2011 NFL Draft Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have the No 1 pick this year and without a second round pick they will need to use it carefully as they have several gaping holes on their roster.

The big question facing them will be whether to grab a QB in round 1 or wait and hope one falls to them with the first pick in round 3. Now normally this would have been an option, however with most of the top 10 teams this year probably interested in a QB this will probably be too risky for them so a QB looks likely.

At this stage we think they will go with Blaine Gabbert, with the caveat that he needs to impress at his pro day tomorrow. If he fails to impress then they will probably turn to Cam Newton who looks like the pick of the QBs at the moment.

There is a slim chance that they will forgo the no1 pick and offer a trade in the hope of picking up a decent second round pick as well, however the only team we feel might go for the trade is the Vikings and it will depend on how badly they want either Gabbert or Newton.

The Panthers still have Jimmy Claussen who never really got a proper chance last year playing behind their paper thin offensive line, so they could settle for another Mediocre season and start building their line again however if they forgo a QB they couldnt look past Marcell Dareus who despite his inexperience would bring a Julius Peppers style threat back to their D – line. However the no 1 pick for a defensive lineman might just be a bit rich so we will settle for them taking Gabbert.

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Will Luck Keep Harbaugh at Stanford

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 03:  (L-R) Andrew Luck #12...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Stanford Quarter Back Andrew Luck’s decision to stay on for another year and skip the 2011 draft will come as a disappointment to the Carolina Panthers who with the NO 1 pick would most probably acquired his services; However the decision could have knock on effects elsewhere in the NFL.

Current Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is currently one of the most wanted coaches in football and although it seems likely he will join either the 49ers or the Dolphins it is now possible that he will choose to remain in place for another season given Luck’s decision.

Andrew Luck & Jim Harbaugh are the main reasons for Stanford’s recent turnaround – they were a one win team in 2006 but since the dynamic duo’s arrival Luck is 20-5 and has only missed one game, last season’s Sun Bowl loss to Oklahoma due to  a broken finger.

It will be interesting to see if the two resume their acquaintance in the Professional game in 2012 but in meantime College football will be just a little bit better than expected in 2011.

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NFC South 2010 Season Prediction

NFC Champions 2010 - New Orleans Saints
Image by Maitri via Flickr

The NFC South has been a bit of an enigma since being formed in 2002 with teams regularly finishing bottom one season and then winning it the following season, a trend continued last season when the New Orleans Saints came from bottom in 2008 to not only win the division in 2009 but also take the Super Bowl.  It has been a surprisingly strong division with one of its members having reached the NFC Championship game in 7 of its 9 seasons in existence and it tends to be pretty competitive with no team having won the division two seasons running.  However that trend looks likely to end this season as the reigning Super Bowl Champions The New Orleans Saints look well placed for a second attempt.

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Our Current Top 10 Draft Predictions

1 Indianapolis Colts – QB Andrew Luck

2 Washington Redskins – QB Robert Griffin III

3 Minnesota Vikings – OT Matt Kallil

4 Cleveland Browns – RB Trent Richardson

5 Tampa Bay WR Justin Blackmon

6 St Louis Rams OT Riley Reiff

7 Jacksonville Jaguars – WR Michael Floyd

8 Miami Dolphins – CB Morris Claiborne

9 Carolina Panthers- DT Fletcher Cox

10 Buffalo Bills DE Quinton Coples

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