The offense performed better than I had hoped in year 1, QB Gardner Minshew was as advertised in his rookie year throwing over 3100 yards, 18 TD, 10 INT and lasted until week 15 to get injured (sorry I screwed you over in the eliminator challenge Rodany). I have alot of hope for thie future of this Panthers squad and we'll need to build on the 5-11 season, last place finish in the division. RB Eddie Lacy was an absolute beast considering teams keyed on him throughout the season being a 5'11" 250 lbs load to tackle. The WR core was frustrated for the most part. Kelvin Benjamin didn't have a ton of opportunities but he did open up the WR 2 position for Nelson Agholor who went over 1K yards for the first time in his career. The OL for the most part did well but with a rookie QB back there they gave up 60 sacks allowed which is normal even for a solid veteran OL like ours.
DEFENSE
Points Allowed Per Game: 24.8 (Tied for 20th in the SFL)
Total Points Allowed: 321.9 (10th in the SFL)
Pass Yards Allowed: 190.8 (2nd in the SFL)
Rush Yards Allowed: 131.1 (32nd in the SFL)
First Downs Allowed: 13.3 (Tied for 10th in the SFL)
Rush TD Allowed: 16 (Tied for 29th in the SFL)
Pass TD Allowed: 28 (Tied for 19th in the SFL)
Sacks: 30 (23rd in the SFL)
Takeaways: 24 (21st in the SFL)
The defense actually played much better than I thought they would, they were towards the bottom in the league in sacks and takeaways but it was definitely understandable after losing our leading sack artist in a trade and replacing him with a rookie. We traded awayour 6'3" corner Richard Sherman and replaced him with a rookie. ILB Christian Kirksey has been awesome once again with 120+ tackles, 14 TFL, 3 INT and 15 DEF. Rookie CB Iman Marshall struggled more so in the beginning of the season but finished the season strong with 66 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 FF, 2 INT, 16 DEF, 34 CTHA. RE William Gholston lead the team in sacks with 11 with rookie LE Jordan Brailford getting 9.
Well the Gardner Minshew era is about to start, he gets the start and we can only hope and pray that he stays healthy. The panthers previous GM already had a solid offensive line group in place with LT Manelik Watson, LG Vinston Painter, elite RT Matt Kalil but we also added free agent center Graham Glascow and traded for RG Byron Stingily to solidify the rest of the OL to make sure that the rookie has the best protection possible going forward.
At WR it's basically Kelvin Benjamin and a bunch of interesting players like the other 6'5" Dorial Green-Beckham, Devin Funchess whoe we won in free agency and Nelson Agholor who was our match eligible free agent and now WR4 plus kick/punt returner but I think these guys could be special especially in the redzone. TE Hayden Hurst also has some interesting qualities like his 86 speed, 78 CTH, 67 BTK but was primarily used as a blocker last season and will be thrown into the starting lineup this year.
At RB stud Eddie Lacy is back for another season of running over people, he'll be counted on early and often to take as much of the load off of Gardner Minshew as possible this year but from his stats I don't think that's a problem with 3-4 past years of 1,700 plus yards per season. Rookie FB Mel Davis might not have the pedigree of our previous FB traded to the Colts but his AWR, BTK and blocking skills will come in very handy this year whether it's blocking for Lacy/Minshew or toting the rock himself I have full confidence he'll be up for the task even as a rookie.
DEFENSE:
CB was always going to be an issue, we didn't have the funds to keep CB Richard Sherman so we dealt him but we did manage to bring in Jordan Bernstine from the Ravens which gave us a #1 CB. Rookie CB Iman Marshall will man the #2 / RCB role which isn't ideal since corners usually don't fair too well as rookies at the position but wins it by deafault. We were pretty much screwed over at safety when SS Jaquiski Tartt refused to sign here due to low morale and ended up signing in Buffalo instead so rookie SS Joshua Moon and Darnell Savage will fight it out and may the best man win.
The Linebackers stay the same at least for this year, ROLB Zac Brown, ILB Christian Kirksey and LOLB Christian Sam all stay at their original positions. Kirksey is the stud in the middle who will be calling the shots on defense and most likely be giving us a chance when teams try to run the ball on us as he's 1 of the best in the SFL.
