Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman will hold his pre-draft press conference Tuesday, and as I often like to do ahead of his meetings with the media, I pulled up the tape from previous years to re-examine what he said.

While he didn’t come right out and say he hoped to draft Star Lotulelei or Kelvin Benjamin, Gettleman did drop a number of hints. Plus, there were some interesting nuggets worth remembering as he heads into his third draft in Carolina.

 

FORESHADOWING

 

2013:

“The defensive tackle group is deep. There’s some really talented kids out there … I think your defensive line group is deep. I think your defensive backfield group is deep. And probably the next group might be the offensive line.”

Gettleman doubled up on defensive tackles, taking Lotulelei and Kawann Short with his first two picks. Gettleman didn’t end up taking any defensive backs, but in the fourth round, he went with guard Edmund Kugbila, who’s dealt with injuries since he got to Carolina.

2014:

“We’d like a left tackle. The guys we have that are competing there, we have confidence in them, but again, it’s a matter of playing there; it’s a matter of reps. You’d like a young wide receiver. Wouldn’t be mad if a corner was there. I’m not going to lie to you. Again, it doesn’t mean we’re going to sit here and say we’re taking a wide (receiver), we’re taking a tackle, we’re taking a corner, because again, you guys are going to get tired of me saying it, you’re going to get tired of hearing it — when you reach you get screwed.”

To the surprise of many, Gettleman didn’t use any of his six picks on an offensive tackle. He did get a receiver (Kelvin Benjamin) and corner (Bené Benwikere).It’s also worth noting that when Gettleman was asked how many first-round tackles and receivers were in last year’s draft, his answer was, “Nine, ten total.” Four tackles (Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews, Taylor Lewan, Ja’Wuan James) and four receivers (Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks) went before the Panthers picked Benjamin.

 

TRADE PHILOSOPHY

 

Moving up:

“It’s almost like I’ve told you guys when you’re in free agency — the biggest danger is when you think you’re one player away, and it’s that guy. That’s the guy we have to have. If it’s unrestricted free agency, maybe you screw your cap up. It’s going to get you in trouble. Thinking that you’re one player away is as bad as reaching for a guy, because you’re more than one player away. That one player that you get, what happens if he gets hurt, and you’ve traded away three draft picks? It’s nothing different; it’s about value. Is it possible? Anything’s possible.”

Moving down:

“You’ve got to be careful because you could talk yourself out of a really good player … Do you want a dollar, or do you want three dimes? I’d take the buck.”

The only draft-day trade Gettleman made in his first two years was giving up a seventh-rounder to jump 20 spots for Benwikere. The Panthers have nine picks this year, which gives Gettleman more flexibility. But until he makes an aggressive move, it’s hard to picture him doing it.

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS

 

“Every draft pick is gold and you’re not interested in drafting a guy who’s going to bust out because he can’t handle himself off the field, for whatever reason. It’s part of the process, and it has evolved and we use it as part of the evaluation. It’s part of it. Would you not draft a guy because of it? Based on that and a lot of other information? You might not take him. But it is definitely part of the process.”

If a guy like defensive end Randy Gregory is there at No. 25, Gettleman could have a tough decision to make. Here’s one of the best pass-rushing prospects in the draft, falling to a GM who constantly professes his love of pass rushers. But is the reason he fell worth the risk? There are many pieces to the decision-making process.

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

“I think the typical NFL run game is very different from the college run game so there’s an adjustment for those guys. There’s fewer guys coming out with that type of background. The position has been de-emphasized at the college level. I think it’s a tough adjustment. The other thing, too, is you’ve got blitz pickup is a huge issue. It’s big. What’s happened on the college level is those running backs aren’t doing any blitz pickup stuff. That takes a lot of time. So you take a running back in the first round, he better be a three-down guy right now, and there can’t be any question in your mind that he can figure out the blitz stuff because it’s a real problem. It’s a real issue. The number of running backs that come out of the college level with legitimate blitz pickup ability, it’s scarce. They’re rare, they really are.”

Expected first-round picks Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon both played in pro-style offenses, but like all young running backs, they need to improve in pass protection. The Panthers don’t need a three-down back right away, but they certainly would like a guy with some seasoning in blitz pickups.

 

PRE-DRAFT VISITS

 

“We brought 26 in. We didn’t use all 30 last year either. I think we had 28 last year. We’re not going to bring in guys just to bring them in, there will be specific reasons. It gives the coaches a great chance to do a real, legitimate one-on-one with them, both as people and on the board, which is important because in this day and age, especially in the top three rounds, you’ve got to draft guys that can assimilate very quickly and that can help us now.”

According to BBR’s unofficial and incomplete visit tracker, 22 prospects have reportedly visited the Panthers over the last few weeks. If Gettleman reveals the total on Tuesday, that number will likely rise a bit. And what he hopes to get out of the visits is important. Teams have been known to use a few for smoke screens, and maybe the Panthers do some of that, but mostly they’re bringing in legit prospects. Picks from the first two days will be expected to play almost immediately.

That’s what makes Cedric Ogbuehi interesting. The Texas A&M offensive tackle was considered a first-round lock until he tore his ACL in January. He’s said he’ll be ready by training camp, but that would be a near-miraculous lightning-quick recovery. Some think Ogbuehi is still first-round worthy, and Gettleman likes big values, but, here’s this from last year:

“Generally speaking, you’re not going to take a guy in the first round and have him stand next to Ron (Rivera) and have him hold his hand and give him Gatorade. You’re not going to do that, he’s going to be on the field.”

 

NEW PHRASES

 

2013:

“Big men allow you to compete, so we’re certainly going to look at the big hog mollies. We have an interest in those guys.”

2014:

“You guys can look at me like I’m nuts, but if there’s a blue goose pass rusher there or a blue goose defensive tackle sitting there I’m not going to be afraid.”

‘Blue goose’ was a term Gettleman brought with him from his days with the Giants, and while most of us hadn’t heard of ‘hog mollies,’ the Urban Dictionary was all over it 10 years earlier.