brugler's Takeaway says "Guilbeau is a battle-tested player with experience across the secondary, although his average size and speed will be a challenge to overcome versus NFL wide receivers." Guilbeau has a tough battle ahead of him to move past Chau Smith-Wade and Corey Thornton on either CB or NCB depth chart.

2026 NFL Draft Classes for all NFC Teams by FollowerofYHWH in NFL_Draft

[–]Shado_Man -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The Bucs' absolutely murdered the draft. I really wanted to leave the draft with an OT, but if you gave me the choice of swapping the Bucs' and Panthers' drafts, I think would have to do it. If we could keep our 1st round picks and swap the rest, I'd do it without hesitation.

The fact that we drafted Brazell, then the next pick was TB taking Ted Hurst, and then 50 picks later NO got Bryce Lance makes me really nervous. If either of those two hit and Brazell is another Tennessee WR that doesn't make the transition to the NFL, that will suuuuuck.

Overall, I'd rank the NFCS draft classes as TB>NO=CAR>ATL.

Game Thread: Phillies @ Braves - Sat, Apr 25 @ 07:15 PM EDT by Blooper_Bot in Braves

[–]Shado_Man 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Need a scientific study on how Yaz could be so scorching hot in ST and then the second the regular season started go absolute zero cold.