The defensive line has been revamped, again we had all expensive aging vets at the position and had to shed salary. We would have at least liked to have kept 1 of those guys but wasn't in the cards. We added both Ra'Shede Hageman and Shariff Floyd at DT with Floyd being the penatrating smallish DT who should go after the QB and hageman being the more traditional run stuffer. At LE rookie Jordan Brailford will get the start, His speed isn't ideal but I really like his STR, AGI, ACC combos. If I see he isn't generating much pressure or getting manhandled out there we'll spell him with Leonard Williams. At RE my old drafted player from Oakland William Gholston gets the start across from Brailford.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
We have a rookie K in Ricky Aguayo so who knows how thats going to go, rookie kickers are generally pretty bad but Aguayi has a solid leg and his accuracy is already 84 (after training camp) which will most likely be 85/86 I'm hoping after pre-season. P Chris Jones gets the start again and I have no worries with him, he's been consistently solid throughout his career so far. WR Nelson Agholor will get the punt and kick return duties although if we win 1 of the WR's in veteran Minimum free agency then they might be starting in place of him I'm not sure yet.
CONCLUSION:
This season wasn't ideal as I had no clue when I took over the Panthers that they had 22 free agents all up this year, 23 if you count SS Jaquiski Tartt refusing to sign and not enough cap space to bring in any top names if I wanted to field a roster. We purged the roster but we now have a future QB for good or bad I felt it was the right move and now I need to not only add pieces around Minshew but start adding studs all along the roster. It didn't help that this was a really weak draft class so here's to hoping next years class will be much better as we now have our 1st and the San Francisco 49ers. We will still may have some trouble next year with the cap as we have 20.3M cap penalty for next season so we shall see.
** 2019 CAROLINA PANTHERS TRAINING CAMP** With the first round of free agency and the draft now in the rear view mirror there are several camp battles going on right now, some between veterans, some between rookies and some between both. One position where we know who the starter is from day 1 is rookie 1st overall pick QB Gardner Minshew. Here is a look at at some of the battles going on.
The 1st training camp battle is a 3 way battle between WR Dorial Green-Beckham, Nelson Algholor and veteran Marc Mariani. Right now Marc Mariani is in the lead being the veteran of the group but we also like Beckham-Green's size and Algholor's speed so each of them will get a shot to see what they can do opposite of Kelvin Benjamin and may the best man win.
Another solid battle going on is the one between veteran LE Leonard Williams who was re-signed in the off-season to a new 4 year deal and the rookie 6th round pick from Oklahoma State Jordan Brailford. I think Brailford has a ton of potential with excellent STR and the ability to close but with pedestrian AWR and TAK.
Strong Safety has another battle going on, 4th round pickFS Darnell Savage has been moved to SS to compete for the job with fellow 4th round rookie Joshua Moon. We like the size of moon but the athletic ability of Savage so it should be alot of fun to watch.
*TRAINING CAMP PROGRESSION*
The following 3 players have gained progression through hard work and dedication:
CB Iman Marshall
+1 AWR (67), +1 CTH (45), +1 TAK (52)
K Ricky Aguayo
+2 AWR (52), +1 KAC (84)
LE Jordan Brailford
+1 AWR (53), +1 STR (82), +1 TAK (49)
*RESTRUCTURES*
QB Kyle Orton signs a 7 year 75.74M/7.07M signing bonus He'll save us 3.42M after restructures are back open which will free up some much needed cap space for us.
1.1- QB Gardner Minshew HT: 6'1"
WT: 225 lbs.
AGE: 21
COLLEGE: Washington State
OVR: 81
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 55 STR 55 AWR 74 AGI 55 ACC 71 THP 98 THA 82 INJ 68
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 57 STR 54 AWR 74 AGI 55 ACC 71 THP 98 THA 82 INJ 70 (+2 SPD, -1 STR, +2 INJ)
The Panthers now have a franchise QB, he didn't go up or down in any major category and added +2 to INJ which was huge. He will start immediately for us obviously and hopefully this OL can keep him upright while we fill in the pieces around him. I'm very happy to have made all the deals I did to draft him and feel the future is very bright for the Panthers going forward until the 1st game where he is either knocked out or throws 4 INT, I have a feeling I'll be buying alot of keyboards this season (they'll be flying out my sliding glass doors while I rage at this season).
1.27- CB Iman Marshall HT: 6'0"
WT: 202 lbs.
