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Let's look at the big picture, i.e., the overall strategy of who've we've selected:
It appears to me that Fox/Hurney, in their wisdom, have determined that our direction this year will be to address major weaknesses in our running game, and in special teams.
Our first two picks were, IMO, a brilliant move to solve the first problem. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Stewart quickly step in to Foster's role as the starting RB, with DWill used as the changeup -- much as I like DeAngelo's runnning abilities, his blocking weakness will hold him back from being the feature back -- I can see both of them in an awesomely scary spread formation.
Secondly, while Godfrey and Connor have adequate skills at their college positions (and Godfrey may grow to compete at FS, which would be a big bonus for us), I think they were chosen because they're heavy hitters, who can have an immediate impact in strengthening our woeful special teams.
Last year the Panthers played with (Beason and Harris the exceptions) a passivity that I found embarrassing. We've gotten some attitude with the new guys from FA and the draft so far. I think our defense will play more in a "forward" mode now, rather than backwards." Kinda like the comment Stewart made: "I run North."
I wanted our first pick to be Harvey, but he was gone -- we therefore made the right adjustments. While our pass rush still looks questionable at best, maybe the coaches see more coming from Brayton, Johnson, and McClover than we do. If one or more of those 3 step up, or get shuttled in to remain fresh, we've got a real contender.
My prediction: we average 28-30 points per.
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