Tag: Carolina Panthers

Georgia has NINE players selected in 7-round NFL mock draft

Georgia football has NINE players selected in USA TODAY’s recent seven-round NFL mock draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is just over one week away and a number of Georgia players are prepared to have their dream become a reality.

Twice has Georgia had eight players go in the same NFL Draft. Those years were in 2002 and 2013, where the Dawgs dumped a ton of talent into the pros.

But never has Georgia had nine players selected in the same draft. Luke Easterling of USA Today’s DraftWire sees that changing this year.

In his recent 7-round NFL mock draft, he has NINE Georgia players being taken in this year’s virtual event.

Here are his projected landing spots for these Bulldogs.

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Where do the Panthers rank in capital for the 2020 NFL draft?

According to Graham Barfield, the Panthers rank No. 9 in draft capital this year.

There are now just nine days to go before the 2020 NFL draft begins. The Panthers hold the No. 7 overall pick, which puts them in good position to land a special kind of prospect. Messing up a top-10 pick is certainly possible, but if nothing else general manager Marty Hurney has done well with his first-round selections historically.

Hurney will need to hit more than just one pick, though. Carolina has a ton of roster holes to fill, especially on defense – where they’re currently projected to start Donte Jackson and a tackling dummy at cornerback. They also don’t have nearly enough interior defensive linemen or safeties to field a complete team.

Turning this group around from a disappointing 5-11 finish last year will require hitting on multiple mid and late-round picks.

Other teams are in significantly better shape (especially the Dolphins). However, Hurney does have a decent amount of ammunition going into this draft. According to Graham Barfield, the Panthers rank No. 9 in draft capital this year. Here’s how all 32 teams stack up.

2020 NFL draft capital

The Panthers picked up some more capital by trading Kyle Allen to Washington for a fifth-round pick.

Another player who might get dealt before or during the draft is Taylor Moton, who is entering the last year of his rookie contract and was picked by former GM Dave Gettleman. Moton has been the team’s best lineman the last few years, though and unless the plan is pick a top OT prospect early they absolutely can’t afford to lose him.

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Christian McCaffrey surpasses Ezekiel Elliott as NFL’s highest-paid RB

As younger players receive their respective paydays, is Elliott set to become a cost-effective RB weapon in today’s league?

Currently in the midst of a massive roster overhaul, the Carolina Panthers reset the running back Monday,  committing to Christian McCaffrey through the 2025 season.

The four-year, $64 million extension makes him the game’s highest-paid RB, and provides a new lens through which to view Ezekiel Elliott’s own mega-deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

The six-year, $90 million contract signed by Elliot in 2019 barely lasted seven months as the most expensive RB deal in the league. While McCaffrey’s new contract details are still coming out, the $64 million represents entirely new money he’ll receive beginning in 2021, which just squeaks by Elliott in terms of AAV ($16M vs $15M per year). Also notable will be the guaranteed money involved, as “well over half” of McCaffrey’s extension is guaranteed. Elliott’s entire deal, original years and extension, contained $50 million in guaranteed money.

In a time where no position’s value is more scrutinized, the McCaffrey contract takes the plunge into unknown waters. His skills as a receiver (303 receptions over three seasons, 1,005 receiving yards and 4 TD receptions in 2019) undoubtedly alter the criteria by which McCaffrey’s contract will be judged going forward.

For players like Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara and Derrick Henry, this new contract should restore some optimism after David Johnson and Todd Gurley’s former teams each ate a substantial amount of dead money to remove them from their rosters.

As for Elliott, his holdout last year looks to have served him extremely well. The Cowboys are still attempting to navigate their salary cap situation, and while Elliott’s timing made things harder from the team’s perspective, that is the price Dallas pays for selecting him fourth overall and installing him as a major focal point of the offense. The merits of building a team that way, and how much of the offense should be dedicated to running the football continue to be debated, but the Cowboys are nonetheless locked in to this path for at least the next few seasons.

Luckily for Dallas, Elliott doesn’t seem to be cut from the same cloth, compared to either the running backs he entered the league with, or those who came after.

Set to enter his fifth season at age 25, no longer is Elliott the fresh face devouring league records and defining the position. He’s now forging a path as an anomaly, a throwback to the bell-cow backs of yesteryear as he enters what should be the prime of his career.