AGE: 22
COLLEGE: USC
OVR: 69
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 92 STR 40 AWR 66 AGI 83 ACC 96 CTH 44 JMP 87 TAK 51
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 92 STR 40 AWR 66 AGI 81 ACC 96 CTH 44 JMP 87 TAK 51 (-2 AGI)
Iman Marshall didn't go up or down in any category of importance, I was hoping for at least +1 SPD but I'm good with this. He'll start opposite of Bernstine out of sheer necessity. His 66 AWR should help him slightly but I'm definitely expecting growing pains in year 1. His SPD will top out 95, his ACC tops out at 99 so for this draft class I think that's pretty solid value plus he already has higher AWR which makes it a bit more manageable.
3.1- K Ricky Aguayo HT: 6'2"
WT: 205 lbs.
AGE: 22
COLLEGE: Florida State
OVR: 74
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
STR 37 AWR 51 KPW 93 KAC 83
ACTUAL SKEW:
STR 38 AWR 50 KPW 92 KAC 83 (+1 STR, -1 AWR, -1 KPW)
Ricky Aguayo will start immediately, we'll be adding +1 to his KPW and try to get that KAC up as quickly as possible since we'll need him badly this season if for nothing else just to be competitive. Going down -1 KPW isn't terrible but I was hoping to at least stay the same. Other than Minshew I think Aguayo will be the 2nd most important in our draft as far as putting up points go.
4.17- SS Joshua Moon HT: 6'0"
WT: 200 lbs.
AGE: 21
COLLEGE: Georgia Southern
OVR: 71
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 88 STR 57 AWR 60 AGI 91 ACC 90 CTH 60 JMP 80 TAK 69
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 87 STR 53 AWR 58 AGI 89 ACC 88 CTH 61 JMP 76 TAK 70 (-1 SPD, -4 STR, -2 AWR, -2 AGI, -2 ACC, +1 CTH, -4 JMP, -1 TAK)
Wow what a beat down this dude took in the skew, I don't think it could have been any worse than that. He is now backup material as I cannot invest in him as heavily now that the other safety drafted is ahead of him in almost every top attribute aside from AWR.
4.20- FS Darnell Savage HT: 5'11"
WT: 200 lbs.
AGE: 21
COLLEGE: Maryland
OVR: 72
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 90 STR 57 AWR 49 AGI 86 ACC 94 CTH 54 JMP 94 TAK 69
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 91 STR 59 AWR 49 AGI 87 ACC 94 CTH 56 JMP 90 TAK 71 (+1 SPD, +2 STR, +1 AGI, +2 CTH, -4 JMP, +2 CTH)
Can I please put Savages attributes on Joshua Moons frame? The total opposite with Savage here who had an excellent skew and will most likely be moved over to SS where he'll start over Moon. Savage doesn't have the size at only 5'11" or the AWR I prefer but that will go up quickly as a starter, again like most of these guys he'll have growing pains with that pedestrian AWR but that athletic ability is very workablea nd can top out at 94 SPD/97 ACC which I'm very good with and we found our starting SS
5.2- FB Mel Davis HT: 6'2"
WT: 235 lbs.
AGE: 23
COLLEGE: Hawaii
OVR: 74
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 77 STR 56 AWR 74 AGI 82 ACC 70 CTH 47 CAR 60 BTK 99 PBK 55 RBK 56
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 78 STR 54 AWR 72 AGI 81 ACC 71 CTH 51 CAR 58 BTK 99 PBK 57 RBK 52 (+1 SPD, -2 STR, -2 AWR, -1 AGI, +1 ACC, +4 CTH, -2 CAR, +2 PBK, -4 RBK)
We lost our starting FB in a trade with the Colts so we knew at some point we needed to draft his replacement. I loved his AWR and although he went down 2 it still allows us to work on other attributes of his. He'll be yet another starter on offense and hope that 72 AWR bodes well for help protecting Minshew and opening up holes for Lacy as well.
5.31- C Malcom Pridgeon HT: 6'7"
WT: 315 lbs.
AGE: 21
COLLEGE: Ohio State
OVR: 72
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 48 STR 93 AWR 55 AGI 71 ACC 71 PBK 83 RBK 69
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 48 STR 95 AWR 56 AGI 69 ACC 71 PBK 84 RBK 68 (+2 STR, +1 AWR, -2 AGI, +1 PBK, -1 RBK)
I'm actually good with this pick, he's a very large center at 6'7" (maybe the largest C I've ever drafted), excellent STR, he's got good burst but that SPD is abysmal and that run blocking needs a shit ton of work but as long as he's not starting he should be fine as a cheap backup for a few years.