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Projecting a contract extension between Alvin Kamara and the Saints

The New Orleans Saints have difficult contract negotiations ahead with superstar running back Alvin Kamara, one of their best weapons.

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So, the New Orleans Saints might have missed their window of opportunity to re-sign Alvin Kamara on the most team-friendly deal possible. The Carolina Panthers scuttled that chance with a four-year, $64 million contract extension for Christian McCaffrey, heralding a new wave of running back contracts around the NFL — maybe.

McCaffrey’s new average salary of $16 million just beats the high-water mark established by Ezekiel Elliott, who the Dallas Cowboys inked to an unprecedented six-year, $90 million extension just before the 2019 season. But Elliott’s new deal didn’t exactly precipitate a rush of big-money contracts for running backs all over the league, either. Teams still tend to undervalue the position.

There’s no questioning his importance to the team; Kamara is effectively the Saints’ number-one running back and its number-two wide receiver, having touched the ball nearly as often in 2019 alone (252 times, with 171 carries and 81 catches) as $100 million wide receiver Michael Thomas has done in his last two record-setting seasons combined (275 times, between a league-leading 125 receptions in 2018, 149 in 2019, and a single rushing attempt).

But Kamara’s workload diminishes quickly when compared to what McCaffrey, Elliott, and other big-name runners around the league have handled. McCaffrey saw a career-high 287 carries last season, plus 142 targets (catching 116 of them). Elliott has logged 300-plus rushing attempts in three of his first four seasons. Derrick Henry is the next in line to reset the market, though he’s playing on a $10.278 million franchise tag in 2020. Kamara is much more of a part-time player than those two.

Still, a rising tide raises all ships. Even if teams are slow to sign running backs to huge deals, they have done it. A lengthy holdout resulted in Le’Veon Bell’s $13.125 million per-year contract with the New York Jets. While he was traded to the Houston Texans after injuries limited his availability, David Johnson is going to earn $13 million in 2020.

If Melvin Gordon is willing to play for $8 million on a prove-it deal with the Denver Broncos (and if Kenyan Drake is worth slightly more than that on a transition tag), then Kamara’s asking-price has to start out at least a stone’s throw from that range.

The difficulty in guessing a ceiling comes from the Saints’ track record of low-balling pass-catchers. Thomas is the first skills-position talent the team has signed to a contract valued near the top of the market since Jimmy Graham, who was almost immediately traded away to get out of it. So Kamara’s upper limit of expectations should not be anywhere near the $16 million figure McCaffrey commands. Even the $13 million Bell and Johnson earned might be pushing it.

While Kamara will beat Austin Ekeler’s contract with the Los Angeles Chargers by a mile, it’s worth remembering its structure. Ekeler has climbed the Chargers depth chart to become their go-to passing down back, which is a great role to play in a passing-down league. His $24.5 million contract averages out to just $6.125 million over four years, a salary far beneath Kamara’s expectations. While their receiving stats are similar (Ekeler caught 92 of 108 targets last year, gaining 993 yards through the air), Kamara’s larger body of work and frequent trips to the Pro Bowl will build his case.

So here’s our suggestion, averaging the salaries of Elliott, Bell, and Johnson (on the upper end of the scale) against Gordon (on the lower side), using Ekeler’s guarantees as a loose guide.

A sensible deal for Kamara (from the Saints’ perspective) could look like a three-year, $37 million contract with $22.57 million in guarantees. That would pay out an average salary of $12.3 million per year (raising his 2020 pay from where it stands now, at just over $2 million) and guarantee the first two years of the contract. We’ll just assume that Saints salary cap guru Khai Hartley includes some automatically-voided years at the end of it to help with the accounting, his signature move. If Kamara can remain healthy and productive, he would be set up to test free agency in 2023 before his 28th birthday, still in his prime and able to cash in after new broadcasting contracts have raised the NFL salary cap.

If nothing else, making that sort of offer now would give the Saints an idea of Kamara’s headspace. If he dismisses it out of hand, expecting closer to what McCaffrey and Elliott are earning, they’ll know that he won’t fit their budget and can add “running back” to their list of roster needs before this year’s draft. But if Kamara mulls it over and is willing to talk shop, there’s a chance the Saints could reach a compromise that makes both parties happy — much like they did last season in new deals with Thomas, Wil Lutz, and Cameron Jordan.