6.11- DE Jordan Brailford HT: 6'3"
WT: 252 lbs.
AGE: 22
COLLEGE: Oklahoma State
OVR: 68
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 72 STR 79 AWR 52 AGI 84 ACC 80 TAK 50
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 74 STR 81 AWR 52 AGI 82 ACC 82 TAK 48 (+2 SPD, +2 STR, -2 AGI, +2 ACC, -2 TAK)
Another pick that I was pleasantly surprised with and he compares nicely to my starter now Leonard Williams although that TAK is pretty abysmal I'm contemplating starting also along the DL. It will be the island of misfit toys on defense apparently. After the season he'll have 75 SPD/ 82 STR/ 83 AGI/ 83 ACC thats not bad for a mid 6th rounder.
6.18- OLB Vosean Joseph HT: 6'1"
WT: 227 lbs.
AGE: 22
COLLEGE: Florida
OVR: 71
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 79 STR 68 AWR 43 AGI 84 ACC 81 TAK 82
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 83 STR 70 AWR 41 AGI 83 ACC 80 TAK 82 (+4 SPD, +2 STR, -2 AWR, -1 AGI, -1 ACC)
He's nothing more than depth behind starter Zack Brown and I'm not going to lie, I don't hate that he went up +4 SPD. His AWR is really bad but should also do well on special teams.
6.22- WR Travis Fulgham HT: 6'2"
WT: 215 lbs.
AGE: 22
COLLEGE: Old Dominion
OVR: 74
PRIVATE WORKOUT:
SPD 85 STR 73 AWR 57 AGI 93 ACC 88 CTH 81 JMP 74 BTK 65
ACTUAL SKEW:
SPD 84 STR 71 AWR 56 AGI 93 ACC 89 CTH 81 JMP 71 BTK 64 (-1 SPD, -2 STR, -1 AWR, +1 ACC, -3 JMP-1 BTK)
He was never going to be much of anything other than a roster filler unless he won the draft gem so that doesn't change. He's a cheap roster filler until I can keep collecting talent.
**DRAFT DAY TRADES**
Panthers trade 4.17 to the Indianapolis Colts for 5.2 + 5.31
Panthers trade 5.17 to the New York Giants for 5.27 + 6.18
Panthers trade FB Marquez Williams, 7.12 to the Indianapolis Colts for 4.17 + 4.20
Panthers trade 5.27 to the Baltimore Ravens for CB Jordan Bernstine + 6.22
WR Dorial Green-Beckham
6'5" 237 lbs.
Former team: Miami Dolphins
Contract Offer: 3 years 14.16M/1.89M Signing Bonus The plan for Beckham is to have him start opposite of Kelvin Benjamin, have 2 6'5" young stud WR's will not only be easy targets for soon to be newly acquired QB Gardner Minshew to find early and often. He has solid hands, enough athletic ability to get open and get some yards, the height for plenty of redzone targets and he's an adequate blocker.
C Graham Glasgow
6'6" 306 lbs.
Former team: Denver Broncos
Contract Offer: 5 years 18M/3.4M Signing Bonus Glasgow is a solid young center that we wanted maning the ship here for years to come. He never really had a shot in Denver but he'll be the day 1 starter for the Carolina Panthers, he's fairly athletic for a guy of his size, strong as an ox at 99 STR, he'll need to get his pedestrian AWr (59) up and is a fairly solid RBK 88 and PBK 89 which we'll work on as well.
WR Nelson Agholor
6'1" 198 lbs.
Former team: Carolina Panthers
Contract Offer: 3 years 11.86M/2.25M Signing Bonus Agholor was my match eligible free agent and also my top kick and punt returner which he was very good at. He will also be in the mix with Marc Mariani as a the 3rd WR which they both will most likely end up spliting. He'll also come in quite handy in case of injuries as he has top end SPD and great hands.
DT Shariff Floyd
6'3" 297 lbs.
Former team: Carolina Panthers
Contract Offer: 3 years 10.5M/2.28M Signing Bonus A former 5th round pick by the Panthers in 2013, he never really got a chance to start but as of now he is 1 of the starting DT for us unless something chages. In limited snaps he's managed 6 sacks so I'm interested to see what he can do for a season... WE SHALL SEE!
DT Ra'Shede Hageman
6'6" 311 lbs.