That said: there’s risk in signing Kamara to a short-term deal rather than a long-running contract. It takes away the Saints’ ability to backload future years, making it more difficult to maneuver around the salary cap in the short-term. And that could be the difference between retaining someone like Ramczyk or Lattimore (whose fifth-year options keep them around through 2021).

But at the same time, making a long-term commitment to a player with an injury history at a position that sees such high rates of attrition doesn’t make a ton of sense. And that brings us back full-circle, asking the original question of just how highly running backs should be valued in today’s NFL.

It’s a tough situation to navigate. Based off their recent moves, we could see some movement between the Saints and Kamara in the weeks ahead. The longer the Saints wait, the higher the market value will rise as players like Henry and Drake sign their own contract extensions. If they wait too long, they might get priced out.

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2020 NFL draft: Panthers video conference with another small school QB prospect

Panthers video conference with another small school QB prospect ahead of 2020 NFL draft.

Watch out, Will Grier. The Panthers are doing their homework on some late-round prospects who could threaten his status as the team’s No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart behind Teddy Bridgewater and P.J. Walker.

Last week, it was reported by the Athletic that Carolina held a video call with Northern Colorado QB Jacob Knipp, who is projected to be either a late Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent. On Monday, we learned of another similar meeting.

According to Tony Pauline at Pro Football Network, the Panthers held a video conference with Ben DiNucci from James Madison. So have the Patriots and Bears.

“For some reason, DiNucci was snubbed from all the postseason All-Star events. He has had numerous video conferences with the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, and Chicago Bears.”

Again, the level of competition is a bit low for your average QB prospect, but DiNucci’s numbers since transferring from Pitt were interesting. Last season, he completed 268 of 378 pass attempts (70.9%), averaging 9.1 yards per attempt and totaling 29 touchdowns to go with six interceptions.

If the Panthers do wind up drafting or signing one of these small school QBs, there’s a good chance Grier could be on his way out. It will be interesting to see if they can get any team to bite on a trade for Grier, even though he bombed as a rookie.

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Panthers Wire Roundtable: What to make of Christian McCaffrey’s mega-deal?

Christian McCaffrey: Panthers Wire team comments on what to make of his four-year contract extension.

The Panthers have made Christian McCaffrey the richest running back in NFL history, signing him to a four-year, $64 million extension, locking him in through the 2025 season.

Let’s check in with our team at Panthers Wire and see how they are feeling about McCaffrey’s new mega-deal.

Anthony Rizzuti

Yes, Christian McCaffrey is different. Christian McCaffrey is a game changer. Christian McCaffrey is really damn good. But he’s still a running back. Trying to justify a major investment at the position is almost always a fruitless endeavor, especially for a team with so many voids left to fill. Remember, we’re still in the same offseason where Los Angeles and Arizona pressed the eject button on Todd Gurley and David Johnson. While McCaffrey may not have the pre-existing injury history as Gurley, banking on the fact that he’s gone relatively unscathed through two seasons of high usage isn’t a wise bet.

Odds are that all those carries and targets will catch up to him eventually, likely leaving Carolina with a different player come Year 2 or 3 of this extension. If team owner David Tepper is consulting his analytics on this decision, it’s less of a football algorithm and more of a business one. The math probably looks something like subtracting McCaffrey, Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen the same year = 0 butts in the seats.

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Negotiations for NFL’s highest-paid RB Christian McCaffrey easier than Ezekiel Elliott

USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein breaks down how Christian McCaffrey became the highest-paid running back in the NFL.

USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein breaks down how Christian McCaffrey became the highest-paid running back in the NFL.

How would Alvin Kamara feel about re-signing with the Saints?

Saints RB Alvin Kamara has found a new home in New Orleans, and hopes to find a contract extension much like Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

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The NFL world was rocked on Monday by the news of a huge four-year, $64 million contract extension between running back Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers. Beyond the deal’s immediate impact on the Panthers as a franchise, it shook up the landscape of running back contracts around the league.

For New Orleans Saints fans tuned into Alvin Kamara’s Twitch stream with Bleacher Report, they earned a live reaction from one of the game’s most popular players — whose own contract is set to expire after the 2020 season. Kamara was thoughtful when asked how he’d feel about signing his own multiyear extension with the Saints.