Former team: Detroit Lions
Contract Offer: 3 years 10.5M/2.28M Signing Bonus It looks like the Lions drafted Hageman in 2014 but he's had no starts since then, well welcome to the Panthers where anyone can start . Hageman will start opposite of Floyd. Hopefully both will be hungry to show what they have.
RB Alfred Blue
6'3" 220 lbs.
Former team: Carolina Panthers
Contract Offer: 3 years 7.32M/1.56M Signing Bonus I've always been a big fan of Blue (You're my boy blue) , he has ideal size to be an every down back in the SFL. He'll be the immediate backup to RB Eddie Lacyand injury insurance as well.
CB Tray Walker
6'2" 191 lbs.
Former team: New England Patriots
Contract Offer: 3 years 6.24M/720K Signing Bonus We have familiarity with Walker as we drafted him in Oakland then traded him to the Patriots. He'll be in the mix for the slot CB position for us with newly acquired Mitchel since he's an athletic freak but will also see some time as a punt returner to see if he can win out in the pre-season.
CB Tevin Mitchel
6'0" 190 lbs.
Former team: Tennessee Titans
Contract Offer: 3 years 5.32M/630K Signing Bonus Mitchel is a speed merchant and it's no surprise he was drafted by former Tennessee Titans GM Apolo Shapiro. He never had any sort of shot starting there but has tons of speed and another athletic freak who will get a shot at return duties in the pre-season but is probably more of a depth guy.
ROLB Edmund Robinson
6'3" 245 lbs.
Former team: Houston Texans
Contract Offer: 3 years 3.93M/690K Signing Bonus Robinson is just solid depth behind start Zac Brown who has a firm grasp on the position at least for this season. I like Robinsons size, it gives flexibility for him to play in any scheme fit if called upon (but we hope he isnt).
TE Martellus Bennett
6'6" 259 lbs.
Former team: Seattle Seahawks
Contract Offer: 1 year 1.04M/170K Signing Bonus Bennett is just a big bodied TE and depth behind Hayden Hurst. Bennett will just be on the roster for 1 season and was a cheap filler that I didn't have to waste a draft pick for.
LT Tayo Fabuluje
6'7" 353 lbs.
Former team: Buffalo Bills
Contract Offer: 3 years 4.29M/720K Signing Bonus He's the immediate starter to LT Manelik Watson and solid depth, in his last start with the Bills he managed 65 PAN blocks and 5 sacks allowed. His size at 6'7" 353 , with his quick feet, solid strength and adequate run and pass blocking made him a desirable signing for us.
RG John Asamoah
6'4" 315 lbs.
Former team: St. Louis Rams
Contract Offer: 1 year 930K/170K Signing Bonus Asamoah is nothing more than a cheap filler backup for 1 year, if he's starting then the RG position is in FUBAR mode.
RT Michael Jasper
6'4" 375 lbs.
Former team: New York Jets
Contract Offer: 1 year 1.11M/150K Signing Bonus Much like above Jasper is a big bodied RT who is a cheap filler until I can find some young cheap replacements for these guys.
** TRADES**
trade 7.1 to the in exchange for RG Byron Stingily I'm sure this isn't the blockbuster trade the New York Jets envisioned when I came knocking on their door LOL but it helps Kevin clear some cap space and I save a few million in cap myself with this trade. I had a significant offer to RG Amini Silotolu before reaching out to the Jets but let him go (not sure if the Eagles won him or not) after Kevin accepted the deal. We now have a solid veteran OL in front of Minshew when we draft him and hopefully they he and the rest of the vets can help keep him from dying on the field year 1 which is always the brutal season for young signal callers.
** CONCLUSION** With 14 players walking in free agency, I never felt too comfortable going nuts here in this free agency even though I wanted to. I felt we filled in some spots of need with a few solid players but for the most part added some much needed depth. We filled 13 roster spots in free agency and 1 through a trade. We had 22 roster spots to fill so now we need to fill 8 more after free agency, we'll fill 6 spots with the draft picks, add a free agent in the post draft free agency and then use our last roster spot for the Veteran minimum free agency and that will complete our season. The plan is to build around Minshew while adding to the rest of the roster.
** THE DRAFT** We have the following draft picks in the 2019 SFL Draft:
1.1
3.1
3.8
4.17
5.17
6.11
We plan on taking the best players at positions of need at those spots.
** 2019 CAROLINA PANTHERS TRAINING CAMP** 
FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
. Hageman will start opposite of Floyd. Hopefully both will be hungry to show what they have.
in exchange for RG Byron Stingily