“Man, that’s,” Kamara started, pausing to gather his thoughts. “New Orleans was a place I hadn’t been to. I’d never been to New Orleans until I got drafted to New Orleans. Just to be able to get to New Orleans, and have that city embrace me, just take me in, basically adopt me, man it’s amazing. There’s so much love there. It’s a dope city even outside of the football. It’s beautiful people, it’s lit, it’s a vibe.”

Kamara has spoken often about his appreciation for the city’s culture and the support of its fanbase; he often walks to and from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on game days from his downtown apartment, pausing for photographs along the way. But the sense of brotherhood he’s felt in the Saints locker room is just as important.

“If we’re talking about the football,” Kamara said, “I’ve never been around a group of guys like in New Orleans who just want to win, who just want to be there for each other, and be around each other.”

The Saints are headed for uncharted territory, with franchise quarterback Drew Brees drawing up his retirement plans and a host of big-money contract extensions on the horizon. Kamara is one of several young stars whose cheap rookie deals will run out soon, along with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and free safety Marcus Williams. That’s not to mention decorated veterans like linebacker Demario Davis and tight end Jared Cook.

Even if the Saints are able to transition from Brees to a younger, low-cost quarterback (whether it’s Taysom Hill or someone else) it’s not realistic to expect the Saints to keep everyone. Recent losses including safety Vonn Bell and running back Mark Ingram speak to that. Everyone is rightfully going to want their money, and the Saints won’t be able to compromise with all of them. Hopefully they can hammer out an agreement with Kamara before it’s too late; it’s obvious his heart is in it.

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Teammates and division rivals congratulate Christian McCaffrey on his new contract

Current and former Carolina players aren’t the only ones congratulating McCaffrey, either.

If you’re not sure how to feel about Christian McCaffrey’s four-year, $64 million contract extension, this idea should help. There’s no reason why you can’t feel both happy for McCaffrey getting a well-deserved pay-day and concerned that the Carolina Panthers front office might have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.

While it’s true that McCaffrey is by far the best pass-catching running back in the league, he’s still not as efficient as even an average wide receiver. Also, paying big money for running backs on second contracts has historically tended not worked out well in the NFL. Then again, McCaffrey is a special kind of athlete and might be the exception to the rule.

In any case, McCaffrey’s teammates – both current and former – think he’s worth it and are happy for him. Here’s what they’re saying on Twitter.

Former TE Greg Olsen

Former RB Jonathan Stewart

RB Reggie Bonnafon

OL Tyler Larsen

Current and former Carolina players aren’t the only ones congratulating McCaffrey, either. Some of the other top running backs in the NFL have also chimed in, even those playing for division rivals.

Falcons RB Todd Gurley

Saints RB Alvin Kamara

Respect.

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Titans’ Derrick Henry won’t benefit from Christian McCaffrey extension

Derrick Henry doesn’t have as much value as Christian McCaffrey.

There’s no question that Derrick Henry is an important player to keep on the Tennessee Titans roster for seasons to come — so long as his production stays close to the same as it was last year.

After applying the franchise tag to Henry, a lot of questions remain as to what his potential future extension could look like.

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey cashed in on Monday, securing a four-year, $64 million extension, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL.

McCaffrey will be making an average of $16 million per year, higher than the $15 million annual salary owned by Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys.

So running backs can get paid — but does this mean anything for Henry, who is in the midst of trying to get his own long-term deal?

The short answer is no.

Henry’s a big back who has proven he can all but carry the offense by himself after a historical postseason run in 2019, and he brings a lot to the table in his own right.

But he’s not exactly comparable to McCaffrey.

McCaffrey’s durability, level of production, age and versatility all make him a cut above the rest and worthy of this type of payday. He’s a three-down back who has pretty much been just as important in the passing game as he has in the ground game.

Last season, McCaffrey led the NFL with 2,392 yards from scrimmage and is just the third player in league history to rack up 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same year.

Henry finished out 2019 with the NFL’s rushing title (1,540 yards), but didn’t even touch McCaffrey in the passing game, as he only totaled 206 receiving yards last year — a career-high for him.

There’s no question that Henry deserves to get paid for the integral piece of the team that he is, but he shouldn’t be expected to bring in as much as the Panthers’ rusher does.

